Tell me it wont be that bad

So I was out photographing some birds this evening at a wetland near where I'm currently living. I was on a boardwalk that went over the wetland and was reviewing some pictures I had taken. My 100-400mm lens was on my camera and I had it resting on the railing of the boardwalk as I was looking through the pictures, when I felt the lens rotate and then watched it fall 4 feet hit the water and sink to the bottom. I couldn't believe what just happened and could hardly even move for a few minutes. I could still see the lens as the water appeared to only be 5ft deep or so. So I raced home got a fishing net and raced back. Despite my best efforts I could not reach it. (I would have jumped in the water myself to get it but I'm in Florida so there are lots of Alligators around and it was getting dark) As I was walking back out thinking of what I could use to make the net handle longer I was stopped by a park ranger and told they were closing the gates to the park and I would have to wait until morning to get my lens.

As you can imagine I will be there first thing in the morning to try and retrieve it. The question I have for people here is, how bad do we think it will be screwed up? Will it be repairable or just a really expensive paper weight?

I was also told by someone that its actually better to keep it underwater right up until it can get taken apart and fixed. Logic apparently being is if it dries out on its own it will have even harder to clean and cause more problems. Does this make sense to anyone or should I just dry it out and then send it in for repairs?

So I'm sure some of you are asking the same question as I was: how does a lens just un-mount itself from a camera and fall into the water. I know it had to be on the camera correct, because I had been shooting with it for several hours already. What I think happened was, as I was reviewing pictures, I must have made the mistake of holding the camera in such a way that I pushed on the lens release button. And since it was resting on the railing, the weight and me moving a bit allowed it to rotate free.


Nick

Holy crap, that is a horror movie in the making. I would think it will be salvageable if a gator hasn't found it.
I'm sorry for your loss, I hope you find it tomorrow. Make sure you have someone with you when you jump in.

Nick,

That mental image made me cringe. However, not all is lost.

The good news is that glass is pretty tough stuff. Some UD and high-index glasses can be soft (not really a problem) and absorb water. However, let's think positively tonight. The other good news is that absent your camera body there are no electrons flowing in the AF motors or circuitry.

Yes, you'l want to keep your lens submerged until you talk to Canon repair but that does not mean that you want to keep bathing it in the nasty Florida swamp water it's sitting in. Start with buckets of distilled water. As I recall the 100-400 extends as you zoom so SLOWLY pump the nasty water out, put the lens in the fresh water and SLOWLY draw distilled water in. You can slowly switch over to other fluids that aren't corrosive to circuit boards but not knowing the chemistry of the lens coatings I'd be hesitant to suggest anything.

Obviously, Canon repair is going to have to disassemble and clean each lens. They may decide the AF motors and circuitry need replacing. These are all expensive propositions. However, we can hope that the total charge will be less than a new lens.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Chad

p.s. Whereabouts in Florida? Is that home? I live in Palm City - north of West Palm. I wouldn't jump into a wetlands area either...

Although this has never happened to me, I did see this happen to a friend, except it was a 24-105 (mounted on a 5d mark II), only in about a foot of water, and only in the water for a brief moment. The lens and camera combo did not work, so he sent them both to Canon. The result was not good. Canon said the lens was not repairable for under the price of a new copy (the camera was repairable). They then flagged the lens so no other Canon service departments would touch it. When my friend got it back he kept trying it on his cameras (5d mark IIs), as he couldn't believe with such a brief water bath a "weather" proof lens would be totaled. Oddly enough, the lens worked on the camera that it did not take a bath with, and after that, it worked on the camera it took a bath with as well. The lens now works perfectly on all cameras, and is just super dirty (lots of water spots on all the lens elements). Unfortunately, my friend can't get Canon to clean the lens now b/c it has been flagged as totaled.

I really was ready to jump in but I was alone and it was getting dark, and I dont trust the gators that much.

