Water damage

<p>Hello everybody,<br>

I am desperately seeking advise on how I can salvage my camera and lens.<br>

I was unfortunate enough to fall into a fresh water creek today while holding my Nikon D300 and Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. The camera and lens have been fully submerged for probably no more than 8 seconds, however I think that was probably 8 seconds too long. As soon as I got out of the water I have turned the camera off, I have removed the battery and memory card and headed straight for home. I have just arrived home after a 40 minutes drive.<br>

Probably the first question is what would be the best (correct) way to dry the camera and lens?<br>

Secondly what are the chances of actually being able to salvage them?<br>

Thank you all, any advice would be very much appreciated.</p>

 

<p>I haven't got a clue whether they'll still work, but any chance of rescuing the camera and lens is to NOT TURN THEM ON for quite a long time (probably a couple of weeks).</p>

<p>Let them dry (I presume you've already let as much water run out of them as possible) in a warm place (but not so hot that you'll melt anything).</p>

<p>I haven't got any expernience with speeding up the drying by putting them in a microwave or on a heater. I've dried electronice three times, just in my room, but then again, they were never this wet.</p>

<p>Good luck (but to be honest, I would start checking out insurance policies and/or start saving up for a new set). I'm truly sorry for you.</p>

<p>Definitely don't microwave !! the electronics will be frapped instantly, there are some sprays used in the auto industry that may help i used one a long while ago on the contacts of a distributor cap after it was soaked in a rainstorm........ i agree though don't tun your camera on and perhaps leave it near a sunny window or near a heat register for a few days.. i had bad luck with the humidity change on my nikonos five after a long day of diving in bonaire i let the camera soak in a fresh water bath for half an hour, i thought it would be aclimatized to the room air conditioning but when i opened it up -POOF i saw the shutter blades start to curl ...insurance covered that .<br>

good luck<br>

paul</p>

<p>This is a totally amateur response. No microwave! Less obvious: no blowing, you might blow water into places it has not reached. Remove the the lens cap. Remove the lens from camera. Set camera facing down on a dish rack. Set lens on the barrel. Turn up the heat in the room so that it's uncomfortable, but you can still stay in it. The camera is supposed to be fine working at up to 40 degrees Centigrade, so that if you don't go beyond that, you won't cause damage. Call Nikon support as soon as they open. I agree with above not to turn camera on.<br>

<br /> From your photo.net home page, it's likely you're in Australia. I just tried to call Nikon support in the US for information for you, since it's a free call within the US, but today's a national holiday here. Good luck.</p>

<p>I see now that I wasn't very clear on what I meant.<br>

Please read my third sentence as "I haven't got any experience with speeding up the drying <strong>but would recommend against</strong> putting them in a microwave or on a heater".</p>

<p>I've always understood it's best to not put equipment through big differences in temperature. I guess an extra- heated room would be ok, since that usually means a slower build-up of heat, bu I would not put the camera and lens near the heater itself or in the sun for example. No trying to rush this would be my advise.</p>

<p>*blushes a bit* I had forgotten about the electronics getting zapped instantly by a microwave... Guess I wasn't fully awake yet...</p>

<p>I have dried out a flash that got wet by using a big bowl of un cooked rice. Cover the camera completely and let the rice absorb the water out of it.<br>

Even if you get the camera to dry out and work again the odds are that you have shortened the life span of your camera by a large amount.</p>

I learned from one of my friends, who has been in the fire restoration busy for several decades, that air flow dries things not temperature or trying to control humidity. Actually, warmer temperatures could accelerate the growth of mold and fungus. Putting items in cool dry dark area that is well ventilated with a small fan keeping the air moving will probably improve the odds of things working out for you. You probably want to maintain these conditions for at least a couple of weeks before you try any of the equipment.

 

Good luck.

 

--Wade

<p>Since the OP is from Australia, I would give Nikon OZ a call ASAP and see whether they have any suggestions. Most likely the D300 body is history already unless you are very lucky. Perhaps they can salvage the lens. Do not let the lens sit for too long or rust starts to develop and it'll be too late; the camera is probably in "you don't have any more to lose anyway" category.</p>

BTW, I saw this the other day. It's a video by Kai W from the UK where he trashes a Nikon and Canon DSLR to see how much abuse they can take. I was impressed with the amount of abuse they took and the shutter was still activating. The bottom line, I would say that there is hope.

