Dissaster has Struck...Part 2

[Bonish Photo]

So just after preaching to the choir about almost dropping my camera in the ocean last week, and telling everyone to check their gear, we were headed out to paddle in the Sea of Cortez to try and get some more shots of the Flying Mobulas, when I went over in my kayak.



Had my Canon 1D body($1500), with the wifes 28-300 'L' Lens ($2000), my 580 EX Flash ($400), 3 Canon NP-E3 batteries ($120 a piece) and 3 2 gig cards all in the kayak, unprotected

Not a good day on the water!!!! Luckily I was only in about chest deep water, so I have everything, but it's covered in a nice layer of salt, and nothing works now except the compact flash cards.

A lesson learned very fast and hard in about 3 seconds. No matter how many times you go paddling, I've been in the kayak probably 100 times in the past month with most of the gear never even getting a splash on it, but always having the Pelican Boxes strapped to the deck.

This one time I go out thinking why get all that heavy gear out just to strap it to the deck when I never use it? Well now I'm in Mexico with no camera and a wife that's about to tear my head off!!

Look at Southern Wolf's picture of the two wolfs, and the white one is my wife right now.

I'm not looking for any sympathy, It was my own dumb fault for getting cocky with my gear, but man does it make you think twice about taking a little extra time to do it right in the first place.

[hw771230]

That sucks!

On the bright side, my D70 went into salt water a couple years ago, and I just opened everything up and left it for a long while (I think it was 2 weeks) When I put the battery in afterwards it worked fine. The repair shop didn't even notice any salt inside a couple months later. I hope yours comes out of the experience just as well. The advice I got was to not try to turn it on until I was certain it was completely dry.

Good luck,

Caleb

[Robin]

Oh NO!!! Do you think it will all work eventually?

Man OH man I sure hope it does. I think I would just CRY.

Maybe it's not very 'manly', but I'm sending you a big ole' hug and hoping that it will all work after it dries out.

[Bonish Photo]

Thanks Caleb and Robin!

I've had it sitting on the floor in front of a fan for two days now. Along with the batteries and the lens just letting cool air blow over them all to try and dry it out 100%.

We're going to try and drive down to Cabo, which is really one of the only big cities in the Baja to see what they say about mail. Everyone we talked to said overnight isnt possible anywhere in Baja, but it will take us a few weeks to get back up to the states.

If I could at least mail it to Canon now, then hopefully by the time we get back above the border, it would be fixed.

Oh well, you live and you learn. No need in getting all worked up over it, right!

[Walczak Photo]

Hey Pat,
I'm sorry to hear about this...makes my poor little bent mounting ring seem insignificant! I'm always soooooo paranoid when I have the camera gear around water. As it is I lost my keys in the Black River last year "hopping" out onto the docks...would have killed me if the camera had of gone in instead!

My wife and I both have done kayaking and we own two canoes and I won't let my camera gear anywhere near 'em! Not even in the backyard! LOL!!! Not till I get a water box (like for underwater shooting). As much experience as my wife and I both have in canoes and kayaks, as you just found out, sh*t happens and all it takes is "once".

I feel your pain my friend...I hope Canon can do something with them. As far as the wife goes....roses. Roses are a nice start . If that don't help, try ribs or a steak...to give her something to chew on besides your butt!

Peace,
Jim

[tortuga]

How sad. I can relate though. I use housings but anyone that does uw photography seriously will eventually screw up and flood one - I've done it twice and know of countless others that have.

I don't mean to sound cynical, but chances are your camera is toast. Your best shot for a recovery would be if you got it out of the water before it had a chance to permeate into the inside. Also, removing the battery immediately is an imperative. Some say that if salt water did get inside, it is best to submerge the camera in alcohol then let it dry completely - but it's a very long shot at that point.

I have a D70 with a 105mm lens attached that I use as a paperweight to remind me to double check all of my seals every time. I also carry flood insurance.

[gdietzman]

Pat,

Yikes! I feel for you, but it sounds like you've got the right attitude; not much to be done now.

I've been very fortunate in that in 19 years of canoeing, I've never dumped a canoe in thousands of miles of travel. But there is that first time.

Hope it works out. Got my fingers crossed....

[bob_r]

Ouch!!! I do hope you have your gear insured. I carry a separate policy on my gear and considering the replacement price of my equipment, I think it's money well spent.

Bob R

[Bonish Photo]

Thanks for the hard felt thanks guys and girls. I do have the gear insured, but I'm gonnas send it in to Canon first to get an estimate on what it'll cost to be fixed, if at all possible.

We just rolled across the border today and are nicely back in the United States, so hopefully I'll have an answer in a day or two on what they'll be able to do with the equipment.

Canon has a repair department in Irvine that I'm going to see if I can drop the stuff off at for an estimate.

I'll keep you informed incase this happens to anyone else and they need to have their equipment replaced.

After thousands of miles paddled in our kayaks and canoes, I figure one slip is all it took to bring me back to earth real quick. No matter how good you think you are in a boat, keep your gear in a waterproff case.