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1D dropped into the sea - advice anyone

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steve1984

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Hi, one of my mates dropped his 1DII into about 1ft of seawater at the weekend. When he pulled it back out of the water, the camera still appeared to be working (the LCD was still on) but he immediately switched it off and hasn't used it since - he wants to wait a few more days until it completely dries out. He was using a 50/1.8 at the time but reckons the mirror chamber was still dry after the incident.

However, the buttons/dials now have sand in them (they are feel gritty to turn/press) and moisture has also formed on the inside of main LCD protector - although that too is drying out slowly.

He's now wondering what to do with it:

1) sell it as-is on eBay (SOMEONE is bound to buy it, but for how much?)

2) get it repaired at somewhere like this place: http://www.fixationuk.com/repairs.htm

3) Take it apart and try and clean it himself (this assumes the shutter is still OK I guess)

Anyway, just wondered if anyone's had a similar accident and if so, what did you do?

:)
 
I realize that the 1 series is weather sealed, but it's not waterproof. If it was dropped in freshwater, there might be some hope. But my guess is that this camera will be a write off. Even if it is still working, the corrosive effects of salt will remain at work on the electronics.

It's a tough call from a distance, but if I saw my camera completely submerged in the sea, I would not waste any money on repairs.
--
Gary
http://garyjean.zenfolio.com/
 
It could have been salvageable with the right first aid, but he's probably lost his chance by now. This is what he should have done:

1. Remove all batteries immediately.
2. Rinse the camera thoroughly with fresh water.
3. Drop the camera into a bucket of fresh water for holding

4. As soon as possible, rinse it again with distilled water and drop it into a bucket of distilled water for holding.

5. Get it to a service department--still in the water. Let them dismantle and dry it.

--
RDKirk
'TANSTAAFL: The only unbreakable rule in photography.'
 
I have heard that one should wash a camera that has fallen in seawater with fresh water, but I didn't know that you were supposed to keep it in water for holding.

Just to get this clear if it ever happens to me.

So after you clean with fresh water you should put camera in distilled water. Completely submereged? and for how long?
--
Jay
Equipment in Profile

 
How long was it submerged? If it was for just a few seconds, I probably wouldn't worry about it. Just take it and rinse it off under a faucet then dry it good with a towel. Remove batteries and place in a freezer. The freeze cycle will pull the moisture out of the seals. When removing from the freezer (after a day or so) put it inside a large ziplock bag to prevent condensation from forming (and pulling moisture back inside the camera). Once the camera is room temperature wipe it down, paying close attention to all accessable seals, with a moist towel and Q-tips.

The weather sealing on these cameras are remarkable. Unless there was a defective O-ring, the camera will survive nicely. In fact, it would take a couple of "holes" in the camera for more than a dribble of water to make it inside.

The L-series lenses are also sealed as well as the lens-body attachment. Even if the lens isn't sealed, it should have prevented any water from reaching the mirror chamber. Look inside the mirror chamber, though. If you see a white film (salt) on anything, you've got troubles. If it's clean, you should be good to go. The lens, if it isn't sealed, is probably toast, though.

This is a high-end professional camera designed to take severe abuse and be exposed to torrential rains and sand. (jungle and desert). A dunking in the ocean for a few seconds shouldn't be a problem if all the seals held up.
 
ekn said:
The L-series lenses are also sealed as well as the lens-body
attachment. Even if the lens isn't sealed, it should have
prevented any water from reaching the mirror chamber. Look inside
the mirror chamber, though. If you see a white film (salt) on
anything, you've got troubles. If it's clean, you should be good
to go. The lens, if it isn't sealed, is probably toast, though.
Click to expand...
His lens was not sealed (a regular 50/1.8) but the mirror box was fine and dry. The odd thing is that the back/rear of the camera somehow bore the brunt of the dunking - the cover on the colour LCD has water/moisture on the underside of it and most of the buttons on the top and back panel feel gritty to operate.
ekn said:
This is a high-end professional camera designed to take severe
abuse and be exposed to torrential rains and sand. (jungle and
desert). A dunking in the ocean for a few seconds shouldn't be a
problem if all the seals held up.
Click to expand...
 
He did have insurance didn't he? If not maybe he will on the next camera.