 

 

--Wade

<p>Wade, that YouTube video you link to is well planned and edited. Sometimes when you drop a camera and it hits at the wrong spot, a simple impact can seriously damage a camera; sometimes a serious drop does not cause much damage. It all depends on each individual situation.</p>

<p>The problem is that water and electronics do not mix. A D300 that was fully submerged is, unfortunately, bad news. That video really has nothing to do with the OP's situation at all.</p>

<p>The problem with water is more than just shorting out electronics. In time rust and mold can develop. I would just send both lens & camera off to repair center so they can open them up and have a look.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>I've read recommendations on this site for putting lenses in bags of rice to soak the water out of them. I don't think this would be a good idea for the camera though. I've never tried it, but I heard of drying out electronics (particularly cell phones) by putting them in the refrigerator. Like I said, I've never tried it, but I know that if you leave food uncovered in the refrigerator, it dries out pretty quickly.</p>

<p>I recently dropped a lens of mine into a freshwater lake, I put mine into a desiccator. A desiccator is an air tight or vacuum container with a desiccant solution (something like silica gel that comes in little packets when you buy electronics) inside. You can buy these solutions (I recommend searching Wikipedia for desiccants). I also found some on B&H used for drying cameras: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/17351-REG/Ewa_Marine_EM_CD_5_CD5_Camera_Dry_Desiccant.html<br>

Hope this helps!</p>

Use the airconditioner to dry the wet stuff. The air coming out of the a/c is quite dry. I got my D90 rained

on (Malaysian rain is torrential, but still not your kind of wet though), I removed the batteries, left all doors

open and let it hang under the vent for a day. I almost got it working perfectly but now the D90 won't go to

sleep. Minor problem...I bought a second battery. Possible shorting at the memory card terminals.

<p>I have saved a cell phone or two by placing them in a vacuum. I do lostwax casting and have a belljar vacuum for pulling excess air bubbles from molds. I have placed a water logged cell phone in the chamber and slowly draw a vacuum down to 26-30 inches, let it sit over night and then very slowly, several hours, let clean filtered air back into the chamber. </p>

<p>@Raden - Please look up liquid-gas equilibria before you make statements like, "The air coming out of the a/c is quite dry." It is anything but that. In fact, it is at 100% relative humidity. The reason is because cooling is achieved by passing room air over the fins of the cold evaporator coil in the A/C. These fins are coated with liquid water which has condensed on them because of the low temperature. To achieve high efficiencies, the probability of a molecule in the air stream hitting one of the cold, wet fins of the evaporator is designed to be near 100%. This means that the water in the gas stream is in thermodynamic equilibrium with the liquid phase water that is coating the evaporator fins. This means that the air is close to 100% saturated with water at that temperature, ie, RH = 100%.</p>

<p>Note: A de-humidifier works in a significantly different way. The air stream leaving it is indeed at a lower RH than the air entering the dehumidifier. In addition, once the air leaving an A/C mixes with significantly warmer room air, its temperature increases, thereby decreasing the RH of that mixture somewhat. However, this is not a good way to dry things... (think of the "clammy feeling one often encounters in some air conditioned rooms.)</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

 

<p>Most crafts stores sell dessicant crystals in the dried flower and plant department.</p><p>Do not use automotive/carburator sprays on cameras - bad idea. They contain <strong>oils</strong>, as well as solvents, which may prevent corrosion of electrical components, but will leave a fine residue on everything. - bad idea. </p><p>Call Nikon tech support very soon - good idea.</p><p>Best of luck with it.</p><p>Roger<br></p>

<p>I would send it to Nikon to be thoroughly cleaned - you not only have the water to worry about but also fine particles that may be in the water, stirred up by you moving in it. These could potentialy cause more longer-term damage.</p>

<p>A friend of mine, while hiking, dropped his D300 with a 17-55 into a puddle of water (freezing water I might add) and took it out after approximately 3 secs. He shut if off immediately and, this being a mountain, took it immediately to his car (5 mins), took lens, battery and card out, turned the internal heater on, and turned the fan full blast and stuck the camera in front of the vents for approximately 30 mins (rotating and turning when necessary).</p>

<p>He then carefully wiped down the camera and repeated for another 20 mins at lower fan power and lower temperature.</p>

<p>His camera has been working flawlessly ever since (about a year). Could this be pure luck? Maybe. Will your camera fare the same? Nobody knows... I'd say try it...</p>

<p>Thank you all for you suggestions and best wishes. I have contacted the Australian Nikon service and repair office earlier this morning and ,as I expected, I was told that it is most likely that neither one will be able to be salvaged. The person I spoke to was quite helpful and suggested to send both camera and lens so they can have a look at them and that the camera would stand more of a chance of being repaired than the lens, however even if they could get it working there is no guaranty that the water has not weakened some of the components to the point that they could fail at any time.<br>

