Dropped camera in water - rice trick?

[jonsjons]

Well, it finally happened- just dropped my 5d mark II in a lake, where it was submerged for a few seconds. Hoping to salvage it, so I've

got all the ports opened up and thought I might as well try putting it in some rice as some websites say to try....but don't want to get rice

stuck inside. Anyone tried this before? Closing up the ports would keep the rice out, but wouldn't that just keep the moisture in? Help!

[User_6502147]

<p>Make sure you remove the battery, as well. I hear the rice trick works....just don't let it inside the cavity where the sensor is. Keep it over night+ and see if it dried. Hope you have insurance (just in case).</p>

<p>Les</p>

[jonsjons]

Thanks les. I did take the battery out. I will keep the rice away from the mirror and sensor, but do you think I should

everything else open? (Alas, no insurance).

[ShunCheung]

Can you find a net with fine holes to put the camera in and keep the rice out? I assume it was fresh water. Hopefully it is

salvageable.

[MichaelChang]

<p>I've never used the rice drying method, but from my understanding (and memory), the theory is that rice can act as a mild desiccant thus absorbing ambient moisture. Since the rice won't be in direct contact with the water lodged in the crevices of the camera, it works by absorbing the evaporated moisture in the enclosed air. </p>

<p>I haven't looked on the net on how it's typically done, but I imagine it would be in an airtight closed space, something like one of those large salad containers, and I presume you can crush the rice to increase the desiccant's surface area. </p>

<p>The rice can be placed in a gauze bag to contain it. </p>

<p>Since the water must first evaporate, it would seem to me that a small muffin fan to create air current in the container will help reduce drying time. </p>

[jim_momary]

<p>Put the camera in a section of nylon pantyhose.<br>

Tie it off.<br>

Viola! Instant "rice" filter. (pun intended)<br>

Stick it into your Uncle Ben's desiccant.<br>

Done.<br>

Jim</p>

[jonsjons]

Yup, no pantyhose handy, but I cannibalized an old camping tent - cut the mesh out and wrapped the camera up. It was

still on when I pulled it out of the lake, so I'm hoping that means it might be ok.

[jonsjons]

Thanks everyone. I guess I will wait 24 hours or so.

 

As I pulled the camera and tripod out of the lake I thought "I guess this means I'll have to get a 5ds." The reality however

is that it will be hard enough to get another 5d2. So....fingers crossed.

[bob_bill]

<p>My fly fishing guide in Yellowstone was wading with a Nikon d4 in his small back pack, fell in and the pack completely filled with water. He used the rice method and the camera was working fine 2 weeks later when we fished. And he had it in the back pack again. Some of those streams are pretty slippery. </p>

[phule]

<p>[[i guess I will wait 24 hours or so.]]</p>

<p>If it were my camera, I would wait longer than 24 H. </p>

[bobatkins]

<p>I'd wait as long as you can stand to! The rice acts as a desiccant, absorbing water vapor, but it can be a slow process. Last thing you want is to power it up while there's any moisture inside the camera. If you can leave it for a week, all the better.</p>

<p>I'd put the camera somewhere warm (not hot) and open up any and all ports to encourage any trapped water to evaporate. Remove the battery of course.</p>

<p>Better than rice might be actual desiccant. It's not hard to find, even Walmart sells it (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stack-On-Safe-n-Dry-Desiccant-10-Pack/14707414). Most bigger camera stores sell it too (B&H, Adorama etc.)</p>

[johne37179]

<p>Let us know how it turns out.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Don't rush it. Let any desiccant to its job. <br>

You might want to open up and remove the Date/Time Battery (manual p 217) as well.<br>

Open everything up and get warm (not burning hot) air into it as much as you can.<br>

Do the same for the lens and other wetted things.</p>

[jonsjons]

<p>ok, i will wait at least a few days before powering up. </p>

<p>bob, do you think i'd do better with a couple of dessicant packages in a ziploc bag than having the camera surrounded by rice? i can always remove the camera and go that route...</p>

[Sanford]

<p>Will no one give Johnathan the bad news? A digital camera fully submerged in water is history. I hope I'm wrong.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Sanford, not according to that one story from Bob Bill:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>My fly fishing guide in Yellowstone was wading with a Nikon d4 in his small back pack, fell in and the pack completely filled with water. He used the rice method and the camera was working fine 2 weeks later when we fished.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>What does the OP have to lose, some rice? It sure doesn't hurt to give it a try. Worst comes to worst, the 5D Mark II is a pretty old model by now. Its current value is not that high any more.</p>

