70-200mm f2.8 dropped in tide pool

Hi All,

Yeah, I know. You haven't seen my name in awhile, but I have an important question for you.

One the participants in my workshop dropped her brand new Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS in a tide pool today. Completely submerged, sand under both the focus and zoom rings.

I've got her lined out with the repair form for the Canon Repair Service Center, but don't know how to handle the fact that the lens is now sitting with corrosive sea water residue in it. Should she thoroughly rinse it off with fresh water? Or will another dunking add insult to injury?

Thanks!!

Jerry

Jerry, fresh water can't heart over sea water. Just don't add any power to the lens - ie attach to camera

Salt water will ruin it fast...

You know i dropped my 24-70 2.8 in a small stream while climbing out of the creek, in coat pocket, leg lifted and lens came out, big lesson for me, and anyway, Canon said it couldnt be fixed. Obviously fresh water, not salt..... hope things work out and if not, and unfortunate wall hanger for a lesson learned.

Nothing to lose at this point... get the salt rinsed out of there ASAP. It probably is a goner which is a shame, but if it is savable, you don't want any salt or sand in there.

I just spoke with her over the phone. Apparently she had the lens wrapped in a clear plastic produce bag with the top rolled over, a filter and both lens caps on (I wasn't with her when she dropped it). The lens didn't get soaked, but SOME water got in the bag. When she pulled the rear lens cap off, it was dry inside. She did carefully rinse the lens off when she got home (several hours after the incident), but there is obviously a little sand under both the focus and zoom rings.

Maybe it's not as bad as it originally sounded?

Jerry

A quick rinse with distilled water, followed by a rinse of 50/50 distilled water/alcohol is my advice. The alcohol helps the last rinse of distilled water evaporate. This is pretty standard procedure for rescuing electronics that have been submerged - I'm guessing that it would work with a lens too.

My photography instructor told me once that the best thing to do if your equipment drops to water is to quickly put it into destilled water and keep it there until you take it to a repair shop. The reason is that once you expose it to the air then the air causes the metal and electronics to rust and the damage becomes permanent. If you keep it in destilled water at least you have some slight chance to save it, otherwise it's surely gone.
Fortunately I never had to try it, but this is what that instructor told me.