So I have decided to try and dry it as well as I can before I attempt to turn it on again and if it does not work I'll send it to Nikon so they can have a look at it.<br>

As for the lens, the person I spoke to at Nikon today, told me that there are a few electronic components inside the lens and it is more than likely that those have been damaged beyond help. Not really knowing how the lens actually operates, I am wondering, do those components influence the optical performance of a lens or does it only help with the auto focusing mechanism of the lens? Provided that I can dry the lens properly and of course assuming that the lens does not rust, can the lens still be used (focused manually) or is it a complete "write-off" ?</p>

 

<p>Don't know if this advice would help, but a few months ago I accidently dropped my iphone into the toilet, it went straight down the pipe and was there several minutes before I could find a way to get it out. I left it to dry for a few days before attempting to turn it on and when I did all I got was a crazy screen that did not respond. I finally just left in the hottest place I could think of which was in my car during the 95+F heat wave we were having. One day left there and it finally turned on... Maybe you could leave the camera in the car a day.</p>

<p>Set the camera in front of the refrigarator, the air comming out of the bottom is very dry. It's a trick I've learned to use for many different things. The movement of air is rather slow. I would suggest leaving all compartments open. I'm no expert, but I would say that you can leave the lens off and rap the body in a cloth that has very little lint.<br>

You are fortunate that it was fresh water, not salt. After seeing the video on here where a guy puts a Nikon and Canon threw various tortures (to include pouring tea on them), you should be fine.</p>

<p>I should add, when I was in school for electronics, the fact that water is a way to clean electronics was never refuted. If you got the battery out in time, then you should be able to use it rather soon after drying.<br>

I have to guess if it was so wet that water poured out, but even if it did the electronics shouldn't have suffered that much. Then your only concerns are the machanical parts.</p>

<p>Tom; the air coming out of a AC is not at 100 percent RH; it *IS* dryer.</p>

<p>Dryer air is one of the primary purposes of an AC unit; its main goal in life.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.engineeringexpert.net/Engineering-Expert-Witness-Blog/?p=1219">

<p>As that humid air is cooled by the evaporator coil, much of the water vapor condenses out of it as liquid moisture, which is then drained out of the air conditioner. What’s left is a cooler mixture of air and greatly reduced water vapor.</p>

<p> </p>

</a><br /> The cold evaporator coil condenses out much of the air's water vapor; the liquid water goes out a drain.</p>

<p>That is actually the main purpose of an AC unit down in the deep South USA; or Bangkok; folks would rather be at 78F and 50 percent; than 78F and 95 percent RH.Thus having a small AC that is always on is better than a giant one that is on little; ie one pulls out more moisture with the little guy always one. Thus better settups have several AC units; they com on in stages.</p>

<p>A portable dehumidifer is really just a AC unit; but both cold/evaporator and hot/condenser plus hot compressor are in that box on wheels. Since the entire unit is in say ones bedroom/office; it actually is a heater. It pulls out water and it goes in the bucket and it adds heat since the entire unit is in the room.</p>

<p>A window AC unit adds cooling and drying; the rear end/condenser is outside; the heat is "moved" outside.</p>

<p>If one has a room in New Orleans and it is 90F and 85 % RH and one places a dehumidfier in the locked room; a big 50 quart per day unit is about like having a 800 watt space heater; the room might go to 105F; but the RH might drop down to 60 % RH; then it sits there and sucks moisture out of ones books; walls. Mositure can "wick" up through solid concrete walls and slabs forever.</p>

<p>I have a PE license in Mechanical Eng in a few states; and have had 2 courses in AC; 4 in thermo; and own 5 dehumidifers and dozens of AC units</p>

<blockquote>

<p>The person I spoke to was quite helpful and suggested to send both camera and lens so they can have a look at them and that the camera would stand more of a chance of being repaired than the lens,</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sabin, I am quite surprised by that response. I assume there is no damage to the lens elements, which should account for most of the cost on the lens. Worst comes to worst, they could reuse the lens elements and change out the electronics, or they can at least reuse the lens elements as parts.</p>

<p>The D300 has so much electronics inside that I would imagine that it'll difficult to save. If they need to take everything apart to clean and dry, the labor cost will be so high that you are simply much better off getting a new D300S or a used D300.</p>

<p>Please keep in mind that time is not on your side. Rust can gradually form over time so that the sooner you send your camera to Nikon, the chance to save it, while slim anyway, is higher.</p>