6D Got Wet and Buttons Go Crazy

[cabacaro]

Hello,

I was taking pictures on the beach with my 6D when a wave splashed some water on my camera. I didn't think anything of it and kept shooting for a few more minutes. Back in my air conditioned room, some of the buttons of the camera stopped workind. For example, pushing the playback button took me to live view.

I removed the battery and the SD card, left the latches opened, and put the camera in a plastic container with rice for two days. After two days, I took the camera out, put the battery and SD card back inside, and tried it. More buttons were working but the "Set" button didn't.

I put the camera back in the rice overnight. The next day, all buttons were working correctly until I took the camera outside to take some pictures and some of buttons started acting again. I am in Mexico in the state of Vercruz where it is very hot and humid outside.

After my last try, I dried the camera with a blow drier and put the camera in front of a fan. Thatt is what is happening right now.

What else do you recommend that I do? The camera works just fine inside the air conditioned bedroom but not outside.

Thanks,

Vincent

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

My guess is that you got saltwater inside the camera on the circuit boards.

When it dries there is no conduction, but when you go outside the humidity condenses on the cold camera and the slat tracks become wet and conduct.

Canon might be able to clean it if you send it in for service.

[Peter]

 Got the same problem after a trip down into a cold volcano. All my buttons went mad. I dried it and everything worked again. In your case, you have got salt water inside. Don't know if Canon is able to clean it out for you, but you should ask.

[ebiggs1]

Water and a camera usually do not do well together.  Salt water and a camera is usually a death sentence.  Actually a dunk in salt water best next step is a dunk in clean water.

The rice and other methods are not very good. Very marginal at best.  My preffered way is a heating pad for several days.  Set it to low and leave it for a long time.

The 6D is not particularly well protected from water almost to the point of, don't get it wet!  If the heating pad does not work, you probably lost the camera.

[RexGig]

Rice is acting as a simple dessicant. There is nothing a dessicant can do about the salts that were left inside your camera. The remaining salts will attract any moisture in the air, allowing the damage to resume. Salt water readily conducts electricity. I wish you the best, but it is likely that extensive damage has occurred, depending upon how far the salt water penetrated into your camera.
 
Even with the camera's weather-sealing, water can enter, especially if your lens was not one of the newer, top-tier pro L lenses with its own gasket at the mount, and other weather-sealing. (Not all L lenses are weather-sealed!)
 
Notably, third-party lenses advertised as "splash-resistant" may not have a gasket at the mount. Sigma is an example of this; I am not sure about others. (It seems, to me, that a gasket at the mount is the single most important gasket!)
 
Only Canon service, or a similarly-skilled independent repair facility, can determine the extent of the damage.

[cabacaro]

Hi RexGig and others,

I am sorry for not responding earlier. I drove to the nearest big town (Mexico City) and took the camera to an authorized Canon repair shop. They made an evaluation and determined that the circuit board was damaged. They ordered the parts and are (hopfully) soon going to fix it for a couple hundred dollars.

Fingers crossed!

Thank you all for your help and advice.

Vincent

[ebiggs1]

"Salt water and a camera is usually a death sentence."

I don't know that I would even spend a couple hundred bucks on it.  Are you sure nothing else inside is damaged.  Salt water is bad newes for a camera.

[kiliwalker]

After using my camera and swapping lenses on a rainy day my set button quit working and several other buttons like the menu button and others started to misbehave. I used a blow dryer on my camera after removing the battery for about 15 minutes on medium heat and that fixed every button problem I had...the 6d had limited moisture or humidity proofing...do keep it dry and blow dry add needed

[Newbie6D]

My button and screen have gone mad also after walking through a cafe mister.
Ironically I have a picture of it on the footpath.

I have two other Canon cameras but if this is all it takes for moisture ingress then its poor design for anything that be done in the field.

I have had my camera for 6 weeks on a holiday and the dial button is inconsistently working which is very frustrating. Lost confidence in the Canon product.

[Newbie6D]

For the level of camera, this rediculious. Glad I only have a couple of lenses. On ya holiday its a pain in the behind.

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