Chad- -I'm living in Boynton Beach, I'm supposed to move down to homestead tomorrow for work. Thanks for letting me know that keeping it submerged is a good idea.

Nick, Sorry to hear about your trauma. 1st, let me say I fully understand how a lens can become unmounted. Just last week I noticed my 500 rotating oddly on the camera body; but luckily it was on the car seat when I noticed it. I also had an experience where my 24-105 rolled off the countertop on to a concrete foundation---That cost my insurance company $180. My guess is that your lens will be ok if you can retrieve it and yes-----rinse it well with clean water upon retrieval----then call Canon and cross your fingers. Did you have insurance?.

Also, If canon gives you specific instructions on what to do with a "drowned" lens, please share. It would be nice to know in the event it ever happens to anyone else.

When I dropped my 24-105, The Canon Tech rep told me that they have a fixed cost for repairs on lenses. In other words, no matter what is wrong with a particular lens they have one price that they charge. I don't know if I beleive this, but it's just info that might be useful to you.


Good Luck

I am thinking two things...

It is time to read your insurance policy and see if it is covered.

It might be time to sign up for CPS Silver if you qualify so you can get the 30% discount.

Good Luck fishing it out tomorrow.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nvitalephotography

I really was ready to jump in but I was alone and it was getting dark, and I dont trust the gators that much.

Chad- -I'm living in Boynton Beach, I'm supposed to move down to homestead tomorrow for work. Thanks for letting me know that keeping it submerged is a good idea.

---

My father used to be stationed at the Air Force base in Homestead - that was before Hurricane Andrew erased it.

If you decide not to send the lens in for repair I can give you some suggestions on how to work the water out of it. However, the process won't be for the feint of heart. You'll either be bathing it in mineral spirits, kerosene, or alcohol/water mixtures. I'll have to do some homework to determine what type of rubber (if any) is used inside the lens to make the choice. The process will take a week or more and you'll burn ~$100 in supplies before you'll know if your lens will even talk to your camera.

Unfortunatly I do not have insurance on my camera equipment. (something I considered but never made happen)
I am already signed up for CPS Silver, so I guess that helps.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nvitalephotography

Unfortunatly I do not have insurance on my camera equipment. (something I considered but never made happen)
I am already signed up for CPS Silver, so I guess that helps.

---

The first year CPS lets you send in two items for a free cleaning, all it will need is cleaning right? :p
If that fails you could always dry it out with a hair dryer and put it on craigslist..... you wouldn't want to use ebay because of the negative feed back. (Not really serious comments but, I am sure all these happen)

I have had the lens fall off before, but never in a place where it hurt anything. This weekend my 300mm F2.8L came loose from the 1D IV. It didn't twist all the way off, I caught it coming off when the camera was reading an F/00. For some reason I bump the release button occasionally.

I hope you find it tomorrow. Churning the water could push it out farther or down in to the mud. Fish carefully.

Holy hell. I don't know how I'd handle that.. I love each and every one of my lenses.. NEARLY as much as I love my daughters. So very sorry. Keep us posted?

Man, does that suck. Sorry for your loss! I think of all the times I lean out over the marsh shooting birds... FOrtunately, I've managed to keep both my daughters and my lenses from falling in.

In another thread, I related a story about how I also inadvertantly pushed the lens release button, for me it was as the camera was hanging from a shoulder strap. The strap was attached to a tripod collar, so it was the 5DII the fell - onto dry ground. Fortunately, the only problem I encountered was that I needed to redo all my AFMA settings - they all shifted by 8-10 units more negative. Hopefully, you'll be as lucky!

I can tell you that electronics are pretty tough - we've had an iPhone Bluetooth Headset stay out on the driveway overnight in the rain right in a puddle, put cell phones through the washing machine, etc., with no lasting ill effects. Not Florida swamp water, though.

If you find the lens with alligator chomp marks, take lots of pictures and publicize it - maybe it will go viral and some nice camera shop will give you a new lens for good PR...

