Dunked my camera. Any tips?

CraniumDesigns · Dec 31, 2009

damn, just found out my 100-400 isnt sealed. that's gonna be so depressing if it's ruined. instead of doing all these unsure homemade fixes and stuff, shouldnt i just send it off to canon or a certified repair center?

CSR Studio · Dec 31, 2009

CraniumDesigns said:
damn, just found out my 100-400 isnt sealed. that's gonna be so depressing if it's ruined. instead of doing all these unsure homemade fixes and stuff, shouldnt i just send it off to canon or a certified repair center?

Before you send it anywhere you need to get any salt or mud etc off of it. It is causing problems as we speak. You need to flush it ASAP. Let it dry then send it. By not flushing it you might as well put it in the trash right now.

CraniumDesigns · Dec 31, 2009

flush the lens too?

CSR Studio · Dec 31, 2009

CraniumDesigns said:
flush the lens too?

If it got dunked, it needs to be flushed. Use distilled water only and lots of it!

CraniumDesigns · Dec 31, 2009

ok. im going to the store now to buy distilled water and rice.

CSR Studio · Dec 31, 2009

CraniumDesigns said:
ok. im going to the store now to buy distilled water and rice.

Good man. Good luck! Let us know how things go.

jbylake · Dec 31, 2009

At this point, I'd say about a half bottle of Jose Cuervo is your best bet. Dunk yourself in it. Do not drive. Better yet, drink whole bottle. Your head will be so bad in the morning, the whole camera thing will seem trivial.

J.:meh:

Rekd · Dec 31, 2009

jbylake said:
At this point, I'd say about a half bottle of Jose Cuervo is your best bet. Dunk yourself in it. Do not drive. Better yet, drink whole bottle. Your head will be so bad in the morning, the whole camera thing will seem trivial.

J.:meh:

Excellent advice!

CraniumDesigns · Dec 31, 2009

ok, so got the water and rice, should i just open it all up? expose the mirror and sensor and everything? who all thinks im SOL?

CraniumDesigns · Dec 31, 2009

ok, so i put the body fully opened into a tupperware with distilled water, sloshed it around for about 2 minutes, drained it, and now it is soaking in distilled water. the lens is soaking in water as well. i feel nuts for putting electronic equipment into water. please tell me im doing the right thing. argh this sucks.

rallysman · Dec 31, 2009

It's not like you're going to hurt it (more than it already is).
Dilution is the solution to the pollution (In your case, salt)

Since it's game on, rinse it as much as you can, let it air dry a bit, then give it the rice treatment. Be sure to keep fairly fresh dry rice so it will continue to wick the moisture away.

Keep in mind, it's going to take some serious cleaning afterwards, but if it even functions you'll be ahead of the game.

CraniumDesigns · Dec 31, 2009

do i need to let it soak for a period of time in the distilled water before i start drying it?

i will be sending it out to canon next week for sure.

Sam6644 · Dec 31, 2009

time to upgrade

CraniumDesigns · Dec 31, 2009

Sam6644 said:
time to upgrade

yeah, im probably just gonna get a new body. either a t1i for a good crop, or just take the plunge and get the 5d mark 2. the lens is what im really worried about. just got that a few months back. $1400 is not a cheap replacement

rallysman · Dec 31, 2009

CraniumDesigns said:
do i need to let it soak for a period of time in the distilled water before i start drying it?

i will be sending it out to canon next week for sure.

not necessarily

keep rinsing but after 2 or three baths I'm not sure it'll make much more of a difference. Keep in mind, once the distilled water dissolves some salt, it's no longer distilled. Rinsing is better than soaking, but soaking will initially remove more of the contaminant.

If it makes you any more comfortable, I deal with similar situations frequently.
I work at a hospital maintaining medical equipment and part of the inventory is flexible endoscopes. After each procedure they have to be leak tested to make sure there isn't any chance of a porous surface or place to harbor bacteria. If this test is not conducted correctly fluid enters the scope and is not detected until it causes so much damage (corrosion) that it creates an image problem.

9 times out of 10 aeration and contact cleaning keeps the pencil lead sized CCD from being ruined.

Long story short, there's a decent chance that it can be salvaged.