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g12 water damage

Started Jul 25, 2017 | Questions
realpank New Member • Posts: 1
g12 water damage

Hi all, new to forum, thanks in advance for your generous replies!

My G12 popped out of my jacket pocket and dropped right into the Detroit River.  Fished it out and dried it carefully.  Issue is a spot on the inside of the lens.  Looks like water a water spot would look like in the centre of the interior of the lens.

Can this be fixed?  Of course without having to send it to Canon and have a new lens installed.

Thanks,

Chris

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Canon PowerShot G12
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Chaplain Mark
Chaplain Mark Veteran Member • Posts: 6,539
Re: g12 water damage

realpank wrote:

Can this be fixed? Of course without having to send it to Canon and have a new lens installed.

Thanks,

Chris

Hi, Chris,

Welcome to the forum, and sorry for the circumstances..!

It is possible to dehydrate the camera by enclosing it in a coffee can of dry rice granules,  or dessicant gel packets, but that would not remove whatever debris was contained in the water and which may be residing on the interior surface(s) of the lens and/or sensor.

In order to truly clean the lens and sensor, the camera would need to be disassembled.

Sorry the news wasn't better, but good luck..!!

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Thank You,
Chaplain Mark
-----
'Tis better to have a camera and not need one than to need a camera and not have one.

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rpm40
rpm40 Senior Member • Posts: 2,411
Re: g12 water damage

Before doing anything, I would wait for it to totally dry, give it a week or so, and see if it really affects the performance. Small flaws on the outermost lens element are usually very hard to see in photos. I have had wet electronics that seem totally dead for several days, and then a week or more later spring back to life.

If you have waited long enough, and the water spots do ruin your photos, sending it for service would be the safest bet.

If the camera is unusable, and you don't want to send it in, AND YOU ARE WILLING TO TRY SOMETHING RISKY I JUST CAME UP WITH OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD AND UNDERSTAND YOU MAY BREAK YOUR CAMERA, maybe try steam cleaning? I know it sounds counterintuitive, but some appliances like ovens with glass doors have a steam clean function that the manufacturer recommends in order to clean between the layers of glass in the door.

http://support-us.samsung.com/cyber/popup/iframe/pop_troubleshooting_fr.jsp?modelname=NE59J3420SB/AA&homeid=29289&from_osc=&idx=638093&modelcode=NE59J3420SB/AA&

If it were going to try it, I would first power it on so the lens is extended, take out the battery so the camera is off with lens extended. Hold the power button down for 30 seconds to drain any remaining juice. Then, take it into the bathroom and run a hot shower until all the glass in the room is nice and steamy. Do not get the camera directly near any water, but wait till the lens is sufficiently foggy. Then, give it a once over with a hair dryer (not with the heat too high, there are plastic parts, lubricants, etc. that may be susceptible to heat). Once it looks mostly dried off, put the camera in a container with some desiccant packs (or as a fallback, on top of a container full of rice) for at least a few days but preferably a week before you put the battery back in and fire it up.

Again, I would only do this if the camera is unusable in its current state, AND you can't/won't send it in for a proper repair.

Kevin Omura
Kevin Omura Senior Member • Posts: 2,388
Problem with water damage...

Is that if not dried out quickly, the water causes the circuit boards to rust and this might show up right away. On laptops that I've had come through that had liquid spills I pull them apart and spray the boards with Deoxit or WD40 after pulling batteries and draining residual power. Where you may/will run into issues with a dunked camera is water in the ribbon cable connectors causing them to corrode and fail.

There are lots of Youtube videos on how to disassemble a G12, however the lens is a completely different story.

canon G12 take apart

https://canonrepair.wordpress.com/2016/01/03/canon-g12-front-lens-replacement/

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