--
---
****************************************

'Giving a camera to Diane Arbus is like putting a live grenade in the hands of a child.'
Norman Mailer (b. 1923), U.S. author. Newsweek (New York, 22 Oct. 1984)
 
Look don't waist time asking us and I bet most people hear are giving you valid suggestions but not proven solutions. Call your service centre as quickly as possible ask them for advice. For sure at the least they'll do a full service costing around £250.00 but that's still cheeper than £4500 for a new one.
 
RDKirk said:
It could have been salvageable with the right first aid, but he's
probably lost his chance by now. This is what he should have done:

1. Remove all batteries immediately.
2. Rinse the camera thoroughly with fresh water.
3. Drop the camera into a bucket of fresh water for holding
4. As soon as possible, rinse it again with distilled water and
drop it into a bucket of distilled water for holding.
5. Get it to a service department--still in the water. Let them
dismantle and dry it.
Click to expand...
Do you have first-hand experience with this? Keeping the camera in a bucket of water seems a risky thing to do...
--
Misha
 
Here is the correct procedure:
1. Recover camera from 1 ft of water
2. Re-position camera in 100 ft of water (or deeper)
3. Call insurance company
4. Replace camera

Salt water will have already done its damage, particularly with battery in place. There is no way to repair this camera.
Will B
 
TAKE THE BATTERY OUT!!

Then put it in a ziplock bag to keep it from drying out more and send it in for repair.

DIPics
steve1984 said:
Hi, one of my mates dropped his 1DII into about 1ft of seawater at
the weekend. When he pulled it back out of the water, the camera
still appeared to be working (the LCD was still on) but he
immediately switched it off and hasn't used it since - he wants to
wait a few more days until it completely dries out. He was using a
50/1.8 at the time but reckons the mirror chamber was still dry
after the incident.

However, the buttons/dials now have sand in them (they are feel
gritty to turn/press) and moisture has also formed on the inside of
main LCD protector - although that too is drying out slowly.

He's now wondering what to do with it:

1) sell it as-is on eBay (SOMEONE is bound to buy it, but for how
much?)

2) get it repaired at somewhere like this place:
http://www.fixationuk.com/repairs.htm

3) Take it apart and try and clean it himself (this assumes the
shutter is still OK I guess)

Anyway, just wondered if anyone's had a similar accident and if so,
what did you do?

:)
Click to expand...
 
steve1984 said:
The odd thing is that the back/rear of the camera
somehow bore the brunt of the dunking - the cover on the colour LCD
has water/moisture on the underside of it
Click to expand...
The reason for the moisture under the LCD panel cover is, I believe, because the seal is one layer further in. What I mean is, remove the cover and what you have left is sealed.
 
misha said:
RDKirk said:
It could have been salvageable with the right first aid, but he's
probably lost his chance by now. This is what he should have done:

1. Remove all batteries immediately.
2. Rinse the camera thoroughly with fresh water.
3. Drop the camera into a bucket of fresh water for holding
4. As soon as possible, rinse it again with distilled water and
drop it into a bucket of distilled water for holding.
5. Get it to a service department--still in the water. Let them
dismantle and dry it.
Click to expand...
Do you have first-hand experience with this? Keeping the camera in
a bucket of water seems a risky thing to do...
Click to expand...
Not with a 1D, but with another camera and with other electronics.

After having removed the battery, the next critical issue is ensuring all mineralized water is removed before it has a chance to dry.

But that's nearly impossible to do without dismantling it, especially since the camera was submerged in salt water down to 10 feet, so the next best thing is to keep it in a solution that will continue to reduce the solution of minerals and to prevent it from drying until it can be dismantled.

--
RDKirk
'TANSTAAFL: The only unbreakable rule in photography.'
 
Fresh water + technical equipment = Probably repairable, at some cost.
Salt water + technical equipment = Death.

--
  • Jan
 
LOL

Anyway sorry for the accident.

I would just keep using it until it drops dead probably. If salt water has gone inside the camera, irreversible damage has been done already.
 
RDKirk said:
But that's nearly impossible to do without dismantling it,
especially since the camera was submerged in salt water down to 10
feet,
Click to expand...
Not 10ft:
"dropped his 1DII into about 1ft of seawater"

I assume it was quickly recovered, so in this case I'm wondering if the cure might not be worse than the disease :)

--
Misha
 
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