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While climbing Mt. Adams on Friday, I dropped my Canon A590 IS point-and-shoot camera off the NE ridge. We watched it fall down a steep gully, smashing into rocks and bouncing back up. It disappeared and then re-appeared a few seconds later, much lower, still ricocheting down the gully. Finally it stopped about 200' down, apparently still in one piece though it was hard to see. I wanted the photos so I decided to climb down for the SD card. When I reached the camera it was still together, but in pretty bad shape--lens housing was gone, viewfinder frame collapsed, display cover gone, LCD screen smashed, buttons mangled, etc. The CMOS battery, AA's, and SD card were gone.

Here are some photos I took afterward:



Miraculously I found the SD card in the snow about 20' above where the camera had come to rest. So I climbed back up to the ridge and put new batteries in to see if it would power on. Lo and behold--


Half the pixels were gone, most of the rest unintelligible. But I could still see the far right edge of the screen where the light balance meter for manual control is displayed.


So would it take photos?


We couldn't believe it. It took all these post-accident. Here's the gully it fell down (arrow marks where it stopped):


Mt. Adams:


Crestones:


UN 13153:



Indestructible?

consider yourself lucky to be able to make out the options on the screen. mine only fell about 5 feet on a trail and the screen was done - even with a protective film. still takes videos and pics, just wont be able to change the settings again.

Boggy, you should send Canon an email, with this story.
See what they have to say, or give?

Now that's how a mountaineer's camera should look. What a story. I've bought a few point and shoots over the years and they've all been Canon Powershots. Loved every one of them.

Great photos by the way. Those Sangres pics are menacing, esp the Crestones. Look forward to reading more about it in a report.

I'll also mention that out of concern for dropping my camera (point & shoot), I have a play biner on my camera leash, and that is clipped to my carrying case. Therefore I don't worry about dropping the camera. I'll let it hang there while taking off gloves or mitt's if I need better dexterity to operate the camera.
Glad yours turned out ok.

My Panasonic Lumix FZ-20 has resurrected itself three times now, starting when a tourist dropped it on the summit of Pikes Peak while taking our photo, and including a frozen drop on Belford and a tumble down Lindsey.

I've retired it for the 2011 season in favor of the ZS-10, but it's been retired with honors and will always have a soft spot in my heart.

d_baker wrote:Boggy, you should send Canon an email, with this story.
See what they have to say, or give?

they would probably laugh and tell me to buy a new product. not worth replacing the lcd. i purchased it in 07, though i have my eyes on the s95 as the replacement.

prestone818 wrote:

d_baker wrote:Boggy, you should send Canon an email, with this story.
See what they have to say, or give?

they would probably laugh and tell me to buy a new product. not worth replacing the lcd. i purchased it in 07, though i have my eyes on the s95 as the replacement.

Yeah probably for you, but BoggyB has the story and pictures of the aftermath that says something about the integrity of the camera!

The Canon rep offered their loyalty program, which would allow me to purchase refurbs at a discount. 26% off the refurb price for a G11 is tempting... But I'd have to send them my camera, which seems to be working fine!

@d_baker: I had to cannibalize the lanyard for my much pricier GPS--usually I have it wrapped around my hand.

d_baker wrote:

prestone818 wrote:

d_baker wrote:Boggy, you should send Canon an email, with this story.
See what they have to say, or give?

they would probably laugh and tell me to buy a new product. not worth replacing the lcd. i purchased it in 07, though i have my eyes on the s95 as the replacement.

Yeah probably for you, but BoggyB has the story and pictures of the aftermath that says something about the integrity of the camera!

or the great amount of luck he has maybe if u post ur story on canons facebook page they would offer you something

Boggy B wrote:The Canon rep offered their loyalty program, which would allow me to purchase refurbs at a discount. 26% off the refurb price for a G11 is tempting... But I'd have to send them my camera, which seems to be working fine!

@d_baker: I had to cannibalize the lanyard for my much pricier GPS--usually I have it wrapped around my hand.

i recommend not getting a refurb...

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