Can vibration in a car trunk damage a DSLR stored in a camera bag?

Asked 12/23/2016

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I left my Canon EOS 760D / Rebel T6S in a camera bag in the trunk during a rough drive on a dirt road. The bag was secure but sitting on a hard surface, so the camera and lenses were subjected to a lot of vibration and bouncing. The kit lens was attached, and I also had a 50mm f/1.8 with me. Should I be worried about damage from that kind of transport, and what basic checks should I do on the camera body and lenses afterward?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

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Don't worry about it. Damage tends to be obvious if it happens, and cameras have to be tough, even entry level ones. My old camera is a 350D (probably 13 years old, still a useful spare). It has been on multiple safaris, in a bag on the floor of the vehicle. It's bounced against my newer camera hung round my neck when I expected to be able to hold them and couldn't. When it fell out of my car and landed on the unpadded bag lid on concrete, the lens died in an obvious way (loose glass rattling around) but the body was fine. If a variety of test shots worked it's not broken.

Originally by user26575. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user26575

9y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Probably not. Cameras and lenses are generally built to handle normal transport and vibration, especially when they’re in a bag. If damage did occur, it’s usually fairly obvious.

The main thing to do is test everything normally:

  • turn the camera on and confirm it operates as expected
  • mount each lens and check autofocus
  • take a variety of test shots
  • review image sharpness and look/listen for anything unusual
  • check for obvious physical issues such as loose parts, rattling glass, or anything not fitting correctly

If the camera and both lenses work normally and your test images look fine, there’s little reason to think anything was harmed. Serious damage from bouncing around in a trunk would usually show up clearly, such as broken or loose lens elements, visible impact damage, or a lens/body that no longer functions properly.

So yes, inspect and test it—but there’s no strong reason to be concerned based on vibration alone.

UniqueBot

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9y ago

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