wrk1234 Loc: Russellville, Arkansas

Unfortunately, while trying to get a good view of a waterfall, I managed to fall into a small creek, with my camera, of course. The camera appears to be working BUT it si slow to turn on and it is impossible to change the ISO and speed. It will take pictures however. Has anyone been able to resurrect their camera in this kind of condition, scan Canon possible repair it, or am I doomed to buy a new body?

Ronsh Loc: Floresville,Tx.

What if you took your battery out, put the camera in rice for few days to dry it out. I would not use it all till I did that. Any moisture in the camera could short something. Just me thinking out loud.
If you have to buy another camera which would you buy another Mkiii or the new mkiv?

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Here is something you can try. Remove the battery and cards. Leave the little doors open. Remove the lens and do not cap the body. Open the little flaps for the various plugs. Put it in your refrigerator overnight in an area where it will get good air flow. Open a large zip lock bag and put it in the frig also. Refrigerated air is extremely dry. It will draw moisture out of your camera. Whether or not that will do the trick, I don't know. I have done this with industrial computer modules with good success. Before removing the camera from the frig put it in the bag and seal it until it has several hours to come fully to room temp. Don't rush it. The exterior of the camera will warm quickly. The interior, not so quick. Any cold surface can accumulate condensation and you would be right back where you started. The cold will not harm your camera in any way. After it has warmed up, try it. If the problem still exists then I think your best bet would be to call Canon. The water bath may have shorted out a component and just removing the moisture will not fix that, but it's worth trying.
DO NOT put rice or any type of loose absorbent in your camera. The dust and particles will be a real problem.
Good Luck!

wrk1234 Loc: Russellville, Arkansas

If I have to buy a new camera, I will probably go on and get another Mark III. I am guessing that a Mark IV will be around $3500. A new Mark III is in the $2500 ballpark. Since I am NOT a professional (or anywhere close), I can't think of what I need from a Mark IV that would be worthy $1000 to me.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I follow a for-sale site for high-end Canon equipment. The 5dIII prices are dropping below $1400 where now could get two used for less than the price of the new version ...

Ronsh Loc: Floresville,Tx.

Could you give us the site!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Arthur Morris - Birds as Art

The current for sale list is: http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/used-photography-gear-for-sale/ << be sure to scroll down to near the bottom where a list of 2015 successful sales are listed. You'll probably be amazed at the gear being moved and the prices ...

I recommend getting his newsletter. Great stuff everyday. He'll mention new gear for sale maybe once ever week or so, but if you're watching for something specific, I'd monitor the board rather than just your inbox as it is first come, first served.

Ronsh Loc: Floresville,Tx.

Thank you

MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

thanks for the info.

bajadreamer Loc: Baja California Sur

I agree; great site. If you are interested in used gear off this site, be aware that often it sells within hours of being listed. The last 5D III listed, I agreed to buy it within 30 minutes of its listing. Was not first bid and I did not get it. Artie encourages "sell it quick" prices.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I'd Canon call first. I'm sure they know all relevant information and procedures. They'll also give you an estimated cost of repair services. (if needed) My 5D MIII's original cost was $3400 in 2013. Paid it off with an Amazon cc card.(no interest - 18 months). I'd certainly be willing to spend a couple of hundred to have it repaired/serviced by Canon techs.
Mark

AntonioReyna Loc: Los Angeles, California

The Canon repair facility in Irvine, California is super. I think they will check it out and give you an estimate, then you can decide. Here in LA area, the 5DIII prices are way cheaper than what they were, but not for $1,400, more like $1,800 or $1,900. I also paid top dollar for one when they came out. Good luck in taking care of the problem.

thelazya Loc: Wendell, MN

If you have already turned it on, you are too late, never ever turn on an internally wet electronic item until it has been dried completely

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

A photographer dressed in regular clothing, using a Sony A7, dropped his camera in a swimming pool at a pool party. A young man with swimming trunks dove into the pool to retrieve it. The camera was completely soaked and rendered unrepairable by Sony. He bought a replacement Sony A7r. Non-water proof cameras don't mix well with water. Cheap and expensive ones.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I'm sure that waterfall was freshwater.... which is a good thing.

If it had been saltwater, the camera would certainly be toast! Canon service dept. would not even look at it

But, gotten wet with freshwater, it's possible the camera (and lens, I assume) is recoverable.... probably a 50/50 chance.

HOWEVER... you need to stop using it immediately. In fact, you should have powered it down and removed the batteries immediately when it happened, not re-installed the batteries and powered it back up until absolutely certain it's dry inside and out! Moisture causes shorting that can destroy electronic parts inside the camera. Since you are seeing some faults, it's likely there is some damage now, from failing to do this (and there might have been, regardless).

DO NOT put the camera in rice to dry it out. You'll end up with all sorts of dust in all sorts of places you really don't want it! The rice trick works okay with phones... not with DSLRs!

I also have never heard of putting a camera in a refrigerator and wouldn't do that. I would think that will only slow the drying process a lot. No, refrigerated air isn't particularly dry.... and lots of moisture is trapped inside a refrigerator, from all the food items in there. Air-conditioned air is de-humidified and can be quite dry.

Just put the camera aside to dry for a few days. Some silica desiccant nearby can help (but in a container of some sort, a packet or a tin, to prevent dust). If ambient humidity is high, I'd seal it up inside a clean plastic bag along with desiccant. Remove the lens and don't cap, open the memory card and battery doors to allow air to circulate inside as best possible.

Yes, I've done this successfully. I had two cameras, lenses and flashes get badly soaked in a sudden, heavy rainstorm. I immediately turned everything off and removed the batteries... then did what I recommended above, periodically using a hair dryer nearby, too, set on low temp (not blowing directly on the gear). I live in N. Calif. where it's relatively low humidity, so I didn't feel I needed to use desiccant and seal the gear in a bag. After several days drying, I rather nervously reinstalled the batteries and turned on the power... Everything worked normally and continued to do so!

But, because you have already seen some problems, I suspect you'll need to send the camera to someone who will open and repair it. It can be Canon (email them first... they might refuse to work on a camera that's gotten badly wet), or an independent repairer who is closer to you. So, give it a few more days to dry out and see if it starts to work properly again.... if not, time to get it repaired. Hard to say if it's going to be practical to do so or not... until someone determines exactly what's wrong and needs replacement.