Fell onto some rocks and then into the sea!!

Was stupidly trying to get close to a nice bird which was in the shallows of the ocean. The tide was out so there were loads of rocks and tide pools. Anyway I slipped, my feet went completely from under me and I was holding my Canon 550 d with my Canon 300 f.4 IS attached. The lens smashed against the rock and it seems the whole thing ( cam and lens ) was submerged for a second. Miraculously I didn't get seriously injured ( lots of big bruises though ). In shock I carefully got back to the car ( only 30 metres away ) and wiped any water off and checked everything. Everything seems to be O.K which is amazing as I was sure walking back that it would be completely buggered! Continued shooting in sodden clothes for another 2 hours and everything seems fine. Have now seperated the lens and body and put them in my dry box! Is there anything else I should do? Any suggestions really appreciated!

You should buy a lottery ticket... Cause you're lucky as heck.

Seawater is very corrosive, so the circuit boards might develop problems. Cleaning the PCB's with an ultrasound cleaner might help, but this would require some serious dismantling.

Electronic equipment is usually damaged if left turned on. Remove the battery immediately. As stated by Ukkisavosta, seawater is highly corrosive, so the equipment will need to be dismantled & cleaned. I would recommend that this is done professionaly as there could be additional unseen problems. Don't use the lens without having it checked out too. If all is well after that, then do the lottery. Good luck

Yes you should have not kept using your camera because it very likely has damaged your camera. You should have pulled out the batteries and let the camera and lens dry out for a few days.

Another example why photography is not relegated to the down side of the bell curve of IQ measurements.

Fell onto some rocks and then into the sea!!
Sponge Bob, square lens!

You can bet your internals are already rusted and it's only a matter of short time before failure. Sending it in is the best bet but I hope you have insurance and prepare for replacement.

zamami wrote in post #12676048
Have now seperated the lens and body and put them in my dry box! Is there anything else I should do? Any suggestions really appreciated!

Get them off to Canon factory service ASAP, I went overboard with a 1D and a 70-200mm L and they where able to save the lens but the body was a loss.

Once things start to dry out the salt will crystallize and can play heck on the optics not to mention what it will do to the aluminum of the lens body.

Wayne

I'd at least get it checked out; I've got a G7 that spent the night below the high tide line and it still works to this day. Certainly not AS well as before the swimming incident, but still going.

Turn off, remove batteries and then put all of it in a bucket of rice. Saltwater will kill the camera quickly!

Good advice for clean fresh water but useless with salt.

Send it in to canon - tell them what happened and they will check it

They actually replaced a power board in mine because of salt water damage for free

Or sell it on eBay and get a new one

I would love to send both lens and camera back to Canon but am going on holiday for a month in 2 and half weeks and I need both the camera and the lens ( won't be time ). Just got home and took both out of the dry box ( they have been in there for 24 hours ) and they both worked fine. I will try them this weekend if everything goes O.K ........I will take them with me on my holiday and maybe when I return in 6 weeks send them both back to Canon. Hopefully I have been lucky and there isn't / won't be much damage...........every​one has mentioned salt water and how it plays haovc with the internals............m​y initial thought was my lens is buggered because it was such a smack against the rock, I didn't even think about the camera ( used lens was still nearly twice the price of my new camera ). The fact that the lens focuses fine and the IS still works is making me feel positive....I appreciate everyone's response but almost everyone has been extremely negative ( apart from the oven guy...thanks! ) Let's hope hey...............Than​ks and bye.

kaelaria wrote in post #12680102
Good advice for clean fresh water but useless with salt.

You are right what I am I thinking, must be getting old.

Get distilled water and wash the entire lens and body in it to remove the salt.

zamami wrote in post #12681606
I will take them with me on my holiday and maybe when I return in 6 weeks send them both back to Canon.

With salt water the longer the delay the greater the damage will become, both units need to be opened up and thoroughly decontaminated, then relubricated and returned to service.

If any salt water has entered either the body or the lens after six weeks they will more than likely become a writeoff.

Wayne