Wet and Flooded Cameras and What to Do About Them

Wet and Flooded Cameras and What To Do About Them
by Robert Monaghan

Related Links:
Flooded Digital Camera Produces Unique Photos (Farrell Photogr.) [6/2003]

First, the legal disclaimers - the techniques here are offered in the hopes of reducing the loss from flooding of your camera and lens. But we obviously can't guarantee your success, since circumstances differ.
Second, if you are convered by insurance, you may not want to use these techniques (see post). A flooded camera that doesn't work right after drying is NOT likely to merit replacement in the eyes of your insurance agent. But a camera and lens lost under the waves would be replaced without questions on most policies. So if you have insurance, or even if you don't, you may want to check out our camera insurance pages and related links and postings on this topic. Check with your insurance agent, but try not to be obvious about it, eh? ;-).
In short, these techniques work best where you aren't insured and basically have little to lose by trying them.
The source of my expertise is largely from teaching underwater photography specialty certifications - both beginning and advanced levels - for a number of years. I have had lots of cameras in housings, ranging from an ancient twin lens reflex aluminum housing to a medium format underwater housing to a half dozen underwater camera housings (nikon, nikkormat, hasselblad superwide, pentax spotmatic..). I have also had a full line of Nikonos I, II, III underwater cameras with 15mm, 28mm, and 35mm lenses, dozens of strobes, and so on.
While I have had a few minor leaks, I have never lost or flooded a camera or lens (amazing how fast you can get to the surface when you notice a bit of water in the bottom of a housing!). If you take real care in maintenance, avoiding sand and other common problem sources, you can do a substantial number of trouble free dives with camera housings. I also stop at 10-15 feet or so on the way down to work the controls and see if there are any escaping bubbles indicating a leak, so this isn't just good luck on my part.
I have been there when lots of other divers have flooded their cameras while on trips, and so acquired more practice at their expense. But whether you just dropped your camera in salt water on vacation or your home got flooded in a flood, these tips may help you.
I also recommend that you check with your local camera repairperson for their tips and suggestions. Some will have preferences on how you should proceed, and how they prefer to receive the camera. While most of the experts and recommendations I have read or consulted seem to prefer that flooded cameras be kept wet after flushing with fresh water to remove the salt, a minority of repairpersons may prefer that you dry out the camera before immediately sending it to them. Having a dry camera may speed up their repairing it, and they believe that minimal extra damage will ensue if it is shipped and repaired promptly. So check first with your repairperson and follow their instructions.
In any case, be sure to label the camera as being flooded in salt and/or fresh water, and describe what you have done to try and minimize damage to it. I have heard of cases where the flooded cameras dried out while in a backlog of cameras to be repaired, causing major damage that would have been avoided if the camera shipping box had been clearly marked "flooded camera - open immediately".

Salt Water
Salt water is bad news. The salts will dry out and cause problems with corrosion and seizing up of parts. Dried crystals can act like sand and dirt, potentially jamming shutters and scratching film and so on. Salt that isn't removed will absorb water from very moist air and continue the corrosion process. An electro-chemical process similar to the action in a battery also occurs when two dissimilar metals are connected by a conductive salt water path. Not only will this drive meters and chips to malfunction, but previously moving parts may freeze and "weld" together.
Salts can also leech out of contaminated parts (e.g., shutter curtains) or from small crevices where they tend to deposit out of trapped drops of salt water as the camera dries out. So a salt water logged camera that seems to be working okay the day after the flooding may corrode away until it fails or needs a major repair weeks or months later. This is the reason we recommend sending any salt-water logged camera off to a repairperson to be completely stripped and cleaned to get out all the salt crystals that may be in there somewhere.
Let's assume that the camera was well and truly dunked under salt water for long enough to flood the camera, and that it isn't designed with oring seals (as with nikonos cameras) or other seals (as with some high end pro cameras such as some Canon EOS models). Salt water has gotten to the guts of your camera. What can you do?
The consensus of opinions in the underwater photography and many repairperson's recommendations seems to be simply this. Check to be sure it is flooded. If the camera only went under for a second or so, perhaps no water entered the lens or the camera body? In this case, you might only have to carefully remove salt water from the surface of the camera and lens body. Be careful not to let any of it run back inside the camera or lens, by holding the camera with the bottom up so any water drips down and off and not into the camera.
But let's assume you aren't that lucky.
Put the flooded camera in a bucket of water and keep it from drying out. If you don't have a bucket of fresh water, then use salt water (camera is already flooded, right?). If you do have lots of fresh water available (e.g., back at the resort), then dilute the salt water with a few cycles of fresh water, then transfer the camera to a bucket of fresh water. Shake vigorously and move it around in the fresh water. The goal is to get all the salt water out of the camera. After letting it sit for some hours, put it in another bucket of fresh water.
At this point, most repairers will suggest you keep the camera wet (as in a water-tight zip lock baggie inside another safety baggie, or in an oring sealed case (such as Pelican Inc. makes). Ship them the camera, making it clear the camera was flooded in salt water, and describe the treatment you used. They will then strip the camera down completely, clean all the parts to ensure all the salt is removed, check the electronics, and perhaps replace certain parts such as the shutter.
Be sure to ask for a quote before you send off the camera. Many times, the cost of such intensive recovery efforts is more than the value of an older camera, such as a Minolta SRT-101, on the used market (e.g., $150 up). The same holds true for the lens. You should also check to see if your insurance policy, especially your homeowners policy if you don't have other photographic insurance, will cover such a loss, and what the minimum deductible might be. If you dropped a Hasselblad superwide (at $5,200+ US), you might not mind a $1,000 deductible on your homeowner's policy too much, but if it was a Nikon FE, you are probably on your own!

