when cameras fall in rivers

[moopy goops]

Damn it, I dropped my 5d II into a river today, it was only submerged for 2 seconds tops and I pulled the battery out of it straight away, now it's in pieces sitting on camois cloths hopefully drying out any dampness. But what else should I do, I terrified of putting a battery in in case it shorts out but I don't know the repair procedure for an event like this. Please Advise me

[Glenn NK]

google it. OR:

There has been considerable discussion on this on Fred Miranda forum - within the past few weeks.

[Paniaa]

Poor thing - good luck. I have seen pictures taken by a digital camera which had been submerged, they were unique & great but not the same as before, colours ran.

[Ken MT]

From Google
How to Save a Digital Camera from Water Damage
If you have accidentally dropped your digital camera in the water, there is still hope that the digital camera will not suffer too much damage if you act quickly. The guideline below utilizes the rice trick for drying out your digital camera. Rice is a fantastic absorbent.

Step 1: Disconnect the Battery

Out of all of the parts within your digital camera, the battery will be the first to be damaged from water. Discard the wet batteries. You will want to place brand new batteries in your digital camera after completing step 3.

Step 2: Remove Any Memory Cards

After you have removed the batteries from your digital camera, you will want to remove any memory cards as soon as possible. If you wait too long, any pictures saved on the memory cards may be lost.

Step 3: Rice

You will want to get a bowl and fill it with any kind of rice. Fill the bowl with enough rice so that you can completely submerge your digital camera in the rice. It can take anywhere from a few days to a week for your digital camera to completely dry out. Do not attempt to turn your digital camera back on until you feel that the entire camera has dried out.

[Melkus]

Try putting it in a bag of dry rice and let it sit for 24 hours or longer. The rice will draw the moisture out they says. I look at it that it can't hurt to try

[Polar01]

When you think is has dried out, put it in a cheese cloth, put all that in a container filled with rice and seal airtight for 2 to 3 days. The rice will help to absorb any moisture and or water vapour.

Cheers:

Allan

[Cantab]

My audiologist once told me about a hearing aid that ended up going for a swim in a pool with its owner. After it had been dried out, the electronics were fine.

None of the above advice suggested removing the lens but I see you wrote that your camera was sitting in pieces so presumably the front of the camera is open.

I hope it works out.

[William W]

If it were mine, after doing the logical first aid you did - I would get it to a Canon Repair Service Centre, ASAP, today preferably if possible.

WW

[dje]

That's bad luck Mat. I think I'd be taking it to a reputable camera service company. They can open it up, inspect and clean it properly if necessary, using such things as ultrasonics.

I remember the second time I used my new camera on a tripod. Something went wrong when I was taking it off and it went falling towards the ground. But I manged to miraculously catch it half way down !

Dave

[wobert]

Not good Mat! I hope it survives for you.
Something I was told long ago- " if it enters the water- kick it deeper, claim the insurance."
I have seen the innards of corroded cameras- not good! and battery leakage is even worse- the acid corrosion just follows every wire and circuit board to total destruction.

[AgfaB2]

I pulled the battery out of it straight away, now it's in pieces sitting on camois cloths hopefully drying out any dampness.

Another important tip: TAKE OUT the BACKUP BATTERY!

Here is how:
"For the EOS 5D, and 5D Mark II cameras use a small Philips screwdriver to unscrew the battery holder screw under the lift-up rubber covers on the side of the camera. Take off the battery holder. Pull out the battery. Replace the battery in the battery holder. Make sure the battery is in the marked +/– orientation. Return the backup battery holder to the camera and tighten the battery holder screw. If the main battery remains in the camera, date and time data will be retained. "

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/...f_batteries.do

Then as first aid the rice or silica gel for a few weeks or straight to the repair shop (preferably with silica gel sachets in the package).

Also check with your household insurance, maybeee it's covered.

I hope it will turn out ok.

Wolf

PS. If you haven't already, take the lens off and leave all covers open. The more holes for the moisture to evaporate the better.

[Ken MT]

You may be lucky
http://blog.planet5d.com/2009/06/two...m-and-survive/

[Digital]

That's bad luck Mat. I think I'd be taking it to a reputable camera service company. They can open it up, inspect and clean it properly if necessary, using such things as ultrasonics.

I remember the second time I used my new camera on a tripod. Something went wrong when I was taking it off and it went falling towards the ground. But I manged to miraculously catch it half way down !

Dave

In this vein, I had a Nikon F4 fall off a tripod that I "thought" was secure. $800.00 later it was repaired. Although I use them I am paranoid about tripods.

Bruce

[Letrow]

Sorry to hear this Mat, that is a nightmare.

I once dropped my Blackberry in the toilet ( I know, but the water was clean at least). Immediately after I thought of ways to save it.
Initially I had put it on the central heating system, but this was too slow for me. I then tried a hair dryer to quickly dry out the visible water. That still left me with a lot of potential water in the phone itself, behind the screen etc.

I thought the oven might be helpful, so put the phone into it and turned the oven on its lowest setting (50 degrees Celsius, which would be around 122 degrees Fahrenheit). I left it there for a couple of hours to give all the moisture a chance to disappear.

I got the idea from my wife, who sometimes dries out orange slices slowly to use as decoration.
The Blackberry recovered (battery and all, although I didn't put the battery into the oven) and has worked for another year and a half without any glitches until it was replaced.

Not sure whether this works on a camera as well (more moving parts and such), but it might work.
No guarantees from me of course

[Clactonian]

In this vein, I had a Nikon F4 fall off a tripod that I "thought" was secure. $800.00 later it was repaired. Although I use them I am paranoid about tripods.

Bruce

Owning a heavy camera I share your paranoia, but ease my mind by using a simple safety 'chain', a short nylon cord and two small spring clips. It should at least stop the camera hitting the ground, unless of course it pulls the tripod over too, but then there is more to grab if that starts to go!

[rahimkardashin]

Its good that you have removed its battery.
You just clean whole camera with a dry cloth. Also just remove its memory card .
And assemble it again letting it dry or atleast after 2 to 3 hours.
There might be now difference in the color resolution of the photographs that you will click now. But hopefully there will not be a big difference.