How To Dry Wet Camera Gear
| by JP Danko | blurMEDIA Photography | Toronto Underwater Fashion Photographer |
When you spend a significant amount of time shooting underwater photography using underwater camera housings and DIY underwater strobe housings, sooner or later you’re going to have a wet camera or other wet camera equipment.
I’ve heard about phones being revived from a watery grave, but I’m not sure if anyone has been successful in drying out a wet camera or drying out wet camera equipment.
What to Do If Your Camera or Camera Equipment Gets Wet
The first thing to do is immediately pull the batteries.
Then, if you are dealing with salt water, depending on how wet your camera or camera equipment is, it may be necessary to rinse your camera or camera equipment with clean, fresh water. If you are dealing with a lens or camera body that is fully submerged in salt water, chances are it’s toast – but it doesn’t hurt to try.
Then put the item into a sealed container of rice, or similar water absorbent material for a long period of time.
Do not heat up the item to evaporate the water.
If you’re dealing with a wet flash, its good idea to recondition the capacitors following David Hobby’s flash reconditioning tutorial on Strobist.
What Photography Gear Have You Destroyed and Then Rescued?
Let us know about a piece of photography gear that you sacrificed in the line of duty, only to revive it from the dead. What happened and how did you resurrect your gear? Leave a comment below!
Find Out More
This is an abridged version of this article first published at DIYphotography.net. To read the entire article, click here.
About the Author
JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.