If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of your camera getting wet, you know that it can be a real disaster. Water can damage your camera beyond repair, and even a small amount can be enough to ruin it. In this article, we’ll teach you how to save your camera if it gets wet.
It doesn’t always take a full dunk in water to cause damage a splash in the wrong part of the camera can be enough. So don’t panic if your camera falls into a pool, or you get caught in the rain with it follow these tips, and you may just save it!
Okay! First things first. Make sure you are safe before you take care of your camera. Once you are confident everything is fine with you, it is time to act fast about your camera.
If you enjoy your camera lens and want to be proactive, go ahead and buy a waterproof lens case. We have an excellent selection of the best Waterproof cases available.
Important steps to follow if your camera gets wet
- Hit the power switch on and pull out the batteries from the camera as soon as possible. If you know where your camera’s button battery is and can get to it fast, take it out too.
- Allow the camera to dry completely before storing it. Remove as much water as possible from the outside, and if water is seeping out of it, let it run until it stops. To extract as much water as possible, gently shake the camera and turn it upside down.
- DO NOT yet open the memory card slot. This is usually one of the most waterproof parts of the camera.
- Remove the lens gently. To prevent any additional water from entering the camera’s interior, point it down as you remove the lens. This is one of the more well-sealed regions, so if no water has gotten in here, you’re lucky.
- If the card is dry, leave it be. Otherwise, expect to dry out the rest of your camera with it.
- Wrap the camera and lens in something absorbent until you can begin the drying out process, below, with all compartments open. Anything that will help soak up water is fine, such as towels, a spare t-shirt, or anything else. If it soaks through, replace it with anything dry as needed.
If you drop the camera in salt water, it’s probably best to say goodbye to it. Saltwater is harmful to any electronic gadgets and may cause the components within the camera to deteriorate over time, causing more problems when using the camera.
After taking care of the important tasks let’s focus on what to do next
Get your camera as dry as possible
It takes time to dry it out, but time is also your enemy. Water + Time = Corrosion. So, whatever you use must pull water from its surroundings quickly and effectively in order for you to get the water out as soon as possible.
There are a variety of techniques that claim to be able to dry out your electronics. People have claimed that using rice, wheat germ, kitty litter, a low-heat oven, or various other miraculous chemicals or treatments could revive their broken electronics. In my experience, only a few treatments function, and some of them might make the situation worse. It’s mostly determined by how severe the dunking is, as well as how well your camera is sealed.
Remove the memory card
The next thing you should do is remove your memory cards and other accessories. It’s self-explanatory to take out the batteries since you don’t want any kind of electrical contact. The majority of memory cards can withstand some contact with water, but removing them after the camera is dry and allowing the SD card to dry is the safer option.
Put your camera in a sealed bag with some uncooked rice
If you’ve ever dropped your phone in water, you’ve probably heard of this common drying technique. This method involves using uncooked rice to absorb moisture from your camera. Almost any electronics may be cleaned effectively with the aid of an airtight bag.
White rice is placed in an airtight container uncooked. Other varieties of rice are acceptable, but you should be aware that after the operation is finished, you may need to clean your camera or deal with scented vapors. Place your camera lens into the container, sealing it off and leaving it on a shelf for a few days.
Again, it’s comparable to the silica gel in that you’ll need to wait a few days before testing it out and seeing if it works. You may also dry your entire camera using this method, so don’t be afraid to pack your entire camera when going away for the weekend.
Water is added to the rice. The longer you can leave the camera in the rice, the better. If you’re on vacation and don’t have access to your pantry, it’s definitely worth stopping by a grocery store and picking up a bag of rice and some freezer bags. Depending on how expensive your camera lens is, this may save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
This is considerably easier than using silica gel, and some individuals believe it’s a good technique because it has worked for them in the past. Keep in mind that the silica gel method should be your first option, but this will perform nearly as well.
This is another effective technique for anything else that may have fallen into the water by accident. Rice is a low-cost food, so it’s a fantastic alternative to wasting open bags in your pantry.
How To Check If Your Lens Has Water
Before you do anything to dry your lens, make sure it has water in it. Even if a lens is not rated as weather-sealed, most modern lenses have excellent weather sealing. So, you might believe that water got into your lens, but it may not be the case. That’s why we need to double-check it.
It’s also possible that the reverse is true. From the outside, a lens may appear to be entirely dry, but there may be enough water within it to destroy it. Here’s what you should do:
Take a look inside your lens to see if there is any condensation, drips of water, or impurities that were not there previously. If you have a zoom lens, try zooming in and out while looking straight through the barrel. It’s also a good idea to point your lens toward a bright light source; since it will backlight the dust, moisture, and other particles making them easier to see.
Remove your lens, Inspect and dry it
Remove your lens after the unit has been thoroughly soaked. Give it a few shakes if the body is completely wet to get as much water out as possible. Remove your lens once you’re sure there’s no more water in between the lens seal and mount.
Make sure to point your camera directly on the floor to keep water droplets out of the sensor area. Set the protective cap over the body as soon after removing the lens as feasible to minimize difficulties. It’s now time to look at the lens again and see what kind of damage it sustained. The harm may not always be apparent, so you’ll have to factor that in as well.
The type of water the lens was immersed in is also critical to understand. Seawater has a high salt content, which can harm your lens mechanism. Pond water is full of germs and fungus that might grow inside your lens and cause it to fail.
Rinse Your Lens
It sounds counterintuitive, but it is not. Water damage isn’t the worst thing that can happen to your lens if it was exposed to saltwater or dirty water. You’re more likely to preserve your lens by rinsing it in pure water rather than salt and mold, which would be much more difficult to treat.
Use only bottled water (ideally) to rinse your camera. The lens can’t harm the water any more than it already has, so don’t worry about it. It’s time to save the lens once you’ve cleaned the lens as much as possible.
Put Your Lens In Rice To Get the Water Out
The process is similar to the silica gel approach, but the distinction is that you’ll probably be able to locate rice in any part of the world you might even have some in your kitchen. As a result, you may get started quicker and minimize the harm caused.
The procedure of applying rice is also similar. Fill an airtight container with a good amount of uncooked rice and place your lens face down. Allow it to rest for a few days before inspecting the results.
Get it Serviced
It’s always a good idea to take your camera to a professional for evaluation if you follow all of the above procedures and reduce any damage to your lens. Even if you minimize the damage done to your lens, you should get it examined by a professional since an expert may assist you in repairing it for a fraction of the cost of replacing the lens.
If your lens got wet in mud, dirty water, saltwater, or other unclean sources of water, please follow these instructions. You may be able to remove the water from these cases if you act quickly; however, the contaminants will most certainly do damage. And if you bring your lens to a professional right away, you can avoid this issue.
A local store or the manufacturer may provide assistance. If you have an accident warranty on your equipment, sending it to the manufacturer is the best option.
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