D700 + lens went underwater -- and lived!

rookieshooterrookieshooter Registered Users Posts: 539 Major grins
edited December 7, 2009 in Cameras
Long story short -- was taking pics in an area with fountains at night time with no lighting and accidentally stepped into a 3-foot pool of water while holding onto my tripod with a D700 and 14-24mm lens mounted. Both the tripod and camera went completely underwater for a few seconds as I fell forward. I know! I know!

As soon as I was able to stand up I turned it off, removed the battery and CF card and began cursing myself out.

Over the next two days I just waited for the camera to dry out and placed it about a foot away from a radiator to keep it warm and evaporate the water. I did not try the rice trick.

After about a day i saw a bunch of condensation in the LCD and the viewfinder. I had to remove the outer layers of the viewfinder to get to the inner parts then used a hair dryer and patience basically.

After 2 and a half days I could see no signs of water anywhere, so I fired it up and it came to life!

Now it is working perfectly -- like new, as they say. Pretty amazing. The lens is also functioning perfectly.

The only downside is I have some particles stuck in the viewfinder area. Anybody know how to get rid of them? It's not a big deal if I have to leave them in there. I kind of like to think of them as battle scars :)

Here are some pics I took of the viewfinder while I was waiting for it to dry out:


726897541_iQQNL-M.jpg

726897535_pSaNp-M.jpg

Comments

  • Sil3ntp8nd8Sil3ntp8nd8 Registered Users Posts: 42 Big grins
    edited November 29, 2009
    ugh. sad sad. But it lived! And you should be proud. Though I could never live with something like that.
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  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,132 moderator
    edited November 29, 2009
    Well, Rookieshooter, you did the right thing in turning the unit off, removing the battery and memory card, and thoroughly drying the camera before trying it again. But, and this is a very big but, you are also very, very lucky.

    Whew and thank goodness, you must be living right. thumb.gifclap.gif
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • rookieshooterrookieshooter Registered Users Posts: 539 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2009
    Well it's not like that anymore. All the condensation is gone. there are just one or two small specs in the viewfinder that are very small -- no big deal really.
  • socksiongsocksiong Registered Users Posts: 44 Big grins
    edited November 30, 2009
    could the specks be on the focusing mirror?
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  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,132 moderator
    edited November 30, 2009
    socksiong wrote:
    could the specks be on the focusing mirror?

    Socksiong, welcome to the Digital Grin. clap.gif

    Specs on the primary mirror of an SLR design camera typically should not be sharp, because the image is not focussed at that point. The image is focused at the focus screen and that is the most likely culprit, but it can be on the front surface or the rear surface of the screen.

    At very small apertures and using DOF preview, specs "can" appear from anywhere in the image forming path, and they can potentially appear on the viewfinder. At small apertures the image is primarily formed at the aperture (as it becomes more of a "pinhole"), so even the rear surface of a lens can come into play.

    Good thought.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • gecko0gecko0 Registered Users Posts: 383 Major grins
    edited November 30, 2009
    yes, excellent quick thinking to shut it off ASAP and remove everything. another good trick for electronics is to place the items in a ziploc bag with rice for a few days....the rice acts as a desiccant and can pull out remaining water.

    edit: oops...just noticed you mentioned rice already. :p


    .02
    Canon 7D and some stuff that sticks on the end of it.
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited November 30, 2009
    Didn't you know? Electronics are waterproof! ;) Well, as long as they are powered off and allowed to dry thoroughly! Had 2 feet of water in my basement a couple years ago. Many power tools and appliances submerged for 2 days - Sawzall, drill, a freezer, dehumidifier... all of them survived, I was amazed.
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • PindyPindy Registered Users Posts: 1,089 Major grins
    edited December 1, 2009
    A hardy beast! thumb.gif
  • NateWNateW Registered Users Posts: 137 Major grins
    edited December 6, 2009
    jmphotocraft wrote:
    Didn't you know? Electronics are waterproof! ;) Well, as long as they are powered off and allowed to dry thoroughly! Had 2 feet of water in my basement a couple years ago. Many power tools and appliances submerged for 2 days - Sawzall, drill, a freezer, dehumidifier... all of them survived, I was amazed.
    I'll continue the notes of warning, even though I bet everyone already recognizes them... mwink.gif

    (preface: I'm a mechanical engineer, not an electrical one, and my daily work is totally not about electronics, either. I'm not talking as some super expert here.)
    I understand electronics are more or less waterproof when off, but it's all about durability. Once they've been watered, impurities in the water support a very weird thing where the solder actually grows across gaps between different traces eventually shorting out circuits.

    I've watched time-lapse video of this stuff; very weird. Who'da thunk solder would look kinda like tree roots looking for nourishment?!?


    Luck aside, this a great testament to the D700!
    NateW
    NTWPhotos.com
    Member, Livingston County Photographers Group (http://livcophotographers.com)

    If responding to a picture I've posted: please, provide constructive criticism. Destructive criticism can go take a flying leap.
    If we don't know what could be improved or could have been done differently, we'll never know how to get better at what we're doing.
  • JovesJoves Registered Users Posts: 200 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2009
    jmphotocraft wrote:
    Didn't you know? Electronics are waterproof! ;) Well, as long as they are powered off and allowed to dry thoroughly! Had 2 feet of water in my basement a couple years ago. Many power tools and appliances submerged for 2 days - Sawzall, drill, a freezer, dehumidifier... all of them survived, I was amazed.

    Sawzalls are made to operate wet. rolleyes1.gif I used to be a plumber and, I cant count the amount of times I have used mine after it got drenched and, not dried out. My current one is 15 years old. Got to love Milwakee tools.
    I shoot therefore Iam.
    http://joves.smugmug.com/
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