Fresh Water
Sometimes, you will hear of photographers in remote locations without a backup camera who slip into a fresh water stream while mountain trekking (in Nepal, etc.). They aren't carrying a backup anything, due to the weight issues with mountain climbing. And they don't have any way to carry a water-logged camera (hint: 2 large zip lock baggies). Oftentimes, the cameras described are all mechanical Nikon F or Leica or other pro models. Knowing the risks, they opt to let the camera dry out, using gentle heat to dry out the camera. Some advocate exercising the controls at various points during this process. I have even heard of successful rescues using hot air dryer back at a resort hotel room, but be careful not to overheat if you opt to try this technique.
The good news is that with clean fresh water and fast action, some photographers have reported success in such camera recovery efforts. They also add that they naturally had the camera clean-lubed-adjusted by a repairer as soon as they got back to civilization, after describing their mis-adventure. On the other hand, for the many who may have tried this trick and failed, we don't have as many reports, probably because there is no good news to brag about!
Most of these cameras were models that didn't have batteries in them, i.e., all mechanical beasties. If your camera has batteries in them, I would definitely remove them as soon as possible. I should not have to add that I would NOT turn on the controls of a flooded camera, If they were on, I would turn them off immediately as soon as I can. You don't want possible short cirtcuits to happen while the electronics might be flooded, which could cause permanent and expensive damage.
Discarding the salt water flooded batteries is probably the safest course, although you can probably wash them clean in fresh water and dry them for temporary emergency use if no replacements are available. Unless really clean and no salt water got inside the battery, small conductive paths formed by salt water corrosion will cause battery leakage. The salt water flooded battery will likely fail quickly, and at the worst possible time (Murphy's Law). Fresh water batteries are less likely to fail, but I would recommend replacing them unless no replacements are available. See our gadgets to take along pages for how often spare batteries are recommended as a must-carry along!
Not all fresh water dunkings are the same. If you get a lot of lake water with micro-organisms and silt in the water into your camera, it can easily be as bad or worse than salt water flooding. The silt will have to be washed out of the camera, and it will probably take a full tear-down and clean-lube-adjust plus spare parts to refurbish the camera. This situation might be a case where you would again be advised by your repairperson to keep the camera wet before sending it off.
Sometimes, believe it or not, people will try to sell or pass off such flooded cameras to unsuspecting buyers. Here is a tip. Look for salt crystals and encrustation around and under the battery compartment lid. If you see white crystals here, you can suspect salt water flooding. Similar corrosion around or under controls is also a bad sign. For other camera and lens testing tips, see our camera and lens testing pages.

