Help - freak wave soaked my DVX!!

F

fritz

Well-known member
Ok, I'm not holding out much hope that anyone out there can help me, but I have to ask...

I was shooting today on some rocks above the ocean and was about to pack up when a freak wave crashed over my DVX, soaking the whole thing. I dried it off as quickly as I could, but now it is behaving strangely. I cannot access the menu controls, and some buttons just don't respond, whereas other settings turn on and off by themselves. In the middle of the screen it is listing my USER button 1, 2 and 3 settings and I can't get this to go away, nor can I record (though the wave came from the other side of the camera and the tape mechanism looked to be completely dry).

Does anyone have any suggestions? Will it improve once it all dries out, or does it just need to be opened up and serviced? Is there anything I can do to clean it? I'm probably clutching at straws here, but any suggestions would be gratefully received!
 
Get it fixed as soon as possible. Salt water is the worst for a camera. It may be toast, perhaps just replace certain components. Hate to admit it, but I've stupedly nuked 2 cameras in salt water and almost lost a 3rd.
 
Yea, take that thing in. Even if the water dries, the longer you wait the longer you have that corosive salt sitting on your internal components. Good luck
 
Sorry fritz, but your camera is doomed. Unfortunately, there's no way you can get the salt out of the camera. even if the camera will start working after it dries out, I would't count on it for more than 6 months. The salt will corode slowly the tracks on the boards and also will affect the tape transport. I've seen it before quite a few times. Do you have insurance?
 
My 2 cents:

You might consider using electrical contact cleaner ($5-7 ) available at car shops, electronic shops. I've used it on switches, contacts, faders, pots, plugs... and it works & dries fast. I've drenched the electronic boards to remove oxidized scum off parts. I would think it'll lift any salt up off sensitive parts and irrigate it out of the camera. Let it dry completely by running air through the camera softly.

There might be some risk on the lens inside with this contact cleaner fluid removing a coating...I don't know if the back lens ends are coated? You need to check this out and also anything to do with the CCD. My gut feeling ( not always reliable) is that it'll be safe...but it's better to be safe than sorry.

If you're past the warranty period you might as well open it up (carefully) and see if you can selectively target electronic areas for blasting.

Do some searching and see what more info you find. I would expect a shop will do this anyways...what other course of action can they take?
 
It tends to be the salt and minerals that kill your electrionics more then the water once it has been dried out. I have heard many stories where, immediately after such an accident, washing the camera out with a cleaning alcohol or distilled water and having the electronics come out just find and working for years. If you do this before the water dries out and the salt/minerals bonds to the circuits you can save yourself from a potential disaster.

Although it's probably too late this time, something to keep in mind for future reference (better still, stand back next time :)). For this time, I think 10s' idea of breaking it open and using the cleaner is your best bet now.

I feel your pain :(
 
Yeh, I wouldn't spend alot of money on it. Save it for the next one. Good luck... Hopefully insurance will cover it. I guess I still don't quite get it, sorry. $3000 camera, rocks, sand, salt water, waves, and you set it down without a bag or case??
 
Sadly guys, as PanasonicNZ has already said, it's a done deal.

Salt water plus electronics is a death sentence.

A think the lesson has been learned.
 
You simply CANNOT wash perfectly the salt from the electronics. If you had a chance to look inside a DVX you will notice that the actual boards are biscuit-size, with chips on both sides. The boards are 4 layers, which mean they have tracks not only on the outside, but also in the middle. There are metallized holes that male connection between layers, which, alas, will allow water to ger in between layers. Remember, when they work these boards are quite hot, so water will evaporate quite quickly, leaving the salt, which is corrosive. Trachs are extremely thin and it takes little time for the salt to munck through them. Same kind of story applies to the tape transport - you have tiny ball bearings and all sorts of places where you simply can't clean. As a general rule, anything more than few drops of salty water (this includes sprays also - if you shoot in windy condiditons you should use an underwater enclosure) can and will be fatal to your camera.
 
Thanks everyone for your comments. The camera is still under warranty, so I don't want to open it up myself unless it's completely hopeless. I figure I'll take it in for service and see what they say, and if all hope is lost I'll try and take it apart myself. 10s, do you know where I might find any info on how best to take the camera apart? The lens assembly seems ok, I'm getting a good picture thru it, no signs of interference from salt crystals etc. And the tape transport didn't really get wet - the splash came from the other side of the camera.

Any idea if this kind of thing is actually covered by warranty? I don't have insurance - would saltwater damage be covered by insurance anyway?

Don't worry, I've learned my lesson!! Spent all night going over and over it in my head...:cry:
 
Just take it in ASAP! let the techs do the work. If they won't service it or it cost more than it's worth to repair than i'd think about opening it up.

From what you report it appears to be working OK so maybe you don't have to worry too much. Sometimes gear can go through a situation and still work even though it seems like it shouldn't. Service it today!

Mackie, who makes audio gear, a few miles from me, had a wonderful mixing board that had gone through a fire sitting on display in their lobby! and it still worked...it was a total mess, charded, melted, paint burnt off, the case was warped, the knobs were dryed gue, etc...but it worked, so they proudly displayed it for the world to see and eagerly showed it to all. They make robust gear.
 
Hey I got a really old VHS camera that I would like to trade you for your broken DVX. My VHS camera is digital too, well the zoom that is. :evil:


Take it to the doctor and let them handle it. I'm sure your warranty will cover any damage I think..
 
Don't worry, I'm taking time off work tomorrow to take it to the doctor. I'll see what they say and go from there. Hopefully it will be covered by warranty and everything will be ok. If so then I think I should go and buy a lottery ticket because it would be my lucky day!! Without knowing anything about electronics I think that there must be a short inside somewhere, because the menus are sort of haywire but the picture is ok and the tape transport basically didn't even get wet. This is the one time I'm pissed off to have a long weekend, otherwise I would have brought it in for service today!

I'll keep you posted as to how I get on. Thanks again everyone who offered advice.
 
I've actually saved an electronic 35mm SLR camera that got wet in salt water, by... *gulp* dunking it in a bucket of fresh water right away. Distilled water would be perfect, but all I that was nearby was a garden hose and a clean plastic bucket.

It REALLY hurts to dunk the camera in water all over again, but I've heard many times it's the only way to get the salt out of there. So, if you fear the worst, get it in clean water quickly, and then seperate as many parts, and open as many doors as you can, and set it in the sun to dry.

Now, don't blame me if it doesn't work for you, but I've heard it many times from other sources, and I do think it was what saved my own camera.
 
I don't know if this would be the same but my roommate dropped his cell phone in the toilet, dried it best he could then we threw it in the oven for like 5 minutes, boom worked like new. might work, if you can get all the salt cleaned out.
L8R
Buck
 
I done this with other electronic gear that was dowsed by saltwater. I dissassembled the piece as best as I could (without doing anything that couldn't easily be put back together) and then I soaked and swished each component, sometimes using a very soft light swab. Then I dried it out good.

It's not just that the salt is corrosive. Salt retains water, so more often that corroding something, what happens is the salt draws moisture from the air and the moisture then acts as a conductor for electricity and you get a short. Whatever you do, it is imperative that you do not turn the camera back on until it is cleaned.

Matt
 
MattC said:
By the way, a hair dryer or a heat gun would work much better than an oven...
Click to expand...


Yeah we are in college apartments, it was quick and there, gotta roll with what ya got!
L8R
Buck
 
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