Help! Camera experts!

“I dropped my camera (Canon Powershot S70)in the creek! I saw the display go out, and it had water at the edges of the display window (inside). :-(

I removed the flashcard/battery before driving home. When I put the battery back in this morning, the camera closed. I couldn't get it to download, even using the old camera body (S50). I opened the camera up again to dry out during the day.

After work I was able to download the pics. :-)

We're leaving Sept 9th for 2 weeks! SnowDude was going to take the S70, and I was going to get the S80. Now we need two cameras unless this one can be saved!

My question is. . . will it dry out? Or should I use the hairdryer to help it dry out? Take it to a camera shop? Or just buy another camera?

Thanks for any info!”

“Sorry Snow Nymph, but unless you had a waterproof casing, it's probably shot. Even if it does turn on/off, it won't work correctly again, and you'd most likely be wasting your time. I recommend getting a new one and searching for a waterproof casing for it.”

“I'm not sure, but whatever I did I would make 100% sure that it was completely dry inside and out before I fired 'er up again. Sorry to hear it, that's too bad. You might get lucky though.”

“Might be worth asking the advice of a camera shop or calling Canon customer service. Several things could be wrong with it. First water could have shorted and fried critical circuits. In case of a future similar mishap be sure to remove right away all batteries and power sources, and especially any memory cards. Also water could have introduced contaminants that are gumming up mechanisms, these might possibly be cleaned. Finally internal metal corrosion may have occurred, this may not be able to be fixed. I think first is to let it dry over several days, there may be hidden wet spots inside. The hairdryer doesn't sound like such a good idea.

I just had a scare with my camera, it randomly decided not to like my memory cards, insisting they had to be formatted and then telling me it couldn't do so. Then just as randomly it decided to work again.
last edited: 8/29/05 11:13:29 PM”

“Bummer. Do you have an extended warranty? Sometimes, they cover accidents. I”

“yep, what Ox said.”

“SnowNymph,
We dunked our Nikon with about the same results as you're experiencing. We checked with several camera shops, but none seemed anxious, or capable, of going through the camera and all said it would probably be nearly as cheap to replace it as repair it. It never did seem to dry and never did work again. We eventually replaced it. Good luck!”

“Thanks, everyone!

I made a few calls. My camera drowned.

I ordered another S70, and should get it by Thurs. The S80 doesn't come out til Oct. :-(

I checked on extended warranty, but it doesn't cover dropping it in water (or anything else I might do to it).

I'm just glad I was able to download the pics!

Off to lunch!”

“If you can get insurance for cell phones, why not cameras?”

“http://forums.kustompcs.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-17842.html

SN..I found this link...just maybe it may help...the Laurence person writes on a few things to try”

“SnowNymph, my husband dropped our Canon point and shooter in a pond, he fished it out after about 5 seconds. He took everything out, including the mini battery that runs the computer clock etc and dried it put for 24 hours on the trail. It has worked flawlessly ever since. Did you take out the mini battery also?”

“For future reference...I work in the electronic field. Water won't hurt the parts until you turn it on. We actually use a dishwasher to clean our newly made PCBs.”

“Snow Nymph, There ya go . As long as you never turn your camera on it will work just fine. ;-)”

“Thanks for the link, MiT. Paige, its good to know that there's a chance this might work.

SnowDude is going to take the damaged camera apart. Its been sitting here, opened up, no batteries, since Sunday night. I turned it on to download the pics Mon night, so maybe I can try again. It should be dry by now, I would think. Just hate to buy a 2nd S70 since the S80 will be out in a month. But then we need another one before vacation in 9 days. Hope it works! The camera shops all told me it was dead and not worth trying to fix”

“Hey SN, just a thought....some camera shops rent their cameras. Maybe you could rent one for the duration of your vacation.....and then buy the S80 in Oct.”

“I just got the S70 in the mail today! SnowDude will take the other one apart and look at it. If it works we'll wait for the price of the S80 to drop. I think the S80 takes a different flash card than the S70. :-( Same batteries, though!

Borrowed my parents digital as a backup, but its kinda heavy, and 2.0 megapixels. It'll work if we can't get my other one to work.”

“I posted my suggestion on your TR thread before reading this. Do you have access to a vacuum chamber at work? May be called a Vacuum Desiccator. If you can get it done before any corrosion is permanent, perhaps you can salvage it!”