[bob_bill]

<p>Shun, I don't know if the camera failed later, I'll check with him. But it was working fine. I was trying to find a guide who could get some line-in-the-air photos with a thermal feature in the bg and possible a buffalo. I was shocked when he pulled out a d4 then got into the water with it in a non sealing backpack. </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I really don't think "at least a few days" is nearly long enough. It may be recoverable, but I'd shop around for a new or lightly used additional camera while you're waiting, all the same.</p>

<p>I used a Nikkormat EL for a long day of shooting in the rain in the Andes many years ago. I think it was less sensitive than most digital cameras are today, but for some reason it failed me on the way back about half a week later. It actually wasn't too expensive to get it back and it's still working today.</p>

[jonsjons]

<p>yeah, i'm looking into possibly picking up a 6d, perhaps through greentoe. </p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>I have a couple of personal experiences that are at least partially applicable to this. Years ago, in a former life, I was a camera dealer -- I'd buy and sell used camera gear. I bought a Nikon FG and MD-14 motor drive from a guy for dirt cheap who had dunked his camera and motor drive into a river. He hadn't done anything to it except for just let it sit in the open air after he'd dunked it. It had probably been about two weeks before I bought it. I decided to take the gamble because I was able to pick it up for so cheap. Back then I also did a fair amount of camera repair and I was fortunate enough to live close to Nikon's parts and repair facility in Southern California -- I think it was in Torrance.</p>

<p>I removed the FG's top and bottom covers and inspected it for corrosion and moisture. It was dry and I couldn't find any corrosion. So I stuck some batteries in it and turned it on. And it worked. Just fine. The FG is entirely dependent upon the battery for operation and both the shutter speeds and the meter were working. I even hooked it up to a tester and tested the shutter speeds and they were exactly correct. The meter agreed with a good hand-held meter I owned. Well, I didn't want to sell it right away, so I left it sitting out for a couple of weeks in case something might crop up, but nothing did. Now the MD-14 was a different story. Its main circuit board was bad. I bought a replacement board from Nikon and installed it, and voila, I had a working MD-14. Now, I think the reason why the camera survived and the motor drive didn't is because the camera's film wind crank was probably pushed in (to cover the red dot on the top cover), which switched the camera off. But the motor drive had an on-off switch, and it was probably set to "on." Which is probably why the motor's circuit board blew but the camera was fine.</p>

<p>Now, if Jonathan's 5DII was switched off, he might be in luck. Even if it had been sitting for a while, switched on, the camera goes to sleep, which might also reduce the risk. So if he will just be patient and let the rice or other suitable dessicant do its job, he might be in luck. I would probably wait at least a week, just to be on the safe side. BTW, you can buy dessicant in bulk from a chemistry supply. Just google it.</p>

<p>Something else occurs to me -- isn't the 5DII gasketed against moisture intrusion? If so, this will probably have greatly limited the amount of moisture that actually got inside the camera. If I were Jonathan, I would be optimistic.</p>

<p>And here's another, more recent experience. A few years ago, I was carrying my Samsung Galaxy smart phone in my shirt pocket when I was standing over a toilet, doing my business. I leaned over to flush it and my phone fell into the toilet. Well, first thing I did was fish it out of there and then quickly rinse it off in the sink. I immediately opened it up, removed the battery, SD card and chip, set it on absorbent paper towels and tried to squeeze as much moisture out of it as I could. Then I took a hairdryer, set it to low, and just blew the dryer onto the phone for a good half hour. I got it to where there was no longer any visible moisture leaking from around the buttons. Crossed my fingers, reloaded the battery and card and chip and switched it on. And it came up and worked. But for the next month or so, it would do screwy things, usually when i was trying to type some text. It would add extra characters or sometimes it wouldn't respond to input. But I just figured I would have to live with it until I'd be able to get a replacement, which was still a good year away according to the contract. But you know what -- gradually these odd things it did disappeared, until the phone was fully functional and behaving normally by -- say -- a couple months later. I still have that phone, and it still works perfectly, even though it's been retired now by a more up to date model. No more carrying my smart phone in my shirt pocket.</p>

[ShunCheung]

Hi Jon, any luck?