i fell into the river with my DSL what should I do?

wheresdavid · January 13, 2008

no joke, i slipped and fell into the river with my rebel xti and sigma 10-20. am i SOL? the camera did not appear to be wet but the lens does show signs of moisture.

i am going to saigon tomorrow and will take the camera to cnaon to see if they can do anything but in the mean time is there something i should be doing?

on the brighter signs of things i was wearing my lowe pro compu hiker (??) and when i opened it up, there was no water what so ever inside. luckily i had my new 40d, 24-105 and 135L lens in dry bags!!!

any advice???

thanks
Dave

annaelycm · January 13, 2008

I read somewhere that if you have any of the little packs of silica gel that come in shoeboxes, leather products, etc to keep them dry in shipping, you can put your camera in a bag with them and they will help to draw the moisture out.

Rockporters · January 13, 2008

Dh and Ds have soaked a few electronics, by accident of course, with no ill effects. Dh removes the battery, and the most important step, don't turn it on until you are absolutely positively sure that it's completely dry. Not sure what to do with the lens..

wheresdavid · January 13, 2008

i think i may be lucky with the camera. i did take the battery out and the CF card out immediately and there didn't appear to be any water inside. also when i took the lens off it it was dry inside. i know this doesn't mean that water didn't leak in elsewhere.

i will definately not turn the camera on. acctually i will take it to a canon repair center in saigon.

i am most worried about the lens since it shows sign of moisture. the lens is fogged up form the inside.

I do have some silcon gel packets and will put the lens inside a dry bag with these to hopefully "draw" out the moisture. not sure if i should "seal" the bag or leave it open though.

Dave

Rockporters wrote:

Dh and Ds have soaked a few electronics, by accident of course, with no ill effects. Dh removes the battery, and the most important step, don't turn it on until you are absolutely positively sure that it's completely dry. Not sure what to do with the lens..

ziggy53 · January 13, 2008

It does sound like the camera might be OK and it would be best to dry it completely in front of a furnace vent or close to a radiator (not on a radiator.) You want warm dry air moving across the camera, but not hot air at all.

The lens does sound like it's gotten river water inside and may have to be written off. In my experience, fortunately with other's mishaps, it is not practical or cost effective to disassemble a modern, electronically coupled, lens which has gotten "dirty" water inside. The "film" that develops on the internal glass elements is devastating optically and the corrosive effects of the dirty water on the electronics basically "kills" the lens electrically.

I do have an older Canon AE1 Program that I was able to recover after a competent shop declared it a gonner, but the lens that was on it was never right again, and that is an older non-electronic lens. A more recent example with an electronic coupled lens was a complete loss.

pathfinder · January 13, 2008

If you are in a tropical climate, I would try to find an air conditioned ( dry air ) environment to let your equipment dry in.

Some warm, dry air wouldn't hurt either. ( Hair dryer from a safe distance - just warm - NOT HOT )

If the lens is completely fogged after 12-24 hours, it will definitely need to be serviced, disassembled I suspect. If it was only humidity, not actual water, you can try to dry in out in air conditioning and warmth, and if you have silica get packets for storage, use them as well.

I would not put damp equipment inside any plastic bags UNLESS you have silica gel inside the bag and you cannot find a dry, warm air environment.

Warm, very moist air is your enemy until your lens is completely dry inside.

Water vapor, as from condensation, is less likely to initiate fungus growth than actual tropical river water, which will bring all kinds of water borne life with it. If the inside of your backpack was dry, then I would hope no real liquid water got inside your gear. If real water gets inside your gear, the all bets are off.

Removing the battery and the CF chip were a good start. If there was no water inside the battery compartment or the CF compartment, then your camera sounds like it will survive. If you have real water, not just humidity inside you lens, then I am not very optimistic. L lenses are sealed better - that MIGHT make some difference. The real issue is the water inside your lens just humidity or ingress of water liquid?

A few years, Nightingale ( my spouse ), gluwater, Nick, and I were shooting in upper Michigan on a cold 40 degree F day. We walked into a butterfly arborarium, which was a warm 80+ degrees and quite humid. Everyone immediately could not see through their lens or viewfinder due to condensation on the surface of the lens and the viewfinder glass. I was shooting with a 135 f2 L, and as soon as the condensation evaporated off my lens outer surfaces, I was able to resume shooting. Nightingale was shooting with a 28-135 IS lens which is not a sealed lens, and she had humidity between the elements that took several hours to evaporate, But once it did evaporate the lens was good as new, and has remained so 3 years later.

If you know that real liquid river water has filled the lens, I am afraid you are doomed.

i fell into the river with my DSL what should I do?

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