Camera Disaster!!

[Nick Smith]

I was in the garden photographing stuff. I had my Canon EOS 40D with a SIgma 70-300mm lens extended out to 300mm on a tripod. It was quite windy, with some strong gusts. I was over by the garden pond looking for interesting subjects. I turned my back and was looking in the bushes when all of a sudden I heard a SPLOOOSH!. I looked round and there to my complete horror was my prize possession fully submerged in the pond. I quickly grabbed the tripod and hauled the camera out. To my even worse horror water started to gush out of the camera!!! What the hell should I do...???

Anyone had a similar experience? I am trying to dry the camera out. The lens was full of water and the camera has water inside...

Anguished of Suffolk!!

[charlieb]

Get a quote from a professional camera cleaner and weight it up against the price of a new one...

[DavyG]

Hi Nick,

Sorry to hear of your disaster.

Personally, I'd check my household insurance to see if your kit is covered, you may be able to claim for replacements if you are unable to dry them out.

It may also be worth contacting both Canon and Sigma to determine the costs of cleaning, drying, repairing and testing.

I hope you manage to get your kit dried/repaired or replaced.

Dave

[Meta menardi]

Check your insurance. Also, take out any batteries and cards and give it a good chance to dry. It does sound as thought the minimum will be a professional cleaning service.

[charlieb]

Heh, yeah insurance

I wouldn't even bother drying it yourself, maybe if it had fallen into a bowl of distilled water, but pond water will be full of gunk and grim. Not sure how the insurance would work out but I would get it to a cleaner ASAP (is that something the insurers would sort out?) before the circuit boards and contacts start to corrode (removing the battery will help slow this down).

Does anyone know of any specialist cleaning services? I've had a quick look on the web but can't find any?

[Nick Smith]

Thanks all. I live about 50 miles from the Canon authorized service centre in Colchester. I am off work Monday, I think I am going to have to take an emergency drive down there and see what they say. Even worse still I am going away to Norfolk for a week from Wednesday to the coast and now am SLR cameraless! I have an S2is I am going to have to fish it out and get that ready for snapps but bang goes my thoughts on sauntering up and down the dunes photographing wildlife

Insurancewise I have accidental damage or loss contents insurance so hopefully they will cover me for outside in the garden as it is on my property. The bad news is I just called them 2 days ago and told them I am not continuing my cover with them as I have found a more competitive quote. lol


ps battery pack removed. CF card removed. all orifices opened and left to hopefully dry out but as some of you say the electronics and pond water scenario is not a good one....

Now I am going to have to re-think the whole insurance deal if I have to make a claim on my existing policy it will cause the new policy to change and possibly be put on hold. My current policy expires 25th July.

[Doggle Avaddit]

Hi Nick,

I repair electronic equipment for a living. There is no way your camera will ever be made good after such a soaking, it is a Write-off.

[Nick Smith]

Well that answers that question. Now I have to wait until Monday to speak to my insurer as it is not an emergency. Thanks for the advice Doggle.

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by Doggle Avaddit

Hi Nick,

I repair electronic equipment for a living. There is no way your camera will ever be made good after such a soaking, it is a Write-off.

I wouldn't be so hasty as to say this.

I used to take underwater photographs with a Nikonos V, and once had a failure of the main o-ring, (during a live-aboard based diving hol. to the Red Sea), completely flooding the camera with sea water.

No repair facilities out there

I had nothing to lose, so flushed the camera out with buckets of fresh water to get rid of the salts, and left it on deck to dry.

Replaced the o-ring and dived with it the following day fully operational. I kept and used the camera for a further three years without any further problems.

So, what I'm saying is flush it, & dry it, you may just be surprised.

Regards,
Mike.

[Doggle Avaddit]

Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad

I wouldn't be so hasty as to say this.

I used to take underwater photographs with a Nikonos V, and once had a failure of the main o-ring, (during a live-aboard based diving hol. to the Red Sea), completely flooding the camera with sea water.

No repair facilities out there

I had nothing to lose, so flushed the camera out with buckets of fresh water to get rid of the salts, and left it on deck to dry.

Replaced the o-ring and dived with it the following day fully operational. I kept and used the camera for a further three years without any further problems.

So, what I'm saying is flush it, & dry it, you may just be surprised.

Regards,
Mike.

I believe the Nikonos was a film camera.


Modern digital cameras are packed with motors, tiny IC's (Processors, memory, displays, CCD sensor chip etc) having 128 pins and more on a 1cm square piece of multi layer circuit board. Any circuit board corrosion can have catasrophic consequences - if not now, but certainly in the near future. You are talking a massive amount of connections that need to be reliably maintained, or the camera is toast.

What you could get away with in the old days is certainly not what you could get away with today.



Nick, by all means have a go at drying out your camera, but if it was mine I wouldn't bother. But, you have nothing to lose by trying.

Please don't pay anyone else to have a go at your financial risk.