Canon 17-40L and moisture

Hey guys,

Unfortunately this morning, whilst shooting the sunrise from a rocky headland, myself and my camera got pretty soaked when a freak wave came along.

The body (5d3) seems alright however when using the 17-40 later on in the day out in the sun, a large area of condensation appeared behind the front element. Clearly water entered the lens this morning (i wasnt using a filter). The condensation dried up and then reappeared on the rear element. I didnt get a chance to test whether it was on the outside or inside of the glass because again it dried out pretty quickly.

My question is whether this is going to be a problem in the future and is it worth getting it sent away and cleaned? I work in a mountainous climate with dramatic changes in humidity (and climate in general) and I dont want the condensation reappearing. Or any sort of fungus growing.

Thanks!

I'd send it in for service. Once moisture gets in at that level, fungus is almost sure to follow. Plus, the moisture on the front element was just what you could see. There may be more in there somewhere.

If it was salt water (and it sounds like it was), then your lens's electronics could well be compromised too. If it still works (AF and aperture), then it could be there's so little water in there you've got away with it. In that case keep it somewhere warm and dry for a while and hopefully you'll be fine. Otherwise it will need a service. I got a tiny bit of saltwater on a 50/1.8 once and it killed it (and not worth repairing such a low-price lens).

AFAIK, Canon won't even touch water damaged lenses. They will just quote you a refurb lens and the repairs will cost more than the lens. Especially salt water.

Any insurance on your gear in case the lens dies?

Thanks for the replies! It was saltwater. So far everything is functioning as normal and the moisture hasn't returned. Maybe i'll get lucky. I've got insurance but it doesn't cover water damage.

Interesting re Canon not touching water damaged lenses. I suspect the lens will be ok in terms of damage to electronics. If it's just the case of a bit of moisture inside surely they could look at that. Must be a reasonably common occurence