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  1. #1
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    please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    I dropped my VERY expensive digital camera in water. I took out the battery and tried to dry it out with my blowdryer. The screen is fogged up around the edges, will that go away? It will take pictures but not very well.

    I'm so worried. Once it dried out more will it be okay? This camera w as a gift and it means a lot to me. Not to mention that i love photography.

    Someone please tell me my camera is going to be OK.

  2. #2
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    http://www.crutchfield.com/S-wyHdRWk...p?i=158DSCW100

    that's the camera i have.

    I am so upset and so worried. I don't have much at all, my camera means so much to me.

  3. #3
    Senior Shooter Greg McCary's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    I washed my cell phone in the washer twice, It took a couple of days to dry out but it worked. But that jump in the swimming pool ended it's life.
    Greg
    I am like Barney Fife, I have a gun but Andy makes me keep the bullet in my pocket..

    Sony a99/a7R

  4. #4
    photo gallery Mod. starriderrick's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Here is what I recommend;Depending on how old it is.If it's less than 30 days old...Let it dry out, call the manufacturer, tell them it stopped working. If they find NO water in it.Chances are good you'll get a replacement.If they find water....Well.You know.
    Sorry about your mishap.I can relate.
    Rick









  5. #5
    Poster Formerly Known as Michael Fanelli mwfanelli's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by EmyleeShadow04
    I dropped my VERY expensive digital camera in water. I took out the battery and tried to dry it out with my blowdryer. The screen is fogged up around the edges, will that go away? It will take pictures but not very well.

    I'm so worried. Once it dried out more will it be okay? This camera w as a gift and it means a lot to me. Not to mention that i love photography.

    Someone please tell me my camera is going to be OK.
    Well, let me tell ya... Years ago I dropped by S100 Elph into the Brandywine River. Not once, but three times. When I got it home, I dried everything off. The CF card worked fine when dried (I still have and use it). The battery was fine. The camera was toast. It cost more to fix than it was worth so I bought a new camera. Most cameras hate the water. If this is something that might happen again, get a "hazard warranty" that will replace it. Otherwise, chalk it up to bad luck. Sorry...
    "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." --Mark Twain

  6. #6
    Member gryphonslair99's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by starriderrick
    Here is what I recommend;Depending on how old it is.If it's less than 30 days old...Let it dry out, call the manufacturer, tell them it stopped working. If they find NO water in it.Chances are good you'll get a replacement.If they find water....Well.You know.
    Sorry about your mishap.I can relate.
    Rick
    Spoken like a true thief in the making.

  7. #7
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    best thing you can do is let it dry. Don't use it for a few days, remove battery, memory, etc. Don't try to use it now.
    I have a canon powershot that was floating in salty water, It gave me an error code at the begining, but after 2 days drying it was fine (2 years ago, still works).
    Another friend left his camera on the rain all night, he left it drying a couple of days and no problem.

  8. #8
    Just me and my camera
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    I don't have any advice, other than what has already been stated (starriderrick's idea made me smile! ). I feel for you, EmyleeShadow04, and I know what you mean about your camera meaning a lot to you. I hope it works after it dries out.
    "You put your camera around your neck along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the body that shares your life with you."--Dorothea Lange

  9. #9
    Pulitzer hunter Stupendous Man's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Depending on how much water is in it, and for how long, you may need to let it dry for SEVERAL DAYS. remove the battery & everything else. Do not turn it on until it is thouroughly dried or you could fry it permenantly. The lenses fogged up will dry over time. It may speed things up to store it in a room with a dehumidifier running.
    Whoever said a photograph is worth a thousand words has never heard me !%$&%$@!# at my pictures!

  10. #10
    Senior Member freygr's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    As long as water did not get into the lens and you did remove the battery. If it completely drys out before you install the battery most likely all is well. What kills the electronics is the water can supply a current path for the battery to discharge through frying the electronics in the current path.

    Now it the camera was just in and out it's not much of a chance of major damage, but if it was in the water for a long time it's most likely a paper weight.
    GRF

    Panorama Madness:

    Nikon D800, 50mm F1.4D AF, 16-35mm, 28-200mm & 70-300mm

  11. #11
    Poster Formerly Known as Michael Fanelli mwfanelli's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by freygr
    As long as water did not get into the lens and you did remove the battery. If it completely drys out before you install the battery most likely all is well. What kills the electronics is the water can supply a current path for the battery to discharge through frying the electronics in the current path.
    Actually, the polluted water in my camera made a mess of the sensor. If it isn't water sealed, it will probably be more than just the electronics.
    "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." --Mark Twain

  12. #12
    May the force be with you Canuck935's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Also, sounds like you dropped it in freshwater? If so just take everyone's advice and let it dry out real good before using it again. If it was saltwater... time to buy a new camera.

  13. #13
    has-been... another view's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Canuck935
    If it was saltwater... time to buy a new camera.
    Good point, salt water eats just about everything. If it was fresh water, the only thing you can really do is leave it alone with the battery out of it. Leave the battery and memory card doors open to try to promote air circulation. Personally I'd give it a couple weeks because you only have one chance with this. No guarantees this will work, but good luck with it.

  14. #14
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Yeah I got pushed in a pool once by a short dwarf-like english girl with absolutely no neck who we called chafey due to her chafed-like walk. We didn't know her. Anyway, I was pushed in with my new mobile and my dad's new camera in my pocket and the boardgame pictionary in my hands. Pictionary floated so it came out mostly unharmed. The mobile and camera didn't work. I left them to dry but being extremely drunk at the time I probably tried to turn them on at least once. Anyway they didn't work after they were dried so I decided it could be the salt pool water. When I got home I took my phone apart and let it soak in warm salty water thinking that perhaps this will dissolve the salt particles and move them out of the phone. The phone ended up working pretty much 100% eventually but the camera never made it cause you can't really take that apart. And Chafey, well, we'll never know what became of her. I just hope I never see her again.

    I hope you only dropped it in freshwater and you get lucky (not with Chafey).

  15. #15
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    DONT MESS WITH IT. Let it dry out completely. If you turn it on you may risk damaging it MORE!

  16. #16
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    I have had two experiences - both with the same brand and model. I dropped my Canon 5D MkII in a fresh water stream and after turning it on and off several times over two days I then sent it to Canon. It could not be repaired! As fate would have it I dropped my new Canon 5D MKII in another fresh water stream and based on what I was told to do after my first experience I left it turned off for one week. I then reinserted the battery memory card and put a lens on it and guess what? It worked just fine! It seems the key here is to not turn it on when it may have water inside as you may fry the circuitry.

    Good luck man! I know how you feel...

  17. #17
    n8
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Try some rice. Honestly! I did this with my last cell phone for about 24 hours and it really helped. I wish I'd known not to turn things on a couple years a go when I jumped in a pool with my camera in my pocket.
    mostly Nikon gear

    Feel free to edit my images for critique, just let me know what you did.

  18. #18
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Remove the batteries completely make it dry for 2-3 days, might be it could help you. but dont try to turn it on as power will flow and chip can be destroyed.

  19. #19
    Member gryphonslair99's Avatar
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by yad99in View Post
    Remove the batteries completely make it dry for 2-3 days, might be it could help you. but dont try to turn it on as power will flow and chip can be destroyed.
    I think it is a little late since this thread is 5+ years old.

  20. #20
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    Re: please PLEASE help!! I dropped my camera in water!!!

    Haha just a little late. But you never know

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