I foolishly forgot my lens was tucked underneath my t-shirt pondside, and when Ipicked up my shirt the lens rolled into the pond - I got it out quick but not after it had submerged. I had a UV filter on the front and the cap on the back - so at least the back got dry - but there is an awful lot of water on the INSIDE of the glass. What to do what to do . . .
This is what I've heard.... but try at your own risk!
First, if it was salt water, you're really screwed, you need to rinse it with fresh water first, asap.
Then, turn on your oven to a low setting, 100 degrees or so I think, leave the door open, and stick the lens in there. Basically this creates a makeshift dehydrator. 100 degrees is no warmer than a hot day, so the temp shouldn't hurt the lens. Let it sit in there for a while (ie. 24 hrs or more)...
Then let it sit in a warm dry place for 1-2 weeks, until you're very sure every drop of water is gone. Only then, should you try to use it again.
Freshwater - thank goodness. I dunked my cell phone (which was in my pocket) in salt water and it only got wet - not even soaked and it certainly doesn't work the way it used to!
Posted by Peter Conway on July 30, 2009 at 10:06 PM
I thought I was the only one. I just dropped camera and lens into the drink. The lens was 2 weeks old. I sent it to Canon and it cannot be fixed. Luckily after my last klutz move I got everything insured.
They could fix the camera body but it was expensive. I joined CPS to save money.
Peter
Posted by Bryan Maltais on July 31, 2009 at 12:57 AM
Luke, 7 years ago I slipped on some slippery rocks into a water hole with my camera around my neck. The camera was toast, but the lens just dried out after a week of sitting and works perfectly to this day.
The oven thing should work just fine. I've tried it personally on a lens and a camera body! :) . I wrote an entry on my blog for that http://younesbounhar.com/gear/save-the-camera/
My wife washed my cell phone too and that never worked again either. I won't even tell you about my poor passport. On my housing someone didn't close the door properly and pinched an o ring. Ah, the never ending struggle of man and the sea.
Posted by Steve Sieren on July 31, 2009 at 3:03 AM
I have heard about the oven thing from the last incident. Can I get a pie w/ that baked lens j/k
The oven won't get any sand out which most lenses are sealed well enough to keep out all other debris. My guy charges about $150 to clean it out. Guessing he just sends it out to Canon with the amount of time it takes. Per lenses ranging from 700 to a 1000 bucks.
My oven doesn't go so low, but since it's gas, the pilot light heat might be just fine.
I've dunked several over the years and had the best luck laying it on the counter with the rear (both caps off) facing toward a hair dryer on low heat or no heat. The sound of the dryer gets obnoxious after a couple of hours, but it takes at least that long to move enough air to do the evap job. Beware of the long term effect that the water might have on your shutter leaves. You might get it dry enough to work okay now, but long term those leaves could begin to stick.
The bigger view is to pack good insurance that you're sure covers such things. We damage/ruin/lose/wear out lots of gear in our pro use, but our insurance has always come through. That's priceless.
Posted by Austin Booth on July 31, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Yeah just like everyone else has said, try and get it entirely dry as soon as possible. If you are lucky everything will work fine once its dried out. If you aren't so lucky you could end up with mold in your lens which isn't worth the cost to fix on a kit lens.
My F4 is at the bottom of Timothy Lake in OR.
My first 70-300 bounced down a cliff at Yosemite, thanks to the child who ran into me and almost knocked ME over too.
We should start an ongoing thread of "Mishaps" so we can all co-miserate.
Luke, i hope this turns out ok for you..
Discussion
12 replies(btw, did your underwater housings fail?)
First, if it was salt water, you're really screwed, you need to rinse it with fresh water first, asap.
Then, turn on your oven to a low setting, 100 degrees or so I think, leave the door open, and stick the lens in there. Basically this creates a makeshift dehydrator. 100 degrees is no warmer than a hot day, so the temp shouldn't hurt the lens. Let it sit in there for a while (ie. 24 hrs or more)...
Then let it sit in a warm dry place for 1-2 weeks, until you're very sure every drop of water is gone. Only then, should you try to use it again.
Good luck!
They could fix the camera body but it was expensive. I joined CPS to save money.
Peter
The oven won't get any sand out which most lenses are sealed well enough to keep out all other debris. My guy charges about $150 to clean it out. Guessing he just sends it out to Canon with the amount of time it takes. Per lenses ranging from 700 to a 1000 bucks.
So the oven thing works on a camera body also.
I've dunked several over the years and had the best luck laying it on the counter with the rear (both caps off) facing toward a hair dryer on low heat or no heat. The sound of the dryer gets obnoxious after a couple of hours, but it takes at least that long to move enough air to do the evap job. Beware of the long term effect that the water might have on your shutter leaves. You might get it dry enough to work okay now, but long term those leaves could begin to stick.
The bigger view is to pack good insurance that you're sure covers such things. We damage/ruin/lose/wear out lots of gear in our pro use, but our insurance has always come through. That's priceless.
My first 70-300 bounced down a cliff at Yosemite, thanks to the child who ran into me and almost knocked ME over too.
We should start an ongoing thread of "Mishaps" so we can all co-miserate.
Luke, i hope this turns out ok for you..
Sandy r