The Day my Canon 5D Mark II Went for a Swim...

Posted by Alex Wise on May 31, 2012


Bad news everyone. Last weekend when taking photos at Turpin Falls my Canon 5D Mark II slipped and went for a swim. It wasn’t this composition that it took a slip but another later on the morning. I positioned the tripod on a rock thinking it was securely placed and turned around to get a filter out of my bag to turn around to see it falling into the water. Even though it was only partly submerged for 3-5 seconds but the damage was already done. Fortunately my lens and filters were safe but the camera is dead. Even though I was 90% sure it was dead, I just wanted to be reassured by Canon before lumping another $2,000 on a new body. They came back today with this -

Ouch!

Rather than sit around and dwell on it, I’ve got a new 5D II on the way. You’re probably wondering why I didn’t upgrade and go a new Canon 5D Mark II but the extra $1,500-$2,000 to go the Canon 5D Mark III over the Canon 5D Mark II was too hard to justify especially when the expense is unexpected.

Either way I’ve had a good run with the camera and wanted to share some of my favourite photos from while I had the camera. I’m eagerly awaiting my next one to arrive now.





What to do when your drop your camera in water

Just before we finish I’d like to share some of the tips I’ve come across that others suggested on Facebook,  Reddit and other websites to help. I really appreciate the suggestions to which I tried some (but didn’t quite try the suggestion of dropping it in water again like one Redditor suggested).

There’s many suggestions on how you can deal with a camera that has just been dropped in water but I think the most important thing is DON’T TURN YOUR CAMERA BACK ON. This is where I went wrong (even after leaving it 20 minutes) and it could have made things much worse. Here’s some suggestions for someone that might have just dropped their camera in water:

  1. Get the camera battery out of there straight away. Leaving it in there and turning it back on can apparently speed up the oxidation problem and also cause the camera to short circuit
  2. Find a tub large enough to fit the camera that can be sealed
  3. Fill the tub with rice as this will absorb moisture from the camera
  4. Place the camera in the tub with the rice for a period of 2-3 days
  5. Only at this stage after 2-3 days that I would consider turning the camera back on
  6. Pray that it works

Be careful when taking waterfall and seascape photographs guys. It’s easy to slip up which can be an expensive mistake.

- Alex

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16 Comments

  1. By Martin on June 1, 2012 @ 10:02 amPermalink

    Ouch! It’s never nice to hear stories about expensive cameras going for a swim….

    Do you have your camera insured? Or potentially covered by your home contents insurance?
    If so, is it covered against accidental damage, such as an unexpected swim?

    • By Alex on June 3, 2012 @ 11:16 amPermalink

      Martin,
      Unfortunately the camera is only insured for home and contents. Might be worth considering accidental damage from here on in. If you don’t mind me asking, do you have it and if so, what are you paying?

  2. By Ed Davis on June 1, 2012 @ 7:19 pmPermalink

    Did the same thing with my Nikon D90 a few months ago. Lost the camera and lens shooting our dogs in a river. It was a long walk back to our car. Good luck with your new camera! I really like your work.

    • By Alex on June 3, 2012 @ 11:14 amPermalink

      Thanks Ed! Sorry to hear about your camera, I can completely relate to the pain now :( Really frustrating stuff especially when it feels as if you’re just throwing money away. Thanks for the kind words :)

  3. By Samuel Leung on June 4, 2012 @ 5:56 pmPermalink

    Hey Alex,
    Bummer, I feel for ya! The risks you take to get those shots had to come at a sacrifice some day I suppose. :-/
    Another tip for people, much like the rice one.
    Keep hold of those little ‘Silica Gel’ packs that you get with almost anything electronic nowadays. It is important that you keep them in an airtight container/jar/bag until you need to use them in an emergency (or they’ll just soak up moisture and become useless). When such an accident arises and your gadget becomes water damaged, place it in a container/jar/bag with a heap of the silica gel packets for a good few days.
    As opposed to rice, silica gel packets don’t look so out of place in your kit. Not sure which works more effectively but surely silica is made for the job.

    • By Alex on June 4, 2012 @ 7:54 pmPermalink

      Hey Samuel,

      Thanks so much for stopping by and the tips. Will definitely acquire some silica gels I think and suggest that to some people. Fingers crossed there isn’t a next time though ;)

      - Alex

  4. By DavoBrown on June 8, 2012 @ 10:25 amPermalink

    Hey Alex,
    Nice images in the blog….
    Great work.

    • By Alex on June 9, 2012 @ 9:02 amPermalink

      Thanks very much Davo.

  5. By Pashminu Mansukhani on June 26, 2012 @ 9:59 pmPermalink

    Very nice photographs. Sorry to hear about your 5D going for dip in the water.

    • By Alex on September 3, 2012 @ 8:55 pmPermalink

      Thanks Pashminu!

  6. By Jack Chauvel on July 11, 2012 @ 1:34 amPermalink

    Good to see you back in action Alex :)

    Its a bummer, been so close myself (took a slide down an embankment into a creek on sunday with my newly acquired D3 in hand).. I think I swallowed my heart for a second as I slid down!

  7. By Steve Coleman on July 31, 2012 @ 4:55 pmPermalink

    Wonderful photography Alex.

  8. By Joe Wilson on September 9, 2012 @ 12:44 amPermalink

    A) Bummer! B) I’m with you on the MKII vs MKIII replacement decision. C) Great shots!

    • By Alex Wise on October 22, 2012 @ 8:27 amPermalink

      Thanks Joe! Glad I went the 5D MK II. :)

2 Trackbacks

  1. By Turpin Falls - The Photo That Killed my Camera | Alex Wise Photography on June 4, 2012 at 7:34 pm

    [...] The last photo my camera took before taking a swim. Yep you read right. Not long after this photo I began to compose for another photo and thought I had the tripod firmly planted until 10 seconds later it tipped and fell in the water. I posted earlier in the week in greater detail on the ‘incident’ in case you’re curious. [...]

  2. By What do you do if your camera is immersed in water? Is it gone for good? | HDSLR 101 on September 8, 2012 at 11:46 pm

    [...] another story we just found: “The Day my Canon EOS 5D Mark II went for a swim…” var dd_offset_from_content = 120; var dd_top_offset_from_content = [...]

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