My lens took a swim :(

[Dweller]

I was out yesterday at Silver Falls State Park and while standing on a bridge my 28mm favoritest lens EVER went for a swim

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo *breathes* ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

:stun:

:-(

It was in the water for about a minute when I was able to pull it out but I see 2 small drops of water inside of it.

First off, have I mentioned I love this lens?

Second, I will be going Digital toward the beginning of next year and will be looking at new lenses for that camera (I use old FD mount Canon right now)

Is there something I can do myself to dry it out or am I looking at professional service? I will be focusing on Digital for the next couple of years but know that at some point I am going to want o go back to film from time to time and that lens has just been too good to me.

I put the lens on the camera and it was like looking through a fog bank. I put it back in the bag and

The lens is a Canon 28mm 2.8(?) if that helps with ideas on what I can do.

Please TPF, you're my only hope.

:hail:

 

[Rob]

There are two options - get a lens rebuild done or try and dry it manually. I would attempt to dry it manually by leaving it somewhere warm and dry with absorbing material. Preferably buy a bulk quantity of silica gel and surround it with them.

http://www.ekmpowershop.com/ekmps/shops/packaging/index.asp?function=DISPLAYPRODUCT&productid=617

Good luck!

Rob

 

[Big Mike]

I'd see if it will dry out on it's own. Like Rod said, warm dry and silica gel will help. I've also heard that if you get a chance to leave it out under direct noonday sun (shining down into lens)...that might help dry it out. Or maybe that was to combat mold...which you might have to do, if you don't get it dry soon.

 

[DocFrankenstein]

It's cheaper to get a new one. I have the same lens and they're very common today.

Or get 28/2.8 in the EF mount for 160 or something

 

[Paul Ron]

I have an oven that has a pilot light and maintains a temp of around 100° but this climate is very dry. I've dried wet equipment this way before and it works great.

Otherwise, put it in a plastic bag wrapped in dry paper towels, then put in a few silcica packs. Keep changing the silica packs often or bake em out since these will absorb the moisture out.

If the couple drops are only in the front or rear element, remove the elements and wipe it out.

 

[santino]

I'd try to disasseble it, I don't know your lens but most manual lenses can be very easily disassembled. probably you could screw out the whole lens block and let it dry out. keep in mind that if the water is between the lens block and the aperture you aperture blades can get rusty and you would have to disassemble them too and clean them in lighter fluid etc. and thats really s**t. difficult to reasseble. try it if you want to or let it dry like mentioned above or get a new one if they aren't too expensive.

 

[fightheheathens]

keep in mind that unless this was milliq water (double distilled) there will be minerals in the water that will be left behind on your lens. (they wont evaporate with the water)

unfortunatly the chance of minerals being in river water is pretty high and if you just let the water dry up, it will probably leave spots on your lens.

 

[Dweller]

I may have been able to save it!

I put it on the back of the monitor to give it a nice gentle heat source toi help with the evaporation and when I checked this morning the water drops were gone! I cant see any spots or anything, but its a bit dark in here and my eyesight is not stellar these days but I will give it a closer look after work.

Thanks for the tips guys. I hope to never need them again, but its nice to know that a submerged lens is not (always) the end of the world.