Nick....awful story. And you made the right decision; it isn't worth risking a leg, arm or worse for a lens. One is replaceable, the others are not. Replacing swamp water with distilled water makes sense, but first on my list would be calling Canon themselves and see if they have guidance. I've never had something repaired, but this seems like a good place to start (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consum...onsumer_repair or 866-510-1335).

Good luck this morning and let us all know how it turns out.

Well, after about 20 minutes of fighting with it with two fishing nets, I managed to get my lens out of the mud and water. So I came home and put it in clean water. Then I called Canon, and to my surprise they told me it was better to just dry it out the best I could before I sent it in. Reason being was that if they received a lens still full of water they would probably just call it totaled right away.

And since it is a photography forum, here's a picture of it in the sink once it got back home.
Attachment 415

Oh, and does anyone know if UV filters will have any lasting effects after being underwater all night? Mine looks fine but I don't know if the water could hurt it at all.

So last night I also emailed canon since it was after hours and so I could not call them in hopes that I would get an email back...I just recieved a response and this is what it said.

"It's very doubtful that we can repair it within reasonable cost. In addition to having to replace all electronic components and many structural components, we usually have to replace lens groups (elements built together as a unit), as water gets between the elements and we can't replace the individual elements in a group. It becomes very expensive very quickly. Submerging it in distilled water will not help at all. It is almost certainly 'BER' (beyond economic repair). "

not very encouraging, but I will be sending it in anyway.

Nick,

The filter is most likely a surface coating on the glass (as opposed to a glass with particular optical properties). It "should" be fine if there's no mechanical damage to the surface film.

It's sad that Canon won't touch the lens if it's got water in-between the lens elements. Getting the water out from tiny gaps without leaving (much of) a residue is tricky. However, if their cleaning process isn't going to separate the groups to clean each lens then I can't guess the impact on image quality that will be left. Let me know if you want to try. You'll need a small water pump (preferably impeller-style and new), an aquarium air pump, some distilled water, some methanol, some dionized water, and finally some sort of dessicant (I prefer Dririte). Not all of these supplies are easily purchased at your local drug store. However, as I said, it'll take a week or two but you may be able to dry out the lens well enough to actually get the Canon folks to service it at that point (if it's not actually functional).

Nick, it will cost you $15,000 to repair or replace the lens... Actually, it won't be that bad.

Hope that helped. :)

I have a tear in my eye...that is a sad story. Hopefully once it dries it will at least work for a little while. I have heard placing electronic devises in zip lock bags with rice will absorb all the moisture out of the electronic devise, but have never tried it. I know it worked on my wifes phone one time. I think you have to put it in the refrigerator also if I'm not mistaken. If you have nothing to loose, give this a try at least to get the moisture out. Again I have never tried this and just read about it. Maybe someone else here has given it a shot. Good luck!

OUCH!!! Sorry to hear about the lens. Glad to hear you fished it out. Canon's reply doesn't sound optimistic. Are there independant repair shops in your area?
Glass lenses won't be affected by water. Some materials used industrially as coatings on glass can absorb water and will take up to a week to fully dry out. Can't say for sure whether any Canon coatings come under this heading or not as they are not exactly forthcoming with information as to their formulations. Any dirt left in the mechanisms will be the death of precise alignment and smooth operation. Looking through a copy of the parts manual for the lens some of the guides for the zoom and focus barrels are sorted into tolerance classes of 0.01 mm (0.0004"). Tried to upload it as an attachment so you could see what you're dealing with but the file size exceeds the limit. The title of the document is
EF 100-400mm 1:4.5-5.6L IS USMREF.NO.C21-9961

It is available online from some sites for no charge although some sites will try to make you pay for it. A Google search should find it for you if you wish to look it over.

Hope things work out for you with the lens.

Jeff

well here is the end to this sad story. After drying out the camera the best I could I sent it in to Canon. Big surprise....its beyond repairable.

