HELP! Dropped my Nikon D80 in water!

[Lagerstatten.ca]

Hi Everyone,

Over the weekend I went up to Elbow Falls, went into the water and slipped on a rock with my D80 in my backpack. The water was really shallow at the spot I took my dive but the camera got a bit wet.

The D80 had the extended battery grip on it as well and judging by how high the water mark was on the backpack it looks as though the battery grip was the only part that got submerged under the water.

I took the camera out, removed the battery and dried off as much of the water as I could in and around the camera (minus the lens mount area and inside near the sensor).

It's been 24 hours since the incident and I've taken the camera apart, used a blow dryer to bake it a little to dry it out some more.

I've inspected the camera as well and there is not a single scratch anywhere on the body and there's no damage to any contact points as well. It's still in mint condition externally.

But...the camera doesn't turn on...

Any help? I've only had this camera for a little over a month and should still have the 1 year Nikon Canada/USA warranty. I know it won't help but does Nikon fix these types of things?

Anyways if anyone has had any experience with water damage on their cameras and can provide some tips as to what they did to remedy the issue, that would be awesome.

Thanks in advance!

-TT

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Nikon can repair it, but it will not be covered by warranty.

What happens is, you send it in to Nikon, they take a look at it and quote you a repair price, you then accept/decline the repair and go from there.

[Lagerstatten.ca]

Thanks for the tip BerserkerCatSplat. How should I proceed with the repair then? I purchased the camera online from Cameta Camera's. Do I just call Nikon, explain the issue, send it in for a quote and proceed from there?

Are there any local Nikon repair shops in Calgary? I know Canon has a service depot...not too sure about Nikon though.

Thanks!

-TT

[BerserkerCatSplat]

That's pretty much how it goes, when I sent my SB-800 in for warranty work I called them up, they told me how to proceed.

Since you bought it from Cameta, it's a Nikon USA product, meaning you'll possibly have to ship it to their repair facility in Melville, NY. I know that I had to do that with my SB-800 from BH when it went in for warranty work.

If I were you, I would call the main Ontario service center and ask if Nikon Canada will repair it:

1-877-534-9910

If they will fix it, you will probably have to ship it to the Vancouver repair center.


If they won't repair it due to it being a Nikon US product, you'll deal with either the Melville, NY or El Segundo, CA facilities.

[JGerke]

I would reccommend not telling them you got it wet....

[Dayclone]

Originally posted by JGerke
I would reccommend not telling them you got it wet....

Wrong, their technicians and they'll know right away. You can't fool them.

Anyways... does it work or what's going on? If not yeh call up Nikkon and see from there.

[Lagerstatten.ca]

I'd rather be honest...saves you the hassle explaining why the water damage indicators are red when they open up the camera body. If the repair is reasonable then I'll just get it fixed...if not then I have a really nice and expensive paper weight. Then I'll just save up and get another dSLR. Simple as that.

I'll give Nikon a call tomorrow, but for the meantime I've dried the camera inside and out as much as I can and have the entire setup sitting in a bucket of dried rice so that it can absorb anymore moisture that I've missed.

Will try to fire it up after a couple of days to see what happens. Even if it does work, I'll still send it in as corrosion will end up killing the circuit boards eventually.

Thanks!

[Mitsu3000gt]

You might try claim it under homeowners insurance, but I'm not sure how that works exactly.

Anyways, in the future, for $44/year (what I pay anyways for approx. $4000 of stuff) and a $25 deductible you get camera insurance that covers even your own negligence, on top of theft and anything else you can think of. Definitely worth it in my opinion. I suppose you could wait, get insurance, and make the claim but I'm guessing your deductible will be massive after you've made one claim.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by JGerke
I would reccommend not telling them you got it wet....

Ah, no. All Nikon techs will be able to tell if the camera has been submerged.

[blam]

a lot of electronics have litmus? paper somewhere in them so they know if it got wet or not....

send it in, include warranty papers and hope for the best.

[blam]

oh, if all else fails, find an insurance company that covers all perils (Meloche monnex is the ONLY one I know of) and claim it a month down the road.

