Flooded Camera

[milldog]

It was in the box with my other kit and it all went in the bucket to be rinsed bit by bit having had salt on it for a change.

Arfie

fair point, but a costly lesson mate

when i had a camera i always took the dry stuff out MP3 player etc and washed the wet bits on there own unless i couldn't be arsed and left them in the car to fester until the next dive

Graham

[Arfie]

Take out an insurance policy. Go diving with it. Smash it into tiny tiny pieces with your weightbelt.

The cost of the premiums and then any excess would be more than the cost of another camera, not that I'd dream of commiting insurance fraud

All I was wondering was if there is anything else I can do (with very limited skills) to repair it or if it is fooked and needs to go in the bin.

Arfie

[Chriz]

Hi,

I flooded my C8080 in saltwater, left it in a bucket of fresh for about an hour, then for two weeks in an airing cupboard. It regained about 95% of it's functions back, so I sent it to Olympus and I got it back, fully operational for £60.
HTH

Chris

[Richard Mason]

why the camera doesnt get wet ...................unless you flood it

Graham

I always drop mine in a sink of warm water for 15-20 mins, work all the buttons, gets the salt off all the bits, then dry with towel, then open because:

1. It said to in the instructions, and;
2. That way, if a drip of water gets on the inside, you can just wipe it off without leaving a salt residue.
3. It also soaks salt off the O-ring. Bit of a bugger to wash it off once you've opened it.

[meathead_dave]

Probably a case of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted but I have contents insurance with Liverpool Victoria and they cover any single item up to £1k against accidental damage. This does include all dive gear including cameras and does also include flooding as I rang and asked them. Might be useful fo the future as its far cheaper than dedicated dive insurance for cameras

[Arfie]

No, I've got insurance I can claim on but the value of the camera compared against the policy excess and loss of NCB makes it not worth while. It's only a cheapo, I just wondered if it was fixable.

Good news is it seems to be improving. Wednesday the lense was moving out, today the screen is flicking on, though not staying on, so it seems just leaving it to dry out thoroughly is the best option.

Arfie

[Cussy]

Good news is it seems to be improving. Wednesday the lense was moving out, today the screen is flicking on, though not staying on, so it seems just leaving it to dry out thoroughly is the best option.

That sounds similar to what mine did, so like you say, give it time.
Rob

[Jules]

I feel your pain!
Everytime i have done it it's been in salt water and it's totally FUBAR

[Admac]

Has this happened to many people on here with the compact camera waterproof housings?

I've flooded two and have been careful prepping them and they've been ok for the first dive, I've kept them in their housings for the surface interval wrapped in a towel and both of them have drowned themselves on the second dive of the day, ruined, both of them, on the plus side it's always been whilst on holiday and the insurance has coughed up

[meathead_dave]

I have had a Sony DCS-P9 and now have a Sea & Sea DX-1G and (touch wood) have not had a flood yet. I have been on two liveaboards and seen 2 fujis and a Pentax compact flooded (the latter was due to the muppet catching the lanyard in the back door of the housing!).

I think as long as you prepare your housing correctly you minimise the risk, each of the above instances have been where the owners were rushing to get their cameras just before a dive. You need to go somewhere nice and quiet and go thru the basics of whatever you do to get your camera nice and leak free and CHECK EVERYTHING.