My Sad 5D Mk III Story :( Calling all engineers for help

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booo

booo

BA BA BA BABANANA
Juggernaut
Hi All,

As you know, I recently purchased a 5DMk3 and 24-70 2.8. I was on a vacation on a boat last week and I was so happy with the joby camera sling that I purchased. long story short... I fell into water when getting on a dinghy. along with my camera. :( This water was salt water... :(

I immediately removed the battery and dried the camera. but there were water droplets inside the lens element and traces of salt in the camera body. This happend on saturday while I was on the boat.

when I came back, I immediately shipped the camera to Canon Australia service center. (I had to post it since they dont deal with customers face to face.)

The Canon guys now, say that the camera and the lens is write off. I dont belive it. because there was no physical damage to the camera. not even a single scratch. just fell in water thats all.

Now, what I am planning to do is to repair it myself. with screwdriver set, head camera, distilled water and cleaning alcohol. is it possible? any suggestions? because I cant spend another 5000 dollars for a new camera.

I am so depressed right now :(
 
@booo - Extremely sorry to hear about this.
It's possible that the salt water and the other chemicals in water could have damaged the sensor chip. Also the processor could have been affected by it. That's why they may be calling it a write-off. If they have to replace just these two components the cost could be more than 75% of the camera. I think manual option will be a gamble. You may be able to make the camera functional by getting cheap replacements but it won't be precise. If it would have been semi-automatic or manual SLR, things are much simpler and could have been repaired.
Just my honest 'twenty five paise' and not to discourage you from your attempt.
 
Bring it to India. There are many so called "mechanics" here who are extremely talented and will sure shot repair it. Specially in Delhi.
 
damnn... shocking to hear this... the camera and lens both are supposed to be weather proof. I understand it only withstands splashes not water submerged damaged but still how long / deep inside the camera fell in the water?
And actually salt water damages electronics more than normal water...
Have you searched online what other options you have? like getting it repaired from some other reputed service shop there or even sending it to hong kong and get it repaired. Main concern is how bad the damage is... is it even repairable?
 
Don't do any DIY stuff on DSLR as this may lead to some misalignment or makes camera irreparable. My suggestion is to try different Canon Service Center.

If you are planning to visit India soon, give a shot to India's Level IV canon service center.
 
onlyravi said:
damnn... shocking to hear this... the camera and lens both are supposed to be weather proof. I understand it only withstands splashes not water submerged damaged but still how long / deep inside the camera fell in the water?
And actually salt water damages electronics more than normal water...
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As it happened, I fell in very deep water from the boat, withing 5 seconds I was able to remove the cameara sling and give it to people standing on the boat. so the camear was submerged in water for over a meter for around 5 seconds. I could understand if the camera is a writeoff canon australia is saying that the entire kit is writeoff. the lens itself is close to 2500 dollars you know. as far as I know, the lens may require a motor replacement and some cleanining inside. Somehow, I dont trust these guys anymore.

sumchamp said:
Don't do any DIY stuff on DSLR as this may lead to some misalignment or makes camera irreparable. My suggestion is to try different Canon Service Center.
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There is only one canon service in entire australia. canon australia that is.

went to shopping and got two bottles of 100% isopropyl alcohol, de mineralized water, two sets of precision screw drivers and moisture absorbing balls.

for the lens, I am planning to submerge into demineralized water for a day. remove it, clean it, and put it in the sun in a bag with moisuture absorbing balls. I dont really want to open it unless I am pretty sure that its motor is gone.

for the body, I am planning to wear sony as100v on head and strip it down while cleaning it with isopropyl alcolhol as I go down. and assemble it back the same way and refer to the video if I am lost.
 
These are complicated and delicate devices... I would still not advice a try this at home approach. Try to find service center or shop which repairs DSLRs. There might be some one who does it.
Or you can try the hong Kong thing .... I am sure you will find a lot of repair shops there... only thing is either you will have to make a trip to get this done or find a reputed contact that does this....
Like in Pune earlier there were not many authorized service center. So few shops here use to collect the cameras and get it repaired from Mumbai and hand over back to you for a charge.
If only you can find someone in Sydney who does something like this and gets the repairs done from any good place.
 
A little late to the topic. If the service center is saying it is a write off, I say open the bloody thing and give it a shot. If 5D is weather proof as you say, it will have protective coating on its PCB which might protect it from the salt. Same case for the motor. If the power was not on while it was submerged, there is a high chance that nothing has shorted and just requires cleaning. Rather than submerging in water i would advice you to open up the lens and visually inspect how much water and salt is actually there. you could submerge the glass/barrel/electronics according to the extent of water/salt. Once thats done, absorb moisture by putting them in a bowel of rice or put them in sunlight. Once thats done, reassemble.
For the camera: Open up, disassemble, look for water/salt. clean with a brush, wash is alcohol, again look for lodged salt granules or other debris, replace all flat cables, assemble, put in a new battery. Pray and then power on!
Best of luck
 
I took it to another 3rd party store (near martin's place) and even he said its write off. right now, its a 5000 dollar paper weight. thinking of opening it. but still a bit lazy so not started it.
 
booo said:
I took it to another 3rd party store (near martin's place) and even he said its write off. right now, its a 5000 dollar paper weight. thinking of opening it. but still a bit lazy so not started it.
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Martins place has become very (im)famous since the recent Sydney hostage scene. People who knew not much about Sydney also now know Martin's place.
Anyways.
Have you tried IFixit?
They have operations in AUS. and they are one of the known ones. I still feel this is a professional's job and not a DIY.
Its sad and very discouraging to know that something that costs you 5grands is so easy for them to writeoff. Companies need to make such things more repairable ...
Or atleast cheap to replace.... Writing off is not easy.... I had butterflies in my stomach reading your first post.... I own a gear which is far modest in cost as compared to yours but still 1.3L is a HUGE amount for me to "writeoff"
I'm just more than ever overcautious about my gear now.
 
