Cinematography : The MOST EXPENSIVE Cameras DESTROYED in Movies by Ashley Renee Smith

Knock on wood, I haven't had any major disaster on set. At least none that prevented us from finishing the shoot. On a commercial in Mexico, we were filming at an Olympic pool and our crane fell into the water. Thankfully the camera wasn't attached to it.

Granted I'm going from a no-budget / micro-budget background (so me me it's expensive...) about 11 years ago, I had just bought a brand new camera (Blackmagic Cinema Camera) and it was my tripod, when suddenly it started to fall, as if in slow motion. Two people were standing next to it, but were too occupied with talking to do anything. I watched in horror as it hit the ground with a loud 'thud'. To my disbelief, all it did was put a small nick on the body. Worked like a charm. Nowadays, I make sure someone holds the tripod or I take the camera off if I leave the tripod.

That's so lucky, Gareth Taylor! Fingers crossed that your record holds strong!

I know that terror, Stephen Folker! Thankfully, most cameras can take a reasonable beating. My husband's GH5 still occasionally sprinkles out sand from a particularly accident-prone afternoon on Maui's Road To Hana. Lol!

Ashley Renee Smith The GH5's are pretty robust cameras! I'll always have a soft-spot for Panasonic.

Stephen Folker - I felt that in my bones with the way you described it. Always be proactive and take the camera off, you never know what will happen!

Me too, Stephen Folker! They're great and they really last.

hahah this is hilarious to me! i once pressed play and dropped an old camera off a 5-story parking garage to see what it would look like (the landing zone was cleared!). footage came out terrible and the camera was destroyed but it was really fun!