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Competing in the Sony slalom at the Olympics....

(Hope you can see this where you are. UPDATE: It's on YouTube, several readers have mentioned.)

Mike
(Thanks to Jay Townshend)

ADDENDUM: Jay adds, "The camera and lens survived. Minor damage to the LCD screen on the back of the camera body and the lens hood was toast, but apparently it was back in service the next day. Sony repair staff on site at the Olympics revealed to a reporter that the camera was a Sony Alpha 1 and a 24–70mm GM lens, if you’re a gear head. I’ve had a few cameras tumble in my time."

Book o' the Week:

Ernst Haas: New York in Color 1952–1962. "When Haas moved from Vienna to New York City in 1951, he left behind a war-torn continent and a career producing black-and-white images. For Haas, the new medium of color photography was the only way to capture a city pulsing with energy and humanity. These images demonstrate Haas's tremendous virtuosity and confidence with Kodachrome film and the technical challenges of color printing."

This book link is a portal to Amazon.

Today at B&H Photo

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

V.I. Voltz: "Wouldn’t it be cool if it was recording video when it was dropped!? I’m getting giddy just thinking about watching that!"

Mike replies: When I was young, my father briefly got into Super-8 movies. On a ski vacation one winter he decided to make a film while skiing downhill. He practiced by making dry runs with his hands held to his face as if he were thumbing his nose with both hands, which of course looked absolutely ridiculous, and was embarrassing to my then-12-year-old (or whatever it was) self. When he made the film, of course he fell, and the resulting movie was absolutely great—it showed him first zooming down the mountain—then the camera nosedives to the snow and there's a crazy chaotic jumble of blurry, jarring snow and sky and skier for a number of seconds, and finally the camera comes to rest with a serene view of snow, sky and clouds at a sharp angle. Of course he didn't like the "fall" part and the peaceful aftermath, but to me it made the clip. I didn't think he could have done better if he had scripted it that way.

Today, it would get views and likes on YouTube, no doubt.

Mani Sitaraman: "The video clip of the Sony camera tumbling down the snowy slope is on YouTube, too."

Harry B Houchins: "Never did that! I kept close watch on all my gear. Honestly! Seriously! Never, really never. Well, nobody saw me...."

Håkan Andersson: "Apropos the camera filming while it took a tumble. I had a skydiving team mate who lost his video helmet on climb-out from the plane at 13,000 feet. It did record all the way down. We managed to pry the DV tape (yes, this was a few years back) out of the totally demolished camera and play it back. Showed it to some friends without telling them that there was no skydiver attached to the helmet/camera as that sequence was shot. Dark sense of humor, I know.  :-)  "

Patrick D Perez (partial comment): "This past Saturday, I had an opportunity to make an 'extreme' video w/ my phone. My wife's car suffered a blowout on the Narrows Bridge on her way to work, so I rescued her, and we swapped cars. I waited for the tow truck and, due to COVID, I was not allowed in the cab of the truck, but I could ride in her car, strapped onto the flatbed. So I made a few videos of me seemingly driving COVERING MY EYES! with no explanation. I got some great reactions."

Comments

[John Shriver]

Wondering if we will read about this one on the LensRentals blog?!

[NikoJorj]

For those like me in France who can't see the video in the tweet, a shorter GIF is in https://petapixel.com/2022/02/03/photographers-camera-tumbles-down-ski-run-at-winter-olympics/ and some details of the repair are in https://petapixel.com/2022/02/08/the-sony-camera-that-tumbled-down-an-olympic-ski-slope-survived/

[Dave]

Many years ago, a college friend was showing his dad's movie of Art Arfon's Green Monster at a drag strip.

The car took off and a second later the camera tumbled to the ground.

When I asked what had happened, the guy said his dad didn't have hearing protection on.

A second run was filmed -- with ear plugs installed!

[Jim Arthur]

All this talk of cameras tumbling in the snow reminded me of a cool bit of film I saw on 60 Minutes many years ago. The film was made by John Downer and shows a mother polar bear who has just emerged from her den, knocking a spycam down a slope. She walks down to the camera, rights the camera, and finally walks away with her cub and everything happens in frame.

[Jack Mac]

Had it been the Kevlar covered Leica M10p "Reporter", it would have easily survived that ski run fall.

[Ernest Zarate]

How fitting that it was another photographer who bravely and selflessly put an end to the camera's tumbling, rolling, bouncing journey. The rest of the crowd was either unaware or (those who saw it) were unable/unwilling/unsure/??? as to stopping the camera. An epic piece of video, and kudos to the videographer who captured it!

[Chris]

And for those who can't see the video at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyJKenzUxMg

[Doug C]

I am glad that Sony has stepped up to service these events. I was doing a photograph at a national political convention about 5 years ago and I was planning to use my Sony but but the guys on the press platform said I would need a stabilized lens. So I went down to the basement and borrowed a Nikon 24-70 2.8 VR on a handshake. I hadn't been a member of NPS for over 20 years but they bailed me out.

Before that event I had been thinking of getting rid of my Nikon gear because the Sony stuff was all I used. But that made a believer out of me. And I ended up buying a Nikon Z and some lenses, so their plan worked.

I have no idea if Sony is quite as easy going in their policies as Nikon, they did want to charge for their Pro membership when I looked into it.

[Patrick D Perez]

In the early '90s, I went to 6 Flags Magic Mountain and there was a guy using a full-size VHS camcorder (it would already have been outdated at the time) to record his trip on one of their extreme roller coasters. Think steam-powered it was so archaic (though to be fair, it didn't require a tether from the camera to the recorder, so there's that.)

I imagine if he actually held it to his face during the ride it would have carved his eye socket out.

This past Saturday, I had an opportunity to make an 'extreme' video w/ my phone. My wife's car suffered a blowout on the Narrows Bridge on her way to work, so I rescued her, and we swapped cars. I waited for the tow truck and due to COVID, I was not allowed in the cab of the truck, but I could ride in her car, strapped onto the flatbed. So I made a few videos of me seemingly driving COVERING MY EYES! with no explanation. I got some great reactions.

Patrick

[Michael Korak]

Thanks Mike. What an enjoyable post. Glad the camera and lens survived thanks to the help of Sony techs.👍

Interesting to note the follow-focus work of whoever noticed the camera's adventure down the mountain. KUDOS to whoever shot that video. Would love to know what piece of gear they shot that with..still digital, video camera, or your everyday Joe with his/her hand-held computer (think cell-phone)🤔

Oh, and notice to who finally stops the Sony on its journey to aa gold medal...a Canon shooter. Talk about competitive cooperation. Even manufacturers CAN get along in times of distress😎

Keep up the great work you do with your most informative blog. 👏to OLP!

[Kurt Kramer]

Nice save by the Canon-Guy Goalie!
Thanks for the follow-up. Amazing that the camera was back in service the next day. How nice that a SONY squad was there to buff it back up and send it back to work.