09-03-2024 10:21 AM - last edited on 09-03-2024 01:41 PM by Danny
I have an EOS Rebel T7 and on August 17th I fell into a tide pool with it. I immediately pulled the battery and memory card and when I got home I vacuumed all the water I could, out of it. Then I packed it and its lens, separately, in baggies with large bags of silica gel. Today I tried using it, with a different battery and card, and got nothing. I put a different lens on it and still got nothing.
So. It is it worth it to try to get it repaired or should I just buy a new camera?
If it IS worth it to look up a repair shop, does anyone have a recommendation in the Ann Arbor/ Detroit area?
Thanks, Jack
Solved! Go to Solution.
09-03-2024 01:39 PM
Your camera, once immersed in salt water, is no longer repairable. As my colleagues advise, the salt (and even pollutants in fresh water) will immediately start a corrosion process that spreads like a cancer. Drying it off as you did will leave the salt to continue to do its work, but it's not a matter of delay. You camera is terminally impacted and no service centre will touch it because they know there is no fix, but they may charge you to find that out. BTW, that also applies to any lens, battery or card that were attached. The lens will likely develop fungus and the electronics will corrode.
Your best bet is to check your insurance and see if the camera is covered for replacement, put in a claim and get a new camera. The positive side is you can use any insurance money to invest in a mirrorless camera - something like the R10 or R50 with an R-series lens - like the RF-S 18-150 IS STM. It will be a vast improvement over your current camera.
09-05-2024 07:26 AM - edited 09-05-2024 07:33 AM
Sorry to hear of your misfortune. A new camera is in your future no doubt. Please ensure you use a wrist strap, neck strap or body strap so this doesn't happen again.
Canon, Peak Design or Black Rapids are all good examples.
You do have to be really careful when you're at the beach. You often have to contend with sand, surf spray and slippery rocks. I'd contact the Canon sales team and tell him your story. You could be offered a small discount and free shipping on your next camera. If you want to keep costs down even further, look at the Canon refurbished store.
~Rick
Bay Area - CA
~R5 C (1.0.7.1) ~RF Trinity, ~RF 100 Macro, ~RF 100~400, ~RF 100~500, ~RF 200-800 +RF 1.4x TC, BG-R10, 430EX III-RT ~DxO PhotoLab Elite ~DaVinci Resolve Studio ~ImageClass MF644Cdw/MF656Cdw ~Pixel 8 ~CarePaks Are Worth It
09-05-2024 07:46 AM
Yeah, though I WAS wearing a strap. I didn't drop the camera; I went in too. I got cut and scraped from my ankles to my hands, and a tetanus shot, but that all healed. 😞
09-05-2024 09:24 AM
I just had a wave splash me in a tidepool that wrecked my T3i. I just look at it as a time to upgrade.
09-05-2024 08:56 AM
I'm sorry. The important thing is that you're all right. Seaweed and algae is super slippery so do not feel bad. We have tide pools In Pescadero just south of my house. I've seen kids take some nasty spills and come out soaked.
Do look at the refurbished store, and as I said, call Canon and tell them what happened.
~Rick
Bay Area - CA
~R5 C (1.0.7.1) ~RF Trinity, ~RF 100 Macro, ~RF 100~400, ~RF 100~500, ~RF 200-800 +RF 1.4x TC, BG-R10, 430EX III-RT ~DxO PhotoLab Elite ~DaVinci Resolve Studio ~ImageClass MF644Cdw/MF656Cdw ~Pixel 8 ~CarePaks Are Worth It
09-06-2024 12:27 PM
" I looked and I have $500 deductible ..." "My insurance has a $200 deductible ..."
All homeowners policies here in the US I know of are 1% of insured value. If you have State Farm, my insurer, for instance and your insured vale is $500,000, the ductubile is $5000. You can get writers that specify different terms but most people don't have them. When I was working full time I had such a policy that was replacement value.
Funny story, not at the time but, the only time I think I ever used it was on a EF 100-400mm zoom which was apparently stolen from a job. I made a claim to State Farm which promptly paid for a new lens which I bought since I needed it quickly. About a week later a 'friend' of mine said he had my lens and wanted to get it back to me. He said he saw it on a table and knew immediately it has to be mine since no one else had such lenses. He picked it up for 'safe keeping'. OK, now I had to go back to State Farm and tell them my lens had been found and returned. I gave them their money back for the replacement lens. I guess I could have returned the lens to B&H but it wasn't their fault. Not all bad, I guess, doesn't everybody need two EF 100-400mm zooms?
09-06-2024 03:49 PM - edited 09-06-2024 03:58 PM
It's interesting Ernie. I applaud you, and support your honesty regarding the lens claim.
I think different countries have different legislation frameworks for insurance. For example, in NZ one cannot sue for damages for injury or medical misadventure unless it is due to criminal negligence. Instead, we are all covered by a government agency called the Accident Compensation Committee which funds treatment, long-term disability and will sort out special needs like ramps, wheelchairs and treatments.
That makes insurance overall a lot, lot cheaper. House building insurance is also partly covered by a levy called the Earthquake and War Damage Commission. This will pay for the first $100k of damage due force majeure such as natural disasters, or war. The fund has been getting a bit of a hammering here since 2011 with several major earthquakes and a bunch of highly destructive cyclones, but it is holding the line.
All of this means we can get a better deal for insurance, aided by shopping around and combining insurances for home, chattels and car. So, for my chattels insurance, I can nominate my cameras (provide a receipt, value, serial #etc.) and for a total insured value up to 1/3 of my total household stuff, they will fix (if deemed possible by a registered service agent) any registered item or replace it with the equivalent latest version with no deductible, no matter how old. I recently had that situation when, for the first time in my career, I face planted at a client site with a camera in each hand. One lens was crushed and deemed irreparable, and I would have got a full replacement if I had nominated it - which I had not got around to. However, the client deemed my accident was their fault, and they paid for a new lens, so I was able to withdraw the insurance claim. My new lens is fully registered and thus totally covered.
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