refurbish salt water camera damage? i was hit by a rogue wave (4'+ water on a long flat beach!) and momentarily tumbled underwater, so both camera and zoom lens had brief immersion in...

cascoly Loc: seattle

i was hit by a rogue wave (4'+ water on a long flat beach!) and momentarily tumbled underwater, so both camera and zoom lens had brief immersion in salt water - can either of these be salvaged? best solution would be someone who could do the work themselves, rather than sending our for repair

any suggestions?

Joe Blow

Whenever your camera gets dunked, turn it off ASAP. Remove the battery ASAP. You want to do this before any water has a chance to get inside. Even if the camera is turned off, any moisture can cause shorting out of the electronics.

If you pull the battery on the camera, that also kills the juice to the lens and protects its electronics.

If you pulled the battery soon enough you saved your camera from electrical damage. So allow the camera sufficient time to dry. That might take a long time. Remove the lens, battery, and card and add gentle heat to speed the process. That could end up more of a problem with the lens than the body. After a couple of weeks I would try the body to see if it works. I would give the lens a little more time.

Now your problem becomes internal corrosion. Salt water contamination will most likely need professional cleaning, especially the lens. Fresh water most likely just needs to be dried out.

Good luck.

ELNikkor

The salt will continue to corrode the innards, and there are tons of tiny creatures in the salt water that are also in the camera now. I'd be surprised if it can recover, but let us know what happens after you dry it out...

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

cascoly wrote:

i was hit by a rogue wave (4'+ water on a long flat beach!) and momentarily tumbled underwater, so both camera and zoom lens had brief immersion in salt water - can either of these be salvaged? best solution would be someone who could do the work themselves, rather than sending our for repair

any suggestions?

Fresh water is questionable. Salt water forget it. I spent over 20 years in camera repair and I can tell you I wouldn't touch it. Every water job I did came back to haunt me. I finally would no longer take them in. I can't think of a single time I had to do a repair under my warranty except cameras involving water damage. Sorry to the bearer of bad news but I'm just being honest. You didn't mention the brand and model so I have no idea how much you have invested but it really doesn't matter.

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

For reclamation of saltwater damaged electronics on the ship we would ensure all power is off - including hidden batteries that keep the date/time current even with main battery removed - open/disassemble as much as you can - wash with vinegar in distilled water and "soft" brush - rinse with distilled water a couple of times - let air dry or put in zip lock with rice - this process should take about a week - examine for dry particles or white powder like substance - if found - repeat process - when clean and no foreign substance is found - reassemble and check operation - some crews would use soap and water and then rinse with vinegar and water - then a final rinse in plain water - basically it's your choice...

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I met a guy whose camera fell in a shallow river of fresh water at below knee depth. He fumbled to retrieve it from the bottom, because the water was too dark. It was a Sony a7 and was unable to repair. It was totally Bricked. Another uhh member, drop his Canon SX50 Bridge camera in a stream of fresh water. His girlfriend removed battery, SD Card and air dried it for a week. It worked. Salt water is worse than fresh water.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

Shellback wrote:

For reclamation of saltwater damaged electronics o... (show quote)

I've heard a lot of times about sealing the equipment in a plastic container with rice. The theory being the rice will suck up the moisture. What you're dealing with with modern equipment and circuit boards is the moisture that causes corrosion between the pins on IC's. Even though everything looks clean on the surface there can still be hidden corrosion under the surface mount components. The bridging between pins will either cause a malfunction in the operation of the camera or a battery drain. Battery drain was the most common complaint I had after doing a water job. I was too busy and just didn't the aggravation. My son drowned a Nikonos that I had bought him for a diving trip in the Bahamas. He failed to plug the flash sync terminal after removing the flash. I took it apart when he returned several days later and threw in the trash and bought him another one. I had bought the equipment used and sold just the flash equipment and it covered what I had invested.

delraypiper Loc: Delray Beach, FL

Check with the people at lens rentals. They had an article a couple of weeks ago about trying to salvage a salt water damaged camera.

You may want to check with your insurance company. I know that Nikon and Canon do not cover water damage for warranty repairs.

Good luck, you'll need it.

ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

Happened to one of my students. She put her camera in a bucket of distilled water after removing the
battery. Several changes of distilled water to rinse out all the salt. Let dry for a week. Worked fine.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

ricardo7 wrote:

Happened to one of my students. She put her camera in a bucket of distilled water after removing the
battery. Several changes of distilled water to rinse out all the salt. Let dry for a week. Worked fine.

She was lucky.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

If you're talking about a salt water dunk you might as well start planning the funeral now.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

Retired CPO wrote:

If you're talking about a salt water dunk you might as well start planning the funeral now.

Basically what I've been saying.

ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

pounder35 wrote:

She was lucky.

Actually, it was less luck and more science. Distilled water
is essentially inert and after rinsing out all of the salts from
the sea water once the distilled evaporates it leaves nothing
behind.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

ricardo7 wrote:

Actually, it was less luck and more science. Distilled water
is essentially inert and after rinsing out all of the salts from
the sea water once the distilled evaporates it leaves nothing
behind.

Time is also a huge factor. I had a customer come in about a week before Christmas one year. I asked what the problem was and they said the camera got wet in Gulf Shores, AL. Salt water of course. I asked when it happened and they said it was last May. I told them to ask Santa for a new camera.

Properframe Loc: US Virginia

pounder35 wrote:

I told them to ask Santa for a new camera.

I would have advised maybe painting is a better hobby.

I found this info very useful at the same time I hope I never need to know. I also suspect exactly what is going to happen if I wade in to any water body since I have this new info to draw from.