Lenses
There are lots of potential problems with lenses. First off, don't exercise the lens by zooming it or focusing it in and out until after you have carefully cleaned it of any surface water and removed from the camera (assuming SLRs here). You don't want to cause a slight vacuum which might suck more salt water, silt, bacteria, or other contaminants further into the lens assembly. Most zoom lenses have channels to let air in and out easily to make zooming easier (less vacuum effects), so be especially careful with them.
Most manual focus lenses have very tight tolerances, so chance are pretty good that the lens will not flood in shallow water (in deeper water, under more water pressure, that is less likely). On the other hand, many autofocus lenses have different tolerances, to allow fast lens element motions and rapid focusing movement. That can be bad news if it also lets in more water, more easily, in the event of a dropped or flooded camera.
In general, you should also have any lens that has been subject to flooding, especially in salt water or silty or polluted fresh water, completely overhauled and cleaned, lubed, and adjusted. Here again, it may not be worthwhile if the lens is a low cost normal lens (e.g., Nikon 50mm f/1.7 model E worth $35-50 used). Sometimes, you may have to send the lens to the manufacturer for repairs after flooding, especially for autofocus lenses with motors and other mechanical and electronic elements. Here again, be sure to check with the manufacturer's repair service representatives to determine how and what they want done before shipping, and how to ship. Some manufacturers reportedly recommend shipping the lens wet, while others may prefer sending it dried out, so check beforehand.

Strobes
Strobes dropped into salt water are likely to need major replacements, unless they have been protected by coating their electronics (see aside below). When I have bought flooded underwater strobes (very cheaply), I have simply tossed out the electronics boards and simply kept the knobs and hardware. If the strobe was charged during the flooding, there is a high risk of high voltage short circuits causing damage to components. Salts and corrosion paths also make future failures more likely. But a strobe that was off and discharged when flooded in clean fresh water might be a candidate for salvage attempts. Some folks advocate opening up the case to make it easier to clean out and flood the electronics, at least if you have a salt-water flooded strobe.

Meters
Most of the analog meters will not react well to flooding in salt water, and replacement of the expensive meter movement is probable. But a digital panel meter version might survive flooding better, as there are no mechanical parts at high precision to be upset by salt crystals or sand or silt.

Alcohol Water Solutions
You will also see various folks suggesting solutions of alcohol mixed with fresh water to try and speed drying of the flooded photogear. I am personally not a big fan of the alcohol approach, unless you have a lot of pure grain alcohol available (party time, anyone?). The typical rubbing alcohol may cause complications of its own with certain plastics found in cameras and lenses. Many of these drug store solutions will also leave a residue, especially if they interact with and dissolve any camera lubricants. Modest amounts of gentle heat can speed the drying process, assuming you or your repairperson decide that is the best approach.

Lens Surface Cleaning
See Lens Cleaning Pages for tips on cleaning the surface of lenses. I should point out that many lenses have coatings on them which are subject to being damaged by sand or salt water droplets frequently encountered on beaches and diving resorts. You should be careful not to let sand scratch the lens surface. Don't let drops of salt water or polluted lake water dry on your lens, as they may bond and discolor some lens coatings. However, oftentimes a more professional cleaning agent (such as ROR - residual oil remover) will be effective in removing these seemingly bonded on lens faults. So check with your local repairperson, as they may be able to fix the problem easily with the right solution (another pun!). I don't recommend you consider getting the coating redone unless it is a very expensive lens, as this often costs $150-200+ and results may not always be similar to the original. See our Recoatings FAQ for details.
This situation is one of the few cases where I recommend using a "UV" or clear glass protective filter on your camera. See filters FAQ pages for protective uses of filters.
Actually, if there is a chance of getting dunked by a passing wave, you should consider an Ewa Marine camera bag or similar protection too. This camera bag has a clear glass port so you can shoot photos through it (to about 24mm lenses on 35mm SLRs). The camera and small strobe go in and get sealed inside. If you drop the camera overboard (as in kayaking), it will probably float on the surface rather than sink. Even if it does sink, it will probably be waterproof down to 50 or more feet - I've had several at 160 feet, well below rated depth (see Ewa marine bag comments.

