Tell me it wont be that bad

[nvitalephotography]

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

[Steve U]

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.

[ChadS]

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...

[dsiegel5151]

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.

[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.

[ChadS]

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.

[bob williams]

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

[HDNitehawk]

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.

[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.

[HDNitehawk]

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?
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.