Ouch, just makes me cringe hearing tragic stories like that. Good luck with the camera, hope its not too serious. Thanks for the info though, the shock proof feature wasn't something I had really considered, but its definitely a plus. Now if someone out there would be kind enough to drop the Tamron from 4 ft, then we can compare the two
I might sound like a clutz, but these are the only 2 incidents I have had and both in the last 6 mo. My Tamron 70-200 2.8 rolled off a bar stool onto the hardwood store while I was quickly changing lenses. I have used it probably 1000 times since then, and there was no damage. (other than the dent in the floor).
The second incident happened last week when I was out shooting photos of the northern lights in the middle of the night. I stopped on a gravel road, set up my tripod and snapped my D5200 and Sigma 17-50 2.8 onto it. I turned around to grab something from my car and heard the crash! Turned on the flashlight and there was my camera/lens face down on the gravel road. I had failed to make sure the ground was level
Anyway, I gingerly lifted everything up and set it back up. noticed gravel and sand smashed into and around the lens cap and hood. I checked the connections between lens and camera, then took of the lens cap. Everything was perfect! I shot the whole evening with after that, and have had no issues.
So.. To me, these lenses have been built to take a bump or two, which hasn't always been the case.