Conclusions
If you aren't insured, consider trying some of the techniques described here, as well as those suggested by your camera repair technician. For an older camera, you may substantially improve your chances of saving a flooded camera. For many remote situations encountered on photo travel trips, you may be able to preserve your camera from further salt water damage by keeping it wet until you can get it to a repairperson. In general, the worse thing you can do with a salt water flooded camera is nothing, by simply letting it dry out and start a corrosion and salt damage process. The tips described here will hopefully help minimize your losses, and improve your chances of being one of the "lucky" ones who recover their cameras and lenses with minimal losses and expense.
The other underlying thread is that it is easier and better to be prepared with full camera insurance, or adequate camera protection (Ewa marine bag, camera filter, protective items), if you are going to be around the water on boats, diving, or otherwise at risk of dunking yourself or your camera gear.
A final tip is that you should carefully consider whether to take your most expensive electronic camera and lenses into what might be a risky situation. I advocate having a low cost backup body (e.g., such as a $100 nikon EM or nikkormat) for use when I might have a high risk of losing the camera. Better to lose a $100 camera than a $2,000 US camera, right?

Aside:
I used to rehouse surface strobes in homebrew underwater strobe housings to avoid paying many hundreds of dollars for an underwater strobe whose guts cost only $25 or $30 on a standard (Vivitar) strobe. One of the tricks I used to use was to coat the electronics boards and wiring with a "conformal coating" chemical. Check any engineering library for Electronic Design or similar magazines where you can find such ads. One manufacturer sends out a free sample pint, which is good for many homebrew projects. The idea here is that the conformal coating minimizes the chances of loss and damage should a short circuit happen due to salt water flooding.
Incidentally, some of the Nikonos IV and related cameras have a common failure mode when users with wet hair (from salt water dives) try to load film into the camera, drops of water hit the unprotected circuit board in the top of the camera and short it out. Ouch! I find it surprising that Nikon Inc. didn't do a better job of protecting the camera guts from such likely problems with a simple solution (pun intended) as conformal coatings costing only a few pennies.
If you are getting a strobe or camera worked on or repaired, you might check into getting the appropriate electronics boards protected by using the right conformal coating.

Related Postings:
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 2000
From: "Al Denelsbeck" [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.technique.nature
Subject: Re: Lenses got wet, need advice
Try this, first. Might help.
Get all the dessicant you can - you know, those little 'Do Not Eat' paper bags packed with every electronic item. Tear it all out of the bags, spread it out on a cookie sheet, then bake it in an oven at 250 degrees for a couple hours. This is dessicant only, not the lenses. All you're doing is recharging the dessicant. While you're doing this, lay the lenses out on a towel and change positions on them every once in a while, to drain all excess water that you can.
Then, put this (in a film can with a lot of holes poked in it, if you prefer) into a ziploc bag with your lenses, get out most but not all of the air, and seal it up tight. Leave it for a few days, moving things around in there every once in a while to circulate the air.
Since this was bottled water, it should be relatively clean, and may not leave a residue on the elements. I was unlucky, and did this with lake water - my 75-300 has a visible haze. Cleaning was gonna take three weeks and cost about $150 (I can get a brand new one for $200), so I started using it anyway. If there's an effect from the haze, it's insignificant. A sharper, more expensive lens may not be the same, though.
Good Luck! - Al.
--
Remove 'onspam' for direct reply.
Geoff Wise wrote

>I got careless, my water bottle I didn't do up properly and my lens bag too. >(It's watertight when I do it up, of course :)) The water bottle leaked >in my rucksack and got inside two of my Canon EOS lenses. It has several >hours now and there is still water inside the lenses. If taken to a >repairer to disassemble and dry out, tomorrow, will they be OK. I have a >dehydrator, would a few hours at 35 deg C be OK? >-- >Geoff Wise >[email protected] >http://www.wises.com.au

From Leica Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000
From: Andre Calciu [email protected]
Subject: [Leica] camera insurance
regarding the issue of insurance for camera gear (or pretty much all other professional gear) i have this very illustrative example from an inurance adjustor:
you drop your camera in a pond.
options:
1.- fish it out, insurance may or may not pay for repair/replacement
2.- keep on rowing to the next camera store and buy a new camera. insurance will cover replacement cost.
now, it is all a judgement call for you, the owner if you want to wade through the pond, ruin your clothes and end up with a lousy camera, or
you choose the path of least resistance and get new gear.
andre
Austin Franklin wrote:

> It's called INSURANCE.... ;-) > > [Austin] I've been through this...they only consider damage that can be > proven to impair the FUNCTION of the insured item to be covered. Cosmetics > are not covered. One of our photographers dropped a Nikon, it had a dent > the size of Kentucky...but didn't impair its function at all...they said it > wasn't covered. The resale value of the camera was severely reduced by > this damage..but that's was just too bad for us. > > Let's see... A Noctilux with no damage to the glass, or a Noctilux with a > scratch in the front element....would you pay the same for both? Even > though, you KNOW it has no effect on the actual image... Cheap insurance, > in my book, is a filter...

