Saving a wet camera/lens

I do a lot of photos on or near the water so I know I'm eventually going to get a dunking with my camera. I've seen some discussions on what to do with a camera dunked in salt water but what about fresh water? My initial reaction would be to remove the battery first without touching the on-off switch. Then take out the memory card and dismount the lens. Finally leave everything open in a warm, clean room and let it dry out before shipping it to the repair center. Any other suggestions?

Saltwater is a half stop toward the recycling bin. Freshwater will depend a lot on the details- how deep, how long, and was it on or off. I've dunked cameras in freshwater before and managed to revive some. Best for me is to open all ports on the camera and place it for hours in front of a hair dryer set on no heat and low air flow. Don't get your hopes up, but sometimes it works.

Realistically, even with clean fresh water, your camera is probably not long for this world. It may revive, but in the long run, water into the circuits or lens motors is just not a good thing. Toss in muddy pond scum or worse, salt, and you have a major problem.

Hank's advice is good, if there is any hope for the camera. But I wouldn't trust the gear for anything really critical afterwards.

As a long time underwater photographer, I have seen many housing floods and had a couple myself - it's inevitable. In my biz, the answer is flood insurance.

Hank's advice is right on. I have seen compact cameras that have been completely submerged in saltwater actually come back to life by soaking in fresh water then following Hank's steps. dSLRs, not so much Again, how deep and how long is the key.

Taking the battery out is the best first step for sure. After that, it's mostly up to the camera gods.

In freshwater, saving is definitely a good possibility. The first thing to do is to turn the camera off and take out the battery. I then open every possible door, trap in the camera and bake it for 2-3 days at 100 deg F in an open oven. I have done this twice: once with a Nikon D70 then with a D200. Both have survived perfectly. In fact I have shot no less than 6000 shots since the dunking of the D200, even my macro 105 lens survived and benefited from the baking...

I stepped in a deep hole in a swamp with a point-n-shooter in my pocket. It was drowned. I sent it to Canon, and whle it was away I bought a replacement. The repair estimate was more than the replacement, so I just had them return it to me. About three months later, I put a battery in it and it worked just fine. So, the odds might be againt you but, there's always a possibility of resurrection.

Step One: get personal property insurance

Step Two: have major mishap involving water

Step Three: collect insurance

No joke, 7 years ago in the Smoky Mountains I was framing a slippery water fall before I shot the scene, and I slipped right off a huge, moss covered boulder, directly into a deep water hole. My camera immediately sparked, signaling its death. I had to bring the rig to a camera store to certify to my insurance company that it was indeed dead. I got a check pronto.

Unfortunately I have a lot of experience with this. Remove the lens and everything else as soon as you get home and let it dry out for a week in a dry environment. Chances are that you will be able to take pictures at some point but some features might only work intermittenly. It is a crap shoot either way.