Dropped Camera In Mud :-/

[JessWunman]

Hi,

I didn't soak it, but got splotches of gritty mud on the body, and lens... haven't tried to clean it, yet... don't want to scratch the lens, or get grit inside the camera... would appreciate cleaning advice.

Thanks,
Jess

 

[stanski]

take it to a professional/camera shop, its worth way too much money to try it yourself if you aren't familiar enough with it. at least imo

 

[Patrice]

The neck strap on my camera is around the back of my neck whenever it's out of the bag. Dropped a camera once, won't happen again if I can help it.

As for cleaning, don't know what body you have. I've been using 'sealed' bodies for a while now and when they get particularly dirty (photographing mud rallies with rain and flying mud or para-boarding events wind driven salt spray) I simply rinse them under a gentle stream of fresh water and let dry. Obviously have to keep my pro rubber sealed lens on it or a rubber sealed body cap.

The only time I use protective lens filters is at rainy day mud events otherwise I don't really like to but a piece of glass in front of a $2000 lens.

As for the mud on the front element of your lens it's not that difficult to clean. The coatings on your lenses are pretty tough. Let the mud dry, with the lens pointed down blow away what you can with a rocket blower, again with the lens pointed down use a turkey baster to gently wash the front element with fresh water, let dry, clean with a lens cloth and optical cleanser.

 

[480sparky]

What to do depends on how much water was in the mix. If it's 'normal' mud, then chances are you can just use a damp cloth and maybe some Q-tips and clean it up. It the mud was really soupy, and the camera sat there for a while, you may need to have it serviced. Whether it's worth it or not depends on the camera, of which we know nothing about.

 

[Derrel]

Damp cloths, Q-tips, common sense. Good luck.

 

[JessWunman]

I slipped and hit the mud (flat on my back) before my camera did. Using the neck strap probably wouldn't have prevented this, but it's good advice, anyway. Mine isn't an expensive camera / lens (Canon EOS KISS). So, I'll probably try cleaning it myself, using a combination of your "do-it-yourself" suggestions. I'll be careful, and let you know how it turns out. Thanks for your quick responses... much appreciated!

 

[NikonME]

Once clean, dry it with a good microfiber cloth. Do not microwave it dry on high, trust me.. I'll never do that again.

 

[Ryan L]

Once clean, dry it with a good microfiber cloth. Do not microwave it dry on high, trust me.. I'll never do that again.

I really hope you are kidding!

 

[NikonME]

Once clean, dry it with a good microfiber cloth. Do not microwave it dry on high, trust me.. I'll never do that again.

I really hope you are kidding!

Of course I am.

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Its probably better to get it off while its wet if this happens again. Once its dry you have to add more water to the mix and risk having to use more pressure and force to remove it once its bonded on.

 

[JessWunman]

Since you've been concerned, and kind enough to respond, I'll risk boring you with a detailed account of what I did. By the time I could do any cleaning, the mud had dried... a combination of sand, and clay. The camera wasn't totally covered, but there were splotches on nearly every part of the body, and the lens. First, I used a compressed air can to blow off what I could, which wasn't much. Then, I took a dry paper towel and carefully brushed more off of the body. Next, I went over the body with an old toothbrush (no paste). After that, I took a dental pic (just happened to have one), and carefully cleaned the crevices. Throughout the process I would periodically hit it with more compressed air. Eventually, I dampened paper towel and cleaned the body, drying as I went. I completely wet cotton swabs and carefully daubed the lens just to re-wet the mud and loosen it up, without any wiping. I blasted the wet mud away with compressed air, and repeated this process several times. After I got all visible traces of mud blown off, I used wet swabs to gently wipe the lens, again blowing off all traces of water. Finally, I cleaned the lens normally (breath + lens cloth). After the camera was cleaned, to the best of my ability, I noticed that the LCD display was energized, even though the power switch was "off"! Uh, oh... must have blown water into the circuitry with compressed air. I also noticed fog on the inside of the lens. :-( At this point, things took a turn for the worse. I set the microwave to 50% power for 5 minutes, and... (just kidding ;-) Since it was a sunny, warm, day here in North-central Illinois, I removed the battery, and set the camera in the sun to dry. After about an hour, the lens fog had disappeared and the camera worked normally. I used it to take pics of my grandson at football camp yesterday afternoon. I haven't noticed any problems, so far. Nor, can I see any scratches on the lens. The photos seem normal, and my camera is cleaner than it's been in ages. It was a painful, but valuable experience. Thanks so much for the advice, and for giving me courage to proceed!

 

[shortpants]

I left my rebel in the pouring rain overnight once (don't ask) and I was amazed that it was fine. I will never do that again!

 

[AgentDrex]

Glad to hear that everything worked out for the best...I'm sure that I will encounter that situation at some point and its good to know ahead of time what to expect when it comes to cleaning...