RELATED POSTINGS:

[Ed. note: What you don't want to happen to your flooded camera...]
From: "Geoff Wise" [email protected]
Newsgroups: aus.photo,rec.photo.technique.nature
[1] Canon "they call it" Service Department, North Ryde, Australia.
Date: Mon Mar 13 03:10:08 CST 2000
I am amazed at the lack of responsiveness at Canon Photographic Service Department at North Ryde, NSW, Australia.
Eg, after being advised to use them (water got inside the lens and they have the gear to do it), I phone them and it was suggested that I send it to them straight away. This was last Monday. Tuesday I phone them to see if they got it and am curtly told that "they get it today but open it tomorrow" and am I a professional. Eventually he goes to see if it is there. Wednesday they phone me to get my home address, because in my letter I state that I will call to pick up the lens, and am told they will be looking at it soon, I stress that it suffered water damage that I was instructed to send it to them quickly. Today, Monday, I phone and am told they are looking at it today and can I phone back tomorrow afternoon to get the price for repairing it and ask am I a professional. Professional what??? As if it matters. I respond, well I sell some images but I don't make a living out of it... good lord? She then says that there is a three to four week waiting time for repairs....
THREE TO FOUR WEEKS!!!!
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO BUSINESS TODAY. THE ACCOUNTANTS WHO RUN BUSINESS TODAY NEED A REALITY CHECK. BUSINESS IS SO FOCUSSED ON PROFITS, AND THE DISEASE OF BUSINESS IN THE LATE NINETIES - PROFITS THROUGH DOWNSIZING, THE QUICK FIX TO THE PROFIT SOLUTION. FORGET ABOUT MARKETING A BETTER PRODUCT A BETTER WAY AND BACK THAT UP QUICK RESPONSIVE SERVICE.
THREE TO FOUR WEEKS!!!!!
PLEASE EVERYONE, QUOTE ME ON THIS ONE, IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET INCOMPETANCE ROUTED OUT. INCOMPETANCE DOESN'T LIKE BEING SHOWN FOR WHAT IT IS.
I SAY INCOMPETANCE BECAUSE ANY SENSIBLE BUSINESS WOULD NOT HAVE A THREE TO FOUR WEEK WAITING TIME TO REPAIR THINGS THAT ARE SO IMPORTANT TO THE PEOPLE WHO USE THEM AND TAKE A WEEK TO TELL YOU WHAT IS WRONG. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NEXT MONTH WHEN I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF A 14 DAY BUSHWALK TO PHOTOGRAPH THE CENTRAL TASMANIAN HIGHLANDS AND I DON'T HAVE MY 50MM MACRO LENS TO SHOT "THAT PARTICULAR SUBJECT"?
I'm not attacking the staff there, who most likely are competant, caring, skilled technicians, but the idiot bosses who determine the staffing levels and policy on "Customer Service".
--
Geoff Wise
[email protected]
http://www.wises.com.au

From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000
From: Richard Knoppow [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Help! Salt water dunking of T Max film
you wrote:

>A friend of mine has contacted me with the following problem. >A roll of Tmax 100 film has made a dip into a salt water aquarium. >He has asked me about how to save the film. >(This has occured less than an hour ago.) After recovering the film he >immediately placed the roll into a fresh water bath. Is there any other >measures that can be done to reduce the effects of the salt water on the >film? >I am told that the film was imersed for only a few moments. >He shall be developing the film in the next hour or so. > ****No fish were harmed in this mishap!**** >Thanks for the help. >Please contact me off list as this is not Rollei related. >James.

