Splash!

What to do with a digital camera dipped in the sea for a ten minutes
(apart a whimsical paperweight)?

>What to do with a digital camera dipped in the sea for a ten minutes
>(apart a whimsical paperweight)?

I took mine apart to see what was inside it.

Then I gave the pieces to a friend who will share them with
other friends.

--
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam.

"cyrusthevirus" <root@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:t_vxh.18490$K8.14996@news.edisontel.com...
> What to do with a digital camera dipped in the sea for a ten minutes
> (apart a whimsical paperweight)?
>
>

Same as any camera..

REMOVE the battery before it can explode.

Wash it in tap water ASAP.
Then wash it in de-ionised water with several changes.

Put it somewhere to dry (some silica gel helps).

Contact insurers to see if they will replace it.. if they do they will own
the old one.

If not insured then it will probably still work once dry provided you
removed the battery and washed it before things started to corrode.

Funny enough water doesn't damage the electronics as many people think.. it
causes the mechanics to corrode and fail IME.

dennis@home <dennis@killspam.kicks-ass.net> wrote:

: "cyrusthevirus" <root@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
: news:t_vxh.18490$K8.14996@news.edisontel.com...
: > What to do with a digital camera dipped in the sea for a ten minutes
: > (apart a whimsical paperweight)?
: >
: >

: Same as any camera..

: REMOVE the battery before it can explode.

: Wash it in tap water ASAP.
: Then wash it in de-ionised water with several changes.

: Put it somewhere to dry (some silica gel helps).

: Contact insurers to see if they will replace it.. if they do they will own
: the old one.

: If not insured then it will probably still work once dry provided you
: removed the battery and washed it before things started to corrode.

: Funny enough water doesn't damage the electronics as many people think.. it
: causes the mechanics to corrode and fail IME.

But there are two problems with sea water (mentioned in the original
post). Salt water is not only more corrosive but is very conductive. So if
there was a battery in the camera and the salt water shorted across
something delicate there is a good chance that parts were fried. And it is
even more likely if the item shorted to a delicate circuit was the
capacitor with the flash. To make flashes more rapidly available, many
cameras keep these charged at all times.

Second, the corrosive nature of salt water is much more dangerous than
pure water. If the above recommended flushing with water is done quick
enough and thorough enough that the salt is fully flushed before damage to
very small and delicate metal parts, damage can be reduced. But the longer
it has a chance to set and eat metal the worse it will be. Also the areas
that may not show damage, will be more suseptable to later rusting. So
things like shutters and mechanical linkages may become stiff or even slow
working (if not totally frozen) much sooner than otherwise expected.

So I agree, try everything first. But don't get your hopes up too high.
And even if it seems to be working now, start saving up for its
replacement as you are likely to need to replace it sooner than you want
to.

JMHO

Randy

==========
Randy Berbaum
Champaign, IL

On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 02:44:25 +0100, cyrusthevirus wrote:
> What to do with a digital camera dipped in the sea for a ten minutes
> (apart a whimsical paperweight)?

Remove the batteries and rinse them in fresh water. (Mine survived.)
Remove the CF card (or ..) and flush in fresh water. (Mine survived.)

Flush the camera in fresh water and *keep for spare parts* -- if you
plan to replace it with the same model.

(Of course, if you waited for usenet response time to decide what to
do -- it's WAY TOO late now.

I flooded my underwater case in Anguilla -- containing a Nikon CP.

I had a spare camera on the trip -- an identical Nikon CP that I bought
on eBay. So, my trip when on without a problem -- but, with A LOT more
caution. When I returned home I bought yet another spare Nikon CP on
eBay.

As for using the ruined camera for spare parts: I've already repaired
the battery compartment on one of my good Nikons with parts from it.

When around _any_ kind_ of water, I always carry my p&s camera(s) in a
quart-sized (0.9463 l) Zip-Lock (tm) plastic bag. (I think you can get
them free from the Dept Of Homeland Hysteria these days.

Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
*** Killfiling google posts: <http://jonz.net/ng.htm>

In article <eq6ubg$pf6$1@wildfire.prairienet.org>, Randy Berbaum <rberbaum@bluestem.prairienet.org> wrote:
>dennis@home <dennis@killspam.kicks-ass.net> wrote:
>
>: "cyrusthevirus" <root@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
>: news:t_vxh.18490$K8.14996@news.edisontel.com...
>: > What to do with a digital camera dipped in the sea for a ten minutes
>: > (apart a whimsical paperweight)?
>: >
>: >
>
>: Same as any camera..
>
>: REMOVE the battery before it can explode.
>
>: Wash it in tap water ASAP.
>: Then wash it in de-ionised water with several changes.
>
>: Put it somewhere to dry (some silica gel helps).
>
>: Contact insurers to see if they will replace it.. if they do they will own
>: the old one.
>
>: If not insured then it will probably still work once dry provided you
>: removed the battery and washed it before things started to corrode.
>
>: Funny enough water doesn't damage the electronics as many people think.. it
>: causes the mechanics to corrode and fail IME.
>
>But there are two problems with sea water (mentioned in the original
>post). Salt water is not only more corrosive but is very conductive. So if
>there was a battery in the camera and the salt water shorted across
>something delicate there is a good chance that parts were fried. And it is
>even more likely if the item shorted to a delicate circuit was the
>capacitor with the flash. To make flashes more rapidly available, many
>cameras keep these charged at all times.
>
>Second, the corrosive nature of salt water is much more dangerous than
>pure water. If the above recommended flushing with water is done quick
>enough and thorough enough that the salt is fully flushed before damage to
>very small and delicate metal parts, damage can be reduced. But the longer
>it has a chance to set and eat metal the worse it will be. Also the areas
>that may not show damage, will be more suseptable to later rusting. So
>things like shutters and mechanical linkages may become stiff or even slow
>working (if not totally frozen) much sooner than otherwise expected.
>
>So I agree, try everything first. But don't get your hopes up too high.
>And even if it seems to be working now, start saving up for its
>replacement as you are likely to need to replace it sooner than you want
>to.
>
>JMHO
>
>Randy
>
>==========
>Randy Berbaum
>Champaign, IL
>
I accidentally dropped my old 1.3mp Olympus in the Great Salt Lake, and it
survived using the above techniques. It doesnt get saltier than the great Salt
Lake in Utah, unless you travel to the dead sea.