So ya thought your camera was a submarine, eh?

Gawrsh. Has it been four months since I wrote something here? Man, such a long time. Thanks for all the good folks who gave their time in visiting my blog. Much appreciated. Anyways, thought I’d write something today and my inspiration was from a text message from a niece of mine who’s fiance thought his DSLR could swim, er, dive the depths of the South China Sea. Sort of a what-to-do-after-your-camera-takes-a-dive thingy.

All of us (well probably most of us) have been to the beach one time or another and probably a few of us ventured out into the ocean on a boat, wanting to take pictures of islands, whales and dolphins that are making out (if you saw one, ya must’ve been pretty close). Lotsa people don’t give a second thought to their camera’s safety and just went into the boat and took a ride around the island without thinking that the camera might have a mind of it’s own and take a dip. If you plan to go on a boat ride with your camera, make sure you give your precious little shooter some form of protection. For one, you can buy a cheap Zip-Loc plastic bag and place your camera inside. The plastic on these Zip-Locs are clear enough to give your very good pics while shooting using your camera inside the bag. Also, these can be sealed so when your camera does take an unscheduled dive, it would be protected from water. What’s that? Oh, forgive me. You’re using a DSLR. Well for DSLRs, it’s kinda tricky as you have that lens of yours to contend with. However, I’ve shot photos using an old SLR with an 18-55mm lens inside a large Zip-Lock bag and the results were pretty good. If you want more protection, go invest on a waterproof case.

Okay, let’s assume that your camera does take an unscheduled dive in the sea. What do you do? For PNS cams you:

1. Should head back, if you can. If not, remove the batteries and the memory card then wipe the camera, batteries and memory card  dry using a dry, cloth. If you have a bottle of drinking water with you, wash the camera and batteries with this to wash off sea water so salt won’t form.
2. If you don’t have drinking water with you, wash the camera and the batteries immediately after you get back. Always use a fresh (unopened) bottle of water.
3. When you do get back, don’t disassemble your camera as there are no user serviceable parts there.
4. You may blow dry the camera and the memory card using your hairdryer but do so very carefully. Don’t put the hairdryer on the highest (hottest) setting. Use the lowest setting.
5. Don’t place your camera under direct sunlight to dry. This won’t help at all. Place your camera, batteries and memory card on top of an even surface under a cool dry place under room temperature.Place the camera with the front facing down.
6. If you can find a place inside the room where there would be no or very little change in temperature, well and good. Sudden changes in temperature can cause fungi to get a foothold on your camera once the water dries up. Place a dry cloth under the camera as this will help absorb water that might drip out from your camera.
7. Take your camera to a service center immediately after you get back from your trip.

If you have a DSLR, you:

1. Should head back, if you can. If not, the batteries and remove the memory card. Wash the camera (with the lens on) using a drinking water, preferably from an unopened bottle. Don’t wash the camera with the lens off as water might find it’s way inside the sensor. Well, to be honest, if you DLSR took a long plunge water probably had found its way inside the camera.
2. If you don’t have drinking water with you, wash the camera and the batteries after you get back. Again, wash the camera with the lens attached.
3. When you get back, don’t disassemble the lens and camera body as there are no user serviceable parts.
4. Wipe the body and the lens dry using a clean piece of cotton cloth. If you have microfibre cloth with you, use that. Wipe the camera with the lens facing down. Gravity will force water particles to drop away from your sensor.
5. You may blow dry the camera and the memory card using your hairdryer but do so very carefully. Don’t put the hairdryer on the highest (hottest) setting. Use the lowest setting.
6. Remove the lens from the body and place the body cap.
7. Remove the lens with the camera facing down. Place the body cap of the camera.
8. Don’t place your camera under direct sunlight to dry. This won’t help at all. Place your camera, batteries and memory card on top of an even surface under a cool dry place under room temperature.Place the camera with the front facing down.
9. If you can find a place inside the room where there would be no or very little change in temperature, well and good. Sudden changes in temperature can cause fungi to get a foothold on your camera once the water dries up. Place a dry cloth under the camera as this will help absorb water that might drip out from your camera.
10. Take your camera to a service center immediately after you get back from your trip.

Memory cards such as SD Cards and MemStick cards can be disassembled i.e. protective plastic casings can be removed so that you can get access to the innards and dry it. However, this pratice is not for the faint of heart and could do more harm than good if not done properly.

An ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure, or so the saying goes. So if you plan to go boating out to sea with your camera with you, do your homework and find out how you can best protect your expensive camera from the elements.

Happy shooting!