I am resonding both privately and to the list because this may be of interest to others. You did exactly the right thing by keeping the film web. I would process it right away if possible to minimise the wet time and attendant emulsion swelling.
The salt in the fish water will do no harm by itself but should be washed out since it acts as a development restrainer (the secret of Microdol-X) a two or three minute wash should be enough. You might extend development time by a minute or so to compensate for the delay in start of development caused by the pre-wetting.
If there is anything else in the fish water it may have an effect, but AFAIK the chemicals which would do damage to the film would also kill the fish.
Keeping the film wet will prevent it from sticking together. You may have to load the tank under water to keep the film from sticking.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
[email protected]

From Minolta Mailing List:
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000
From: Simon Gardner [email protected]
Subject: Re: Got beer in my Minolta 7000i...
[email protected] wrote:

> [email protected] writes: > > Fill the sink with pure water. Put the camera in the sink. Submerge it. > Keep it there for some time. Take it out. Use a hair dryer to dry it. > I had to do this twice. It worked. Electronics generally can withstand > water, if not powered. Leaving the camera dry, hurts it more than to dip it > into water. Remember to get i all dry before giving it back power. > > Electronics that are powered does not like water. Good Luck Frode > > Frode, > WOW!! I'll take your word for it. I think I would have a heart-attack if I > intentionally put my camera in water. :o) > > Later, > Bill B. (USA) July 11

That's okay advice. I fell in a lake with an 8000i. The thing sparked and died, but after leaving it off and on in sunlight for a day it dried out and worked fine.

From Minolta Mailing List:
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000
From: "Mike R. Wardrip" [email protected]
Subject: RE: Got beer in my Minolta 7000i...
I just got off the phone with a "approved Minolta repair service center" about by defunct 800si (won't wind frames right). They told me it showed signs of "water leakage and corrosion". Now I baby that camera like you can't believe, never in the water... go figure??? Occasional mist fog mist maybe, but NO serious water contact. They want to send it to the "factory" for service, not likely to be under warranty due to "water leakage" (only 9 months old!). I will be going to the shop tomorrow (in Seattle, WA) to inspect myself... If the 7000i could take a real "bath" (and I own a 7000i also) can't imagine the 800si not being able to handle a little mist now and then...
Mike w.
McCleary, WA

From Minolta Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000
From: Frode Nilsen [email protected]
Subject: Re: Got beer in my Minolta 7000i...
I once fixed a camera filled with wine. Red wine.
Take out the battery.
Fill the sink with pure water.
Put the camera in the sink. Submerge it. Keep it there for some time.
Take it out.
Use a hair dryer to dry it.
I had to do this twice. It worked.
Electronics generally can withstand water, if not powered. In general, cameras cannot withstand pop, beer or wine.
Leaving the camera dry, hurts it more than to dip it into water.
Remember to get i all dry before giving it back power. Electronics that are powered does not like water.
Good Luck
Frode
From: Jorma Kinnunen [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2000
Subject: Got beer in my Minolta 7000i...
Hello fellows!
Unfortunately I managed to spill some beer onto (and into) my Minolta 7000i camera. No the display says "HELP".
Is there any possibilities to dismantle the camera body and try to dry and clean the possible dirtied inner parts?
Anyway, I haven't much to lose since my insurance has a 700 FIM (=$115) deduct and I guess the body isn't any worthier.
I would be pleased if someone had any experience in dismantling the body and could give me some advise.
Please contact me also if you own a dismantling picture (don't know if this is the right word...?) which shows all the parts of the camera body or has the information where to find such in the net (perhaps a PDF-document).
Thanks in advance,
Jorma Kinnunen [email protected]
Finland

From Minolta Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 04 Aug 2000
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Saltwater
Just a tip I picked up from NYIP in regard to saltwater getting in our camera's.
What if your camera gets accidentally soaked? If it gets soaked with plain water, let it dry, and take it to a repair shop. But if it falls into salt water and gets thoroughly immersed, don't let it dry. Transfer the camera into plain water and keep it wet until you contact a repair shop and follow their instructions. (If a camera that's been doused with salt water is allowed to dry, the salt residue will destroy the camera.)
URL http://www.nyip.com/tips/topic_beach0700.html
Later,
Bill B. (USA) 8/4/00

Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2000
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
From: [email protected] (Mark Anderson)
Subject: Re: My copals fell into salt water. What to do.
Sorry for the late follow-up. Just catching up
Jean-David Beyer-valinux [email protected] wrote:

> I fell into fresh water (in Yosemite Park) with a Nikkormat FTn.

snip

> I asked what if it falls in salt water. He said that if it fell into salt > water, the best thing to do is leave it there. That way you insurance > company will not try to get you to fix it.