[G]

Originally posted by blam
oh, if all else fails, find an insurance company that covers all perils (Meloche monnex is the ONLY one I know of) and claim it a month down the road.

That's insurance fraud.

[black_radiation]

mitsu, whats this camera insurance you are talking about? is it through your homeowners insurance or what?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by black_radiation
mitsu, whats this camera insurance you are talking about? is it through your homeowners insurance or what?

It's with Meloche Monnex. I believe it is done through my homeowners insurance, however obviously the accident does not have to happen at home to be covered. It's a great deal and the fact that it covers my own negligence is outstanding. One thing I don't know is how much the deductible goes up after I make a claim - $25 is pretty small considering how easy it would be to make a fradulent claim and covers my own negligence. I would think the deductible goes up considerably, perhaps to $500 or $1000 after a $4000 claim or someting like that. You need to give them serial numbers for everything that has one, and I think you need original receipts as well.

If you need more information I can get it for you.

[hussein]

Did you buy it with visa?

When my sister was on vacation she dropped her camera in a lake and it was lost forever. My mother contacted visa and explained to them and they sent us claim papers because when you purchase something with your Visa card you have certain protections for those products. The papers were just sent in last week.

This might be something you want to check into if you used a credit card.

[Mitsu3000gt]

On a similar note to the above, I have a mastercard that adds 1 year warranty to everything you buy, providing you keep the original receipt. We've used it too, with no hassle at all. It works exactly as advertised. I don't know if it would cover negligence or not - I would think not.

[Lagerstatten.ca]

Thanks for the advice Mitsu3000gt and Hussein. I purchased the camera on July 17th, 2007. I just called Mastercard and there is a 90 day Purchase Assurance on all purchases paid in full by Mastercard.

They're sending me the claim papers and they said they cover up to $1000/per incident or the cost of repairs (whichever is lesser).

I also called Nikon USA this morning and they said to just send it in for them to take a look at. They go the repair can range between $250-1000 dollars depending on the extent of the damage.

As a side note, they said that the best thing to do whenever you drop any electronic devices in water is to rinse if off using distilled water and keep it in a bucket of distilled water as well and get it to your repair facility as quick as possible so that the electrolytes/dissolved minerals don't bind to the circuit boards and cause corrosion. Sort of like rushing to the dentist when you get a tooth knocked out.

Anyways I'm hoping for the best...otherwise the Canon 40D was just announced....could always save up for that

Thanks everyone!

[blam]

Originally posted by G


That's insurance fraud.

ok...fine, get mad and throw it in the water after a month.


Mitsu3000gt: did you ever find out how much the premiums go up by please post. I am curious myself...because the lady told me they even cover "mysterious disappearance..." like seriously....it's like they want you to claim.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by blam


ok...fine, get mad and throw it in the water after a month.


Mitsu3000gt: did you ever find out how much the premiums go up by please post. I am curious myself...because the lady told me they even cover "mysterious disappearance..." like seriously....it's like they want you to claim.

I haven't asked, and I don't know if my calling and asking would make them suspicious of an impending fraud haha. Not a lot of people must make claims, or it wouldn't be dirt cheap like it is. Your right in that they quite literally cover everything. You can hurl your camera at the wall or drop it in the ocean and no problems at all, it's covered. You just need to go through the claim process - I have no idea how painful that is, but I'm sure its better than buying a new camera. I agree with crap like "mysterious dissapearance" they are asking for fraud, but I think they get you to re-buy your stuff and then you send them the bill rather than just cutting you a cheque. That way, the best you can do with fraud is have doubles of all your stuff which I suppose would be alright, but definitely less desirable than just being paid off. You might get one or two freebies but I'm pretty sure they learn really fast and up the deductible. Also if you claim theft, I am guessing a police report is part of the claims process.

Right now I live at home and do not own the house I'm living in, so it's actually under my Dad's insurance policy. I don't think they will even talk to me about it if I remember correctly - they made me get him to call and set it up even though the insurance was for MY camera.

[benyl]

Sometimes, water gets trapped in "sealed" areas and never comes out.

The only way to get it out is to bake it in the oven. The heat will vaporise the water and let it escape like air.