Now I have to decide what to do from here. It was a really big expense for me to buy the first one and so its going to be more difficult to get myself to justify spending the money on a second copy. (although I already know I wont be able to live without it, seeing as how it was my favorite possession)
Im trying to decide what I should do with the old lens once I get it back from Canon. Should I try to do something to it myself to try and make it somewhat usable again? try to sell it for? take it apart just for the heck of it since I cant ruin it anymore? Any suggestions.

Thanks for all the support everyone, hopefully nobody else has the same luck.

Nick

Once you get it back from Canon, try some of the techniques listed in this thread to see if there's anything you can do to make the lens useable...even if for a short period of time. As you said, you can't really hurt it any more, so any outcome other than "brick" can be considered a positive one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nvitalephotography

Im trying to decide what I should do with the old lens once I get it back from Canon. Should I try to do something to it myself to try and make it somewhat usable again? try to sell it for? take it apart just for the heck of it since I cant ruin it anymore? Any suggestions.

---

Isn't this the exact situation they created Craigslist for? Keep these rules in mind when selling on Craigslist. Always meet in public places, people are less suspicious if they are comfortable. Never let them come to your house, they could come back later wanting their money back. Always take cash, checks can be canceled at their bank, also your signature on a check can be traced back to you.

Of course none of that is serious advice, I feel for you losing your lens.

Wow...

I am with Sean. What do you have to loss.

That's too bad, if Canon won't fix it, I would think it is a waste of time to try and fix it, because most people want that sharp, clear image and I think anything less than that and you won't be happy. So...
You could grow a nice plant in it.
Trophy mount it and put it on the wall as a momento.
Try selling it as is, or as a trophy.
A lot of home contents insurance policies have an amount for loss or broken electrical devices or personal items to a set value, not full replacement, but any little bit helps. Was the lens stored at someone's house that has one of those policies?

Sorry for your loss, Nick.

Man, sorry for your loss! IF you are a member of the PPA they are now offering free insurance on camera equipment up to $15,000! I know that doesn't help now but I have found a lot of people didn't know about the insurance.

Okay so there is a positive ending to this story. After letting the lens just sit on a shelf for several months, I decided to put it up on eBay and see if anyone would pay for a lens in this condition. I posted pictures and explained that it had been underwater. I thought I might get like $100 for it. Well I was totally shocked when the auction ended....it sold for $800. I thought for sure the person just didn't understand what they were buying, but I received positive feedback saying it was as described.

So that money combine with the great deal I got on a replacement one, it made this a much less painful loss.

Wow, that's definitely a positive ending to the store. Thanks for the update!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nvitalephotography

Okay so there is a positive ending to this story. After letting the lens just sit on a shelf for several months, I decided to put it up on eBay and see if anyone would pay for a lens in this condition. I posted pictures and explained that it had been underwater. I thought I might get like $100 for it. Well I was totally shocked when the auction ended....it sold for $800. I thought for sure the person just didn't understand what they were buying, but I received positive feedback saying it was as described.

So that money combine with the great deal I got on a replacement one, it made this a much less painful loss.

---

Maybe the person who bought it from you has already sold it on craigslist as a mint condition lens for $1200. Scary thought that it is still in circulation, but you did the right thing making sure they knew.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HDNitehawk

Maybe the person who bought it from you has already sold it on craigslist as a mint condition lens for $1200. Scary thought that it is still in circulation, but you did the right thing making sure they knew.

---

Interesting....

Just make sure you don't buy your lens on Craigslist. You might end up buying back your own lens. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HDNitehawk

Maybe the person who bought it from you has already sold it on craigslist as a mint condition lens for $1200. Scary thought that it is still in circulation, but you did the right thing making sure they knew.

---

Well its pretty obvious its messed up, it would be hard to convince someone its fine. Someone has a lot of work to do to put it back in working condition.