He was telling me that even though they advertise it as weather sealed, they are not even spash proof it seems. they can handle drizzles and thats about it. not even heavy rain. He was telling me that even to replace the front element it would cost upwards of 500 dollars. so forget about the electronics and usm motor in the lens. same with the body it seems. He said he wouldnt even waste that 40 dollars to open up the camera to get the estimate for fixing.

Lesson learnt here is that Canon and Nikon over market their stuff and its only the hype that sells these cameras and lenses. lenses like voigtlander, zeiss, minolta dont make AF lenses but they kick canon/nikons ass when it comes to PQ and build quality. And Sony is giving these brands run for its money with the new A7S and A7II.

its funny if you check the voigtlander or zeiss or leica or minolta lenses, they are all metal construction and even the lenses made in 1970 still sell at few dollars less than the MRP.

most of the canon/nikon reviews are biased.
 
booo said:
He was telling me that even though they advertise it as weather sealed, they are not even spash proof it seems. they can handle drizzles and thats about it. not even heavy rain. He was telling me that even to replace the front element it would cost upwards of 500 dollars. so forget about the electronics and usm motor in the lens. same with the body it seems. He said he wouldnt even waste that 40 dollars to open up the camera to get the estimate for fixing.

Lesson learnt here is that Canon and Nikon over market their stuff and its only the hype that sells these cameras and lenses. lenses like voigtlander, zeiss, minolta dont make AF lenses but they kick canon/nikons ass when it comes to PQ and build quality. And Sony is giving these brands run for its money with the new A7S and A7II.

its funny if you check the voigtlander or zeiss or leica or minolta lenses, they are all metal construction and even the lenses made in 1970 still sell at few dollars less than the MRP.

most of the canon/nikon reviews are biased.
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While I do have full sympathies for you,andI do offer my condolences, I, at the same time, would like to add that Canon has, nowhere, sold the camera to you by claiming it is water resistant.

You, sir, need to appreciate that it was an accident. And accidents do happen.


https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&r...K6SNdqwz3buIutQ&bvm=bv.82001339,d.c2E&cad=rja
 
^ A latest generation smart phone is much more complex in construction but we all know that a smart phone dunked in water can definitely revived. The statement by the repair guy that just the front element of the 24-70mm is more than 500 dollars is direct hint that there is something very wrong with the brand. (there are 18 elements in that lens) Makes me think that they only want to sell new stuff and not interested in supplying spares for the models that are still on sale. ifixit should also start rating the cameras on their repairability.

I am okay even with spending upwards of 2000 dollars to revive the camera but telling that its a write off is definitely not acceptable. That is my beef with the brand.

PS: Canon markets 5d mkIII as weather sealed and clearly suggests in the user manual that the customer should send the camera to the service center if it is dropped in water. (everyone assumes that they will fix it and not call it a write off). if they simply want to call it a write off, why ask the user to send it to the service center?
 
^is there a possibility to go a legal way against the manufacturer? I've no idea, but just asking... Have you looked out? Since the user manual extracts on water damage may help bit.
 
smnrock said:
^is there a possibility to go a legal way against the manufacturer? I've no idea, but just asking... Have you looked out? Since the user manual extracts on water damage may help bit.
Click to expand...

Hiring a lawyer in Australia is definitely going to be more than 5000 $
 
booo said:
^ A latest generation smart phone is much more complex in construction but we all know that a smart phone dunked in water can definitely revived.
The statement by the repair guy that just the front element of the 24-70mm is more than 500 dollars is direct hint that there is something very wrong with the brand. (there are 18 elements in that lens)
Makes me think that they only want to sell new stuff and not interested in supplying spares for the models that are still on sale. ifixit should also start rating the cameras on their repairability.

I am okay even with spending upwards of 2000 dollars to revive the camera but telling that its a write off is definitely not acceptable. That is my beef with the brand.

PS: Canon markets 5d mkIII as weather sealed and clearly suggests in the user manual that the customer should send the camera to the service center if it is dropped in water. (everyone assumes that they will fix it and not call it a write off). if they simply want to call it a write off, why ask the user to send it to the service center?
Click to expand...

Dunked in water? yes.
Dunked in saline water? Nope.
And it may be complex in a different way, but DSLR + lenses are no less complex.

I read somewhere that if you decide to build a santro entirely from spare parts, it costs 18 lakhs.
And since you were praising sony, how much does an Xperia Z's touchscreen cost?
So all manufacturers price their parts more than the product. No big deal.

Also if you look at the link i gave you, it says splashproof and waterproof are two entirely different things.
 
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^I understand that, but threatening them in that tone may help sometime. Personally I had few positive experiences like this in India.
 
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