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Canon 6D LCD panel error message

Bendobb
Apprentice

AA31C508-5F05-48AB-B827-BE75553C88AA.jpeg

 

Hi Everyone,

 

My beloved 6D got a little damp in my rucksack on a walk around the Scottish Highlands.  Now, when I put the battery in, I just see this on the LCD panel, before even turning it on.  When I do turn it on, it’s completely functionless.  Anyone had anything similar? Is this fatal? Or worth spending the money getting it looked at?

 

Would really appreciate any thoughts on it.

 

Best wishes,

Ben

2 REPLIES 2

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

This is not good. Call Canon 1 (800) 652-2666.  But don't be surprised if they have bad news, too.

 

Likely your best hope now is to try and dry it.  Don't do the rice or silly gel foolishness.  Get a heating pad and set it to warm.

Remove the 6D battery and open any and all doors.  No lens and leave that open too. Put the 6D on the pad and let it sit for a long time.  Could be a week or even two.

Note I said a "warm" heating pad not hot!  The 6D has an attempt at water resistance but it is a feeble attempt at best.  I would never get one wet or even splashed on but that is a moot point to you now. Ya never know the heating pad just might work, good luck.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

I agree that immediate drying is a good idea and definitely don't put the battery back in until it has had plenty of time to dry.

 

The heating pad suggested by Ernie is the best approach for this situation and is one of the safest ways to gently dry electronic products.  For vintage electronic gear that I sometimes purposefully wash during restoration I used the warm air output from a dehumidifier to quickly dry the device and its components but with a camera you don't want a forced air flow of dust and debris aimed at its internals.

 

Very clean fresh water isn't generally immediate fatal to modern electronics but that moisture that got into your camera probably carried salt from perspiration that accumulated with use on its surfaces along with other contaminants some of which can be left in place through the manufacturing process. 

 

Silica gel will work to dry a device but the tiny little packets that most people try to use will quickly be saturated and are useless for this sort of situation.  I have some large packs of silica (about the size of a 1 series body) that change color when they need to be baked to drive the moisture out but if you try to use typical packs that are used only to control moisture buildup during shipping they will remove only a tiny fraction of the total moisture that has built up in the gear and are likely already saturated before you even try to use them.  Rice is generally a bad bet because it has limited ability to absorb moisture and depending upon type and processing it will outgas as it reacts with the moisture possibly creating other immediate or long term problems.

 

LCD displays often "glitch" when exposed to moisture because additional leakage paths are created resulting in a display that is garbled and meaningless.  But since your camera wouldn't function, the problem goes beyond just display driver path leakage which will usually quickly clear once the moisture drops.  

 

There are three general "causal" categories for this type of issue.  1. the fault is purely due to moisture creating temporary leakage between two or more insulated points and it goes away with drying.  2. the moisture carried contaminants which remain in place and conductive even after drying.  This issue can be cured with careful cleaning but it is far from simple and too expensive to consider for most consumer products.  3. the fault caused component failure while power was applied and will require cleaning and component replacement to fix, again not economically feasible for most products.  Hopefully your 6D falls under Case 1.

 

Good luck.

 

Rodger

EOS 1DX M3, 1DX M2, 1DX, 5DS R, M6 Mark II, 1D M2, EOS 650 (film), many lenses, XF400 video
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