Two years ago I got washed off a rock by a wave into the Pacific Ocean while using my Canon F-1N. Totally submerged. After crawling back out of the water with a badly sprained ankle I immediately took out the battery. Hobbled the 1/2 mile to the cabin. Took out the film and submerged the camera (and various other gear from the camera bag that also got washed in) into fresh tap water. Changed the water a couple times and left the camera underwater and open until I got it to the shop, three days later. Repairman drained out the water, displaced the rest with alcohol I think and then dried it out. It worked! The meter was off by one stop, possibly because the mirror silver was damaged, but otherwise it was fine. He asserted that a full 'repair' would be expensive and he still wouldn't warranty the repair, so he wrote a note for the insurance company that it was beyond economic repair. I replaced the camera, but am still using the old one as an extra body and so far it's still functioning perfectly, except that I bias the meter.
One key is to immediately remove the battery so that it doesn't electrolysize the innards.
--
Mark Anderson
DBA Riparia www.teleport.com/~andermar/

From Nikon MF Mailing List;
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001
From: Harrison McClary [email protected]
Subject: Re: Shooting in the rain
Several things to keep in mind should you get your cameras wet.
As soon as possible disassemble the camera as much as possible and spread out to dry. Take lens off, open back, remove prism if possible like on Nikon F and Canon F series cameras. Take batteries out. Leave battery covers off.
Allow to dry overnight or in an oven turned to really low setting, with the door cracked.
It is VERY important to get the camera dry as soon as possible after exposure to water to help prevent corrosion.
Back in my news days I used to get my cameras wet all the time shooting in inclement weather...covering hurricanes and such. I have only had one camera totally die on me and that was an old Canon F1...and it was not the camera but the motor.
I have had lenses (400 2.8 Canon and 300 4.5EDIF Nikkor) develop a "fog" in them from rain, but after leaving in the trunk of a car during a hot august day in south Georgia they were like new.
This past June while covering FanFair I got stuck in a drenching downpour. I had one Canon AF lens fill up with water..literally was pouring water out of it. Had one EOS1n give me weird LCD displays and not fire due to water. I shot the rest of the assignment with the other EOS1N and had a 530EZ flash on it all wrapped up in a garbage bag. I got home and put all gear taken apart as listed above in the oven for about 3 hours at about 100 degrees. All gear is in GWO, including my 50 1.4 that had water standing between the lenses elements.
The best thing is to not get them wet, obviously, but if you do try your best to dry them thoroughly afterwards.
Oh and I ALWAYS carry plastic garbage bags to cover my gear with. Is a good idea if you are shooting outdoors at all to keep a few in your bag.
--
Harrison McClary
http://www.mcclary.net

Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 From: Lainey [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [Nikon] Speaking of Accidentally dropping Cameras Sometimes something good comes out of wrecking a digital camera such as the Nikon Coolpix 990. Check out this web site! An older retired gentleman photographer dropped his Nikon Coolpix 990 in a stream, and then tells what happened as a result! Great story! Happy Ending too. http://www.farrelleaves.com/ Lainey [email protected]

From: "Ron Andrews" [email protected] Newsgroups: rec.photo.misc,rec.photo.technique.nature,rec.photo.technique.people,rec.photo.technique.misc Subject: Re: Newbie questions: Kodak one-use b/w with Ektanar lens Date: Fri, 04 Jul 2003 "Peeps O'Donnell" [email protected] wrote > Hey, > > I read somewhere that one-use cameras can be taken apart and re-used > by buying the film separately and then installing it in the one-use. > How accurate is this claim and what are the pitfalls one should look > out for when attempting this? It is possible, but not easy and (IMO) not worth the trouble. It is easy to break the cameras when opening. Many of the one time use cameras require a spool of film with a spindle that is different from the ones sold for regular cameras. A Kodak KB-10 is not a great camera, but it is better that a one time use camera and you can buy one for $15. I'd call is a disposable-reusable camera. Use it in high risk areas (beach, raft trips, etc.) until it breaks, then get a new one.
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