… or so they say. Well after reading about Lon Overacker’s and Rick Lundh’s camera mishaps, I thought I too would add my camera’s calamity story to the mix. I didn’t really consult with my beloved Sony R1 about the arrangement, rather it just decided to “cash in its chips” all by itself. Not that my stupidity didn’t have any thing to do with it though.
The other day, on my way home I decided to swing by the beach and take a few shots. Unfortunately, I only had my small travel tripod with me and the wind was fairly strong. After placing my gear and extra clothing up and out of the incoming tide, I decided to compose a few shots up on some of the nearby rock outcroppings. Well a few gusts of wind later, I noticed my beanie had blown off its perch. So this is where it gets real good… or stupid depending on your frame of reference. I decide in all my infinite wisdom to quickly race over and place the beanie back up on the rock. Well just a few paces into the mission I get this realization like “I just locked the keys in the car” feeling. I think to myself… maybe I shouldn’t have left the camera and tripod unattended. Of course being the idiot I am I carried on (no one likes a quitter)… for the roundtrip would only be a couple of seconds. Just incase you might be wondering… a couple of seconds also just so happens to be the exact amount of time a camera has to be submerged in salt water to render it inoperable.
Well I did race home, take out the battery and submerge the camera in distilled water and a final soaking of isopropyl alcohol, as a last ditch effort. But to be honest, I don’t expect much when and if it fully dries, in a few days or so. Now I must consider if it is even worth sending it in for repairs, buying a used one (since it has been discontinued), buying a new SLR, or possibly waiting to see if Sony announces a new R2 version in the next month or so. I’ve really come to enjoy the experience of working with the R1. The live preview, tack sharp CZ fixed lens, and even the slow write speeds that cause me to slow down and focus on the scene in front of me, makes for a wonderful little camera. Not perfect by any means, but all around a very enjoyable camera to work with… especially shooting landscapes.
On the bright side, I should have more time to comment on others work now that I won’t be out shooting or processing for a while. Oh, and I won’t be able to post any more HDR Frankenstein images either.
Sad to hear about your story, Eric. These things can be really frustrating. I hope you are back in action soon.
Posted by Richard Wong on August 26, 2007 at 10:50 PM
I soaked my camera two months ago by doing something similar and it has been off and on performance-wise since. I did a trip last month with few issues but since then I have had no functional manual mode. Not really a big deal though except for not having much control over the ambient light to flash output ratio.
That was the 2nd soaking I've done to my camera and both times I just removed the lens and let the camera air out for a few days until things gradually start coming back on. For that reason I think submerging the camera in distilled water and alcohol might have been a little hasty, but if it works then more power to you.
Good luck.
Posted by Lon Overacker on August 27, 2007 at 4:07 AM
Eric,
I'm not sure if I'm more sorry that I found this post, or more sorry about your camera... Man, that really sucks. It wouldn't be real hard for someone to make me start feeling like I started a really bad trend here....
I just thought of something.... (and this could be worth a patent..) for those of you who've been around and familiar with an office environment, remember when office chairs with rollers only had 3, maybe 4 legs for support? Along comes OSHA, lawsuits and stuff and ever since every office chair has a minimum of 5 legs for support - so they won't tip over. Perhaps we need to invent a tripod with 5 legs instead of 3!!! Hey, I think I'm on to something... call it the SpiderPod or something... hmmm.
Seriously, sorry to hear about this Eric. However, next time you mention my name, make sure you're announcing you won the lottery.
Best of luck getting back on your photographic feet. I'll be on eBay tommorrow in hopes of acquiring a new camera myself.
Lon
Posted by Paul Mc Cann on August 27, 2007 at 4:43 AM
Re submerging in distilled water. I imagine that was an effort to remove the salty sea water which would lead to heavy corrosion.
My grandson tipped a bottle of water over his mother's Minolta point and shoot, Removing the battery and cf card and setting the camera on a towel on a radiator overnight cured it fine.
Sorry to hear about your camera misfortune! I've left mine in precarious positions before, but fortunately it has kept itself upright! Do you have it insured by chance? If it's insured on a rider, you may have coverage.
