This Is What Happens When a Bear Meets a Rented Nikon D4 and 600mm Lens
Bear knocks over photographer’s rented Nikon D4 and 600VR lens in Yellowstone.
bear
Andrew Kane is very thankful he paid a little extra to cover his gear from Lens Rentals. Otherwise his story of a bear encounter would have a painful ending. Kane rented a Nikon D4 and a 600mm f/4 VR lens to capture wildlife in Yellowstone National Park. He left the camera and lens set up on a tripod and went off with his second camera to take pictures of a coyote. As he wandered away the grizzly bear saw his opportunity to attack—the camera.
“I heard twigs breaking behind me, and as I turned around I saw it was a grizzly bear. I picked up the tripod with the D4 and 600 on it and slowly started to back away. The bear got closer and closer as I tried to back up. When the bear got to within 20 yards of me, I bumped into a brush pile that I could not lift the tripod over, so I had no choice but to leave the gear and continue away from the bear.”
The Bear knock over the tripod and proceeded to jump on the $10,000 lens while Kane stood helplessly by documenting the destruction. The D4 he said, still worked after taking a beating from the bear (Nikon’s new ad campaign?), but the lens mount didn’t fare so well. He’s getting replacement gear and has some once in a life time shots.
See more pictures of the destruction here.
Via. LensRentals