| Sign in: |
| Members log in here with your user name and password to access the your admin page and other special features. |
|
|
|
|
|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Lots of rain = camera that won't switch on!
David Scriven, Photographer
 |
Rochford | Essex | United Kingdom | Posted: 10:25 AM on 05.17.10 |
->> Right my friends of SS.com I need your help!
Yesterday I was at Wembley Stadium in London shooting a football match in torrential rain. Being the idiot I am I eft my rain covers at home and was forced to ride out the storm.
All was OK on the day but today I have gone to switch my 1D Mark 3 body on and nothing - it's dead! Surprisingly my Mark 2 is fine though.
I've left it in the airing cupboard for half the morning but still no joy, I've given it a light going over with a hairdryer - still no joy, so now it is sitting in a bowl of rice in the airing cupboard for the next couple of days and cross my fingers.
Most annoying thing is that I have another football tonight and tomorrow so I am down to just my Mark 2.
Does anyone have any other bright ideas? And I know what an idiot I have been so don't worry about that part.
Fortunately I have insurance so worst ways I'll have to make a claim but praying the Canon gods are looking down on me and will come to my rescue.
Would appreciate any other suggestions. |
|
Wesley R. Bush, Photographer
 |
Nashville | TN | U.S. | Posted: 10:28 AM on 05.17.10 |
| ->> I was going to suggest the rice also. Just make sure it's all in a ziplock bag so the rice is pulling moisture from the camera, not the air. I've also heard of people using those moisture packets you find in shoe boxes. Maybe a shoe store has extras? Good luck. |
|
Paul Nelson, Photographer
|
Temperance | MI | USA | Posted: 2:24 PM on 05.17.10 |
| ->> Just to make sure and to cover the somewhat obvious - have you tried batteries that were not involved in this situation? I've had some gear "appear" to be bad after rain but the batteries shorted out, not the camera. |
|
Bryan Hulse, Photographer
|
Nashville | Tn | USA | Posted: 4:43 PM on 05.17.10 |
->> Another thought: I was once using a video camera while mountain climbing in the winter. I video taped myself as I did a glissade about 500 feet down a snow covered slope. At the bottom, my video camera was COMPLETELY full of snow!
I took it home, and put it on my heater vent to dry it out (for 2 days). It fired right back up. I took it to a shop to get it cleaned and they said it looked fine.
Point of my post: Make sure you dry out the inside AND make sure it has good batteries before giving up. |
|
David Manning, Photographer
|
Athens | GA | | Posted: 9:21 PM on 05.17.10 |
->> Yeah the last time this happened, I somehow shorted out some uncovered contacts for a battery grip.
Cost $200+ from nikon to fix. |
|
Eric Canha, Photographer
|
Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 10:05 PM on 05.17.10 |
| ->> Desiccant can be bought in most craft stores and WalMart. It is used to dry flowers for making arrangements. Look for the kind with a color indicator. That way you'll know when the powder is saturated. All you do is put in a warm oven on a sheet pan to dry it out and reactivate it. You can then make your own 'packets'. |
|
Nigel Farrow, Photographer
|
Suffolk | UK | United Kingdom | Posted: 4:07 AM on 05.18.10 |
->> Half a morning probably isn't long enough to dry this out especially if it was sitting in a camera bag overnight. It is likely moisture will have gotten into all the wrong places and may be pretty much trapped.
Even if the body should start working again check all dials and buttons work as they should as when I had a similar situation I found some functions were a bit sluggish which I was told by a repairer is residue that had dried onto some contacts. If this should be the case then hopefully your insurer will pay for a clean if you ask now. |
|
David Scriven, Photographer
|
Rochford | Essex | United Kingdom | Posted: 4:58 AM on 05.18.10 |
->> I only have one battery for my Mark III as they last an age between charges. However, the same thought about the battery being the problem occured to me so I plugged into the mains with the adapter that comes with the camera and still no joy.
Thanks for the suggestions so far guys though.
I will have left it in the rice and the airing cupboard for 24 hours by the time I leave for tonight's job so will give it a go then and see if it fires up. If not I'll leave it a few more days and then see where that gets me. |
|
David Scriven, Photographer
|
Rochford | Essex | United Kingdom | Posted: 2:01 PM on 05.18.10 |
->> Well it didn't work!
So insurance company called, camera sent off to CPS to get a quote for repair and if they can't repair it then insurance will replace for new - hmm MK 4 sounds cool! Is it sort of wrong to hope it can't be repaired? |
|
Sean D. Elliot, Photographer, Photo Editor
|
Norwich | CT | USA | Posted: 3:23 PM on 05.18.10 |
| ->> did that to my D700 last month covering the floods ... worked fine even the day after the flooding, but then ... nothing. cost only $300 to have NPS bring it back to life. get it fixed quick before corrosion sets-in |
|
David Scriven, Photographer
|
Rochford | Essex | United Kingdom | Posted: 11:45 AM on 05.20.10 |
->> Well £2,100 to repair!
Having nearly a whole new inside to the camera installed by Canon.
Still least it might focus in the sunshine now?
Thank god for insurance folks! |
|
Stew Milne, Photographer
|
Providence | RI | USA | Posted: 12:22 PM on 05.20.10 |
| ->> At what point is a camera "totaled" (like a car), where the insurance would pay for a new camera? |
|
David Scriven, Photographer
|
Rochford | Essex | United Kingdom | Posted: 1:33 PM on 05.20.10 |
| ->> My insurance company said they would only replace for new if it could not be repaired, or if it was uneconomical to be repaired (i.e. the repair costs more than a new camera). |
|
Wesley R. Bush, Photographer
|
Nashville | TN | U.S. | Posted: 1:35 PM on 05.20.10 |
| ->> Repair cost up to actual cash value, where ACV = replacement cost less depreciation. |
|
David Scriven, Photographer
|
Rochford | Essex | United Kingdom | Posted: 5:36 AM on 05.21.10 |
->> Just to finish off this thread my insurance company has now paid for the repair and in 4-5 working days Canon will have returned my body to me.
I've been really impressed with how the insurance company has dealt with this and if any UK based snappers are looking for a company then can really recommend Towergate Camerasure. |
|
David Scriven, Photographer
|
Rochford | Essex | United Kingdom | Posted: 12:08 PM on 06.20.10 |
->> There was one further update to this. Canon came back to me a few days after my last post and said that following further inspection the damage was worse than first thought and it was now uneconomical to repair the body (they said it would cost another £400 on top of the original £2,100 quote).
So my insurance company replaced the Mark 3 for a band new Mark 4 which following a 3 week trip to Australia I got to use for the first time yesterday and all I can say is - WOW! The camera the Mark 3 should have been but better.
So whilst I was fortunate in this case two very valuable lessons have been learnt:
1) Never forget my rain covers again
2) Thank god for insurance! |
|
Nik Habicht, Photographer
|
Levittown | PA | USA | Posted: 10:47 AM on 06.21.10 |
| ->> I had that issue some years ago with the original 1D. Having worked in camera repair a little, I warmed the up to ~ 200 degree Fahrenheit (~ 95 Celsius), shut the heat off and then inserted the camera for several hours. Once removed -- watch the glued on rubber panels, as the glue softens, until the camera cools down), the camera functioned as new, and continued to work for the next four years.... |
|
Return to --> Message Board Main Index
|