$6,000 camera blown away by one shot

Photographer Phil Duncan holds the remains of the ill-fated camera. Photo: BBC Sports .

During the FA Cup match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest last weekend, a sports reporter had an accident with his camera equipment worth more than 6,000 USD . The equipment was fixed behind the goal but unfortunately it was damaged by a player kicking it.

The moment of the incident quickly went viral on social media, when player Carlos Baleba broke Phil Duncan's camera. The Brighton midfielder's shot went wide of the goal and straight at the photographer's equipment.

Carlos Baleba - Brighton player accidentally broke his camera with a kick. Photo: BBC Sport.

Netizens speculated that Duncan seemed angry and complaining about the incident. But that was not the case.

Speaking to PetaPixel , Duncan said that in his 10 years in the profession, this was the first time this had happened. Ellie Hoad, a representative of the photo company Every Second Media, affirmed that the photographer did not complain, and that the video was just misleading.

The incident occurred just before half-time in the 2024-2025 FA Cup fifth round match. The damaged camera was a Canon 5D Mark III model, with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. According to Hoad, the lens mount was completely detached from the camera body, making it almost impossible to repair.

Luckily, the photographer had purchased insurance for the equipment and immediately filed a claim.

Many people on social media have called it “silly” to put a camera behind a goal. But in fact, sports photographers in the UK have been doing this for years. Remote-controlled cameras are placed behind the goal to capture the moment of a goal.

This can be considered one of the common "occupational accidents". In order to capture the best moments of the match, photojournalists must be very skillful in choosing their positions. Sometimes, stray balls can fly straight to the working position.

Another rare case was recorded at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, when a female athlete of the Chinese 3x3 basketball team "flew" into the area reserved for photographers.

Her attempt to save the ball broke the lens and camera in half. The product used by the reporter at the event was a Canon EOS R5 with an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III USM lens. According to the Guardian , the total damage to the photographer could be up to $12,000 .

Source: https://znews.vn/may-anh-6000-usd-bi-thoi-bay-vi-mot-cu-sut-post1542438.html