I was literally in the middle of nowhere on my vacation ... an entire day's travel by canoe to get out to the nearest human being and even then nowhere near the park boundary. I was booked and commited for the entire week. I had my camera set up on a log that was more rotten than I thought. It gave way under my tripod and the camera came down hard on a rock and then bounced into the creek. The manufacturer guarranteed it really tough and water proof as long as the "weather sealed line of lenses" was used but I had never put it to the test except that I never worried about using it in the rain ... I picked it out of the creek, shook it off and continued shooting - no problems One big scar on the CF compartment door.
Richard, I probably should have mentioned I could see salt water in the lens and pour out of the camera when I picked it up out of the water. That was why I took such drastic measures. Time will tell if it made any difference I suppose.
Lon, I like your invention idea, but something tells me R&D would better spent creating a drug to prevent individual stupidity... well at least in my case. Oh well, I think this was Mother Nature's way of telling me "to go out and get yourself a new camera. You've earned it!"
Discussion
7 repliesThe other day, on my way home I decided to swing by the beach and take a few shots. Unfortunately, I only had my small travel tripod with me and the wind was fairly strong. After placing my gear and extra clothing up and out of the incoming tide, I decided to compose a few shots up on some of the nearby rock outcroppings. Well a few gusts of wind later, I noticed my beanie had blown off its perch. So this is where it gets real good… or stupid depending on your frame of reference. I decide in all my infinite wisdom to quickly race over and place the beanie back up on the rock. Well just a few paces into the mission I get this realization like “I just locked the keys in the car” feeling. I think to myself… maybe I shouldn’t have left the camera and tripod unattended. Of course being the idiot I am I carried on (no one likes a quitter)… for the roundtrip would only be a couple of seconds. Just incase you might be wondering… a couple of seconds also just so happens to be the exact amount of time a camera has to be submerged in salt water to render it inoperable.
Well I did race home, take out the battery and submerge the camera in distilled water and a final soaking of isopropyl alcohol, as a last ditch effort. But to be honest, I don’t expect much when and if it fully dries, in a few days or so. Now I must consider if it is even worth sending it in for repairs, buying a used one (since it has been discontinued), buying a new SLR, or possibly waiting to see if Sony announces a new R2 version in the next month or so. I’ve really come to enjoy the experience of working with the R1. The live preview, tack sharp CZ fixed lens, and even the slow write speeds that cause me to slow down and focus on the scene in front of me, makes for a wonderful little camera. Not perfect by any means, but all around a very enjoyable camera to work with… especially shooting landscapes.
On the bright side, I should have more time to comment on others work now that I won’t be out shooting or processing for a while. Oh, and I won’t be able to post any more HDR Frankenstein images either.
Cheers!
~Eric
That was the 2nd soaking I've done to my camera and both times I just removed the lens and let the camera air out for a few days until things gradually start coming back on. For that reason I think submerging the camera in distilled water and alcohol might have been a little hasty, but if it works then more power to you.
Good luck.
I'm not sure if I'm more sorry that I found this post, or more sorry about your camera... Man, that really sucks. It wouldn't be real hard for someone to make me start feeling like I started a really bad trend here....
I just thought of something.... (and this could be worth a patent..) for those of you who've been around and familiar with an office environment, remember when office chairs with rollers only had 3, maybe 4 legs for support? Along comes OSHA, lawsuits and stuff and ever since every office chair has a minimum of 5 legs for support - so they won't tip over. Perhaps we need to invent a tripod with 5 legs instead of 3!!! Hey, I think I'm on to something... call it the SpiderPod or something... hmmm.
Seriously, sorry to hear about this Eric. However, next time you mention my name, make sure you're announcing you won the lottery.
Best of luck getting back on your photographic feet. I'll be on eBay tommorrow in hopes of acquiring a new camera myself.
Lon
My grandson tipped a bottle of water over his mother's Minolta point and shoot, Removing the battery and cf card and setting the camera on a towel on a radiator overnight cured it fine.
Bob
Lon, I like your invention idea, but something tells me R&D would better spent creating a drug to prevent individual stupidity... well at least in my case.