Lens in water----HELP.

Today a photographer friend and I went to the mountains to have a day of photography. We were especially getting pics of the river and the rapids. My friend was on the side of the river with his tripod. He changed lenses and put his 70-200 F4 L lens in one of his deep coat pockets.

The pocket wasn't deep enough. It fell out into the river at a very shallow place (inches of water). He immediately pulled it out, but now it will not auto-focus.

He plans to call Canon tomorrow, and tonight he is putting it in front of a dehumidifier for a few hours and then burying the lens in rice. He heard that will dry out a lens (sometimes).

Anyone here have advice for him that I can pass along?

Tell him to get insurance if he didn't already have it, we all make stupid mistakes.

Silica gel is way better than rice for this. Put wet gear and silica gel together in a sealed container and let it dry. It might take days or weeks, depending. You can get silica gel from florists who use it to dry flowers. There are other sources too. You should figure on a couple ounces at least. It has to be fresh (dry). Many types are indicating, so you can see that it is dry. If it's spent, you can regenerate it.

Make sure none of the stuff gets into the lens.

Speed is of some importance. You want the lens to be dry before fungus grows.

At many grocery stores, in the pet dept., there is cat litter made from pure silica that's great for absorbing moisture, a 10 lb. bag for about $10. You have to be careful about dust from it, so don't "bury" the lens in it. Maybe set it on top with a piece of paper under it, in some sort of sealed container.

That said, I'm afraid your friend's lens is most likely toast if any water got inside. Especially if he's tried to focus it or change the aperture. Applying any power to it while damp inside is likely to fry the electronics. It is better that it's not salt water, but still bad. Parts will rust or become oxidized in other ways, fungus can get a foothold, and only a complete disassembly and cleaning might save it. The sooner, the better. But it will be expensive to do such a complete teardown. And there is still a lot of risk that some moisture may get into some permanent assembly that can't be taken apart for cleaning and proper drying.

Silica is useless for drying. You want silica gel, not silica.

maverick75 wrote in post #17252382
Tell him to get insurance if he didn't already have it, we all make stupid mistakes.

Good advice.

Next time tell him not to try the lens until it dries out. The lens would probably have been fine until he ran the electric current through it.

Next step is to put the lens in a bag with rice or silica gel and wait some days for the moisture to get absorbed, and try again, but there isn't much hope at this point.

amfoto1 wrote in post #17252554
At many grocery stores, in the pet dept., there is cat litter made from pure silica that's great for absorbing moisture, a 10 lb. bag for about $10. You have to be careful about dust from it, so don't "bury" the lens in it. Maybe set it on top with a piece of paper under it, in some sort of sealed container.

I'm sure this is what your are talking about 100% silica gel.

http://www.amazingcatl​itter.com/

I guess that at this point I wonder if Canon or some authorized repair facility can fix it, or would it cost more than it is worth to fix it?

i've always read canon won't touch anything with water damage...that could be an old rumor though...i'm sure if he tells them what happened over the phone they will either say to send it in, or say they won't work on it

if it's the non IS, i'm not sure a fix would be worth it

I've also read that Canon won't touch water-damaged gear, but have not verified it.

I think some of you guys are too pessimistic about the prognosis for the electronics of the wet lens. My guess is that it will be OK, but it might take very long to dry adequately - possibly several weeks. Water can get into tiny crevices that can hold water tightly. But it's obviously real hard to know what the situation is and how long it might take.

If some of the elements are wet inside and grease and dirt has migrated to the surface, then you are probably screwed.

His lens is the Non-IS version, so if someone can be found who will fix it, it should cost too excessively.
Is there any 3rd party repair places that might do it if Canon refuses?

Thanks everyone for the replies.

My friend found a place that will repair a lens that has been in the water. They estimated the repair at around $100.
http://www.unitedcamer​a.com …OrOkfHs48ECFQmC​aQodBz8A-Q

Last year i dumped my 16-35 f2.8 into a waterfall. Banged up the front of it pretty badly and of course it was submerged in water. I sent it to Canon indicating the physical damage and that it probably had water damage. They fixed it for me.

Sirrith wrote in post #17252642
Next time tell him not to try the lens until it dries out. The lens would probably have been fine until he ran the electric current through it.

Next step is to put the lens in a bag with rice or silica gel and wait some days for the moisture to get absorbed, and try again, but there isn't much hope at this point.

First at All => That !