Swimming a 5D II

[joe_fikes]

<p>I was out shooting yesterday and took a nasty fall into a ditch full of water and big rocks. I had crossed the ditch and just missed the step as I was trying to get up onto the bank. Big crashing fall onto my back on the rocks and water in the ditch! When I got out onto the bank (thoroughly drenched) and semi-sorted out I realized that I couldn't see. My glasses had gotten knocked off and I couldn't see well enough to find them in the water. And then I realized that my cellphone was gone. And even though the camera was now up on the bank it sounded like it was trying to take pictures every 15 seconds or so. I could see well enough to drive home (only a mile or so away), find a spare pair of glasses, and return to the scene of the tragedy. I found the phone and glasses and returned home.</p>

<p>The phone was a Samsung S4 in an “Otter” case, but the thing was submerged about 6” for 30 minutes or so. It didn’t work at all when I opened it up. It was wet inside, but not completely full of water. My wife has an electrical dryer for her cochlear implants, so I modified that so that the phone would fit inside and let ‘er rip. Sixteen hours later it works. </p>

<p>But here's the real story. The camera was much scarier, and of course, much more expensive. It didn’t get badly submerged (at least I don't think it did), but when I was able to get up and out of the water and place it on the bank of the ditch it was making noises like it was taking pictures every 15 seconds or so. When I got it home and got it dried out as much as I could with towels, etc, I took the lens off. Inside the mirror box seemed to be dry. But when I tried to make it work it gave me an error message (ERR 22, I think) and refused to do anything. So I put it in a gallon zip-loc bag with all the white rice we had in the house, being careful not to let any of it get up in the innards. I also put the battery and CF card in the bag. I removed the camera from the bag this morning, attached a lens, and installed the card and battery… IT WORKED! I had two lenses with me, a TSE-90 on the camera and a 24-105 in a pocket. Both seemed to miss getting really wet, and both worked fine on my spare camera after things settled down last night. Ireally feel like I dodged a bullet on that one.</p>

<p>Best news of all - except for a sore wrist, I wasn't hurt. I have really bad lower back problems along with a knee that's past due for replacement. But those things are no worse for the wear. I could have been killed if my head had hit one of those rocks.</p>

<p>I really feel like God was watching over me on this Easter. Just thought y'all would like to know.</p>

<p>Joe</p>

<p> </p>

[MarcelRomviel]

<p>I'm glad you are all right.<br>

Possessions mean nothing, but your health is.</p>

[devon_mccarroll]

Marcel is right. Possessions can be replaced. That having been said, I fell backwards down a set of stage steps while

doing some photos years ago, and instinctively protected my camera on the way down. I, on the other hand, was really

banged up and could barely walk the next day. It's funny how our gear comes to mind before ourselves sometimes. Glad you're okay!

[savagesax]

Can I make a suggestion? I worked in a camera repair store for a few years. Take the battery out for about 5 to

10 more days and let the camera sit somewhere near the sun, such as by a window, inside of the house. Water

can continue damaging the cameras circuits for several more days. Sometimes tiny rust spots can start forming.

 

Hope your good luck continues! bob

[dave404]

<p>Insurance?</p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>Glad to hear everything turned out OK! </p>

<p>While the 'bag of rice' trick is an excellent way to resolve mild water penetration, I would caution you that once you've confirmed that ANY water has penetrated the body (confirmed when you noticed it shooting by itself), you should <em>immediately</em> remove both batteries. Don't play with it, or try to diagnose where/what the water's gotten to - simply moving the camera around while there is water inside can cause droplets to move around - potentially severely damaging what is not damaged currently - if batteries are providing current that can short. I would also caution that overnight is not usually long enough for rice to desicate ALL the water inside. I personally would recommend leaving it for several days. White rice is a desicant (in this context), but there are far better ones out there - Damp Rid for example can be bought at any home depot (ish store), and works far better/faster. </p>

<p>If you had a fabric bag, I would have opened the camera's battery cover, CF port, and taken the lens off, put it in the bag, then put it in a sealed container with the damp rid. I would have also put in the lens that got dunked. A lot of moisture in a lens isn't as dramatic (usually) as in a camera, but can easily lead to fungus growth. </p>

<p>Hopefully you got all the water out, and hopefully a misstep won't happen again! </p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>It would be nice to think God takes an interest in cameras, but that aside, I am delighted it all was OK. I think you would have been safer to have not tried to switch it on until it had dried it out thoroughly, but it was no big deal in the end. Hope your wrist recovers soon.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>What Bob and Marcus said! Let that camera (and phone) continue to dry out, WITHOUT BATTERIES! Rather than the cloth bag that Marcus recommends, I'd use a paper bag, which is also moisture-permeable.</p>

<p>I recently bought a Frieq waterproof case/bag for my iphone. It's a bit kludgy, but I don't trust the fancier waterproof cases (e.g. with connector ports) in a harsh marine environment. So far this solution seems to work very well.<br /> <br />Glad you didn't get hurt too badly! This could have come out much worse!</p>

[joe_fikes]

<p>Thank you all for your helpful responses.</p>

<p>Robin, while I doubt God takes much interest in cameras, I'm persuaded for many reasons that he takes interest in me. You, of course, are free to believe whatever you like.</p>

<p>Joe</p>

<p> </p>

[starvy]

<p>I am really sorry that you had this accident. As others have said above, your health is more precious than valuables. I wonder if you have heard of drying electroic items in rice? It does work with some phones as long as the damage is not too severe and the phone had not been switched on. In the future, if a phone falls in a pool of water, do not attempt to switch it on, just leave it covered in uncooked rice for a couple of days. This should be done in addition to any driers you may use. </p>

[Dave410]

<p>.</p>