60D won't recognize lenses after being in the rain

[roxics]

We got pretty wet today at the festival as it started to downpour and we had to walk back to the car. While I tried to keep my camera under my shirt, my shirt got soaked. The camera dried up on the drive home and a little while later at home I turned it on to find that the aperture is reading 00, can't change the aperture and it won't autofocus. At one point the camera don't me it wasn't connecting to the lens and to clean the contacts. Tried that. Same issue. I also tried another lens of mine that wasn't with me during the rain. Same issue.

One of my batteries also said it couldn't communicate with the camera but the other one I put in did.

Is my camera broke or is there something else I can do?

 

[neuroanatomist]

Water is the enemy. Anytime something electronic gets water in it (camera, cell phone, fitbit, whatever), your best bet is to power it off (and remove batteries if possible). Then, dry it out by putting it in a sealed bag with desiccant...or if you don't have any (running research labs has it's advantages!), you can use rice. Leave it there for 24-72 hours, then test it.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Rainwaer can get into a camera, but does not cause damage if you let it dry out before turning it on. Powering up a camera that has water in it can make it malfunction, sometimes its temporary, and returns to normal when dry, sometimes its permanently damaged.

Canon will not want to touch a water damaged camera. Water damage has a way of causing eventual failures. Apple has a indicator in their Iphones that turns color if it gets wet. They won't repair one with the indicator that has turned color.

Some third party repair shops will repair rain damage (Not Saltwater or Lake water). Dry your batteries out before charging them, there are sensitive electronic circuits in them.


Dry the camera out with rice or a desiccant for a week or more, and only then, give it another try. Be patient.

 

[roxics]

Well I already did turn it on after getting home, thinking nothing would be wrong. So hopefully I didn't blow anything. But I have had it sitting in a bag of rice since 1AM last night. So I'll keep it in there for a while. Last thing I want to do right now is buy a new camera. Although this would be a good time to do so since I just got a nice paycheck from a job I did with this camera.

I should mention that I did turn it on again a little while after the first time and before the bag of rice. At that point it seemed worse. Now all three of my batteries said they weren't communicating, whereas before it was only one. Still no lens control either.

How much rice would be in the bag? Right now I have the body cap on it but the battery door open. The bag is only maybe a quarter full. Only the bottom of the camera is in rice. I didn't want the rice or powder from the rice to get into the mirrorbox or anything. I'm assuming that because it's in a sealed bag the rice will absorb any moisture in the bag, even if it's not touching that part of the camera?

 

[Don Haines]

At work, I am lucky enough to have an environmental chamber to put stuff in.... just set the temperature to 35C and let it be...... At home, you can do something a bit more crude though, put an incandescent lamp above the camera/rice bag and let the heat of the lamp speed things up. Put a thermometer in the bag with the camera and if the temperature climbs over 35C, move the lamp further away....

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The high voltage in the flash capacitor is a concern when water gets in, it can discharge high currents into the wrong places and zap electronics. It is normally protected from the type of moisture you are seeing, I'd doubt that it has damaged anything, but its possible.

The heat lamp is a good idea, it will help dry out the insides of the camera.

If it still does not work after its dried out, contact Midwest camera, they will look at it and give you a estimate. Its possible that one or more of the circuit cards inside may have to be replaced.

Water damaged cameras go from $400 to $600 on ebay, so its worth something even if it does not work any longer. Used ones go for $900-$1000 which is way over priced IMHO.

In any event, you can sell it as -is, and buy the B&H Package Deal for $1199 or the CPW deal for $1199, so it will cost you 800 to exchange it for a new one. I'dsell it if it comes back to life (Disclose the issue), I would not trust it to be reliable, but it may work forever.

 

[East Wind Photography]

Rainwaer can get into a camera, but does not cause damage if you let it dry out before turning it on. Powering up a camera that has water in it can make it malfunction, sometimes its temporary, and returns to normal when dry, sometimes its permanently damaged.

Canon will not want to touch a water damaged camera. Water damage has a way of causing eventual failures. Apple has a indicator in their Iphones that turns color if it gets wet. They won't repair one with the indicator that has turned color.

Some third party repair shops will repair rain damage (Not Saltwater or Lake water). Dry your batteries out before charging them, there are sensitive electronic circuits in them.


Dry the camera out with rice or a desiccant for a week or more, and only then, give it another try. Be patient.

Depends on the rain. Acidic rain can cause rapid corrosion of the board and connections. I had the same thing happen to one of mine, a 5dsr to be exact and the main board had to be replaced. Wouldn't recognize lenses even after drying out in desiccant for a couple of weeks. Fortunately it was covered under carepak or it would have been 450.00 after cps discount to repair it.

The sad part was that it didn't see much rain so the weather sealing was crap.

 

[neuroanatomist]

How much rice would be in the bag?

I'm assuming that because it's in a sealed bag the rice will absorb any moisture in the bag, even if it's not touching that part of the camera?

A fair bit of rice, it absorbs moisture but not as well as a chemical desiccant.

The camera doesn't need to touch the rice at all, as long as rice and camera are in the same sealed bag.