Mark5dIV dropped in water.

[Kai75]

Dear all. A month ago I've dropped my mark5dIV with attached lens in a lake. It was under water for about twenty seconds without a battery. I dried it in rice and after three days everything except for the shutterbutton worked again. I used a remote cable and the touchscreen also worked fine for focussing. Back home I had it examined by a specialized canon company and the mailed me that they could see it had fallen into water and that there is serious waterdamage and corrosion. The couldn't repair it and asked me if I wanted my camera back. I received it today and everything works fine, even the shutter release button. What to do. Will it die after some weeks or .......... I was looking already for another r5dIV, r6 or r5, but I'm in doubt now. Is there some one with the same experience?

 

[koenkooi]

The corrosion will get worse and make it behave in unknown ways. It might be usable for a long time or break tomorrow, water damage is quite unpredictable

I would treat it as broken and start looking at replacements, but keep using it in situations where it is OK that it might stop working.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It will have some corrosion on many of the parts inside. It may go for years, or it might die tomorrow. Its a total unknown. Sometimes a independent repair company will check but most won't touch it. I'd just keep using it and if you don't have a backup camera, its a good idea to get one. Maybe time to switch to mirrorless.
You can sell the camera as long as you disclose exactly what happened so buyers can't complain that you cheated them. You may get more out of it now while its still working. I hope the lens was not a expensive one. Corrosion will be the enemy again, it can start slowly and spread until it stops working.

I've dropped cameras into a lake but they were total losses. I've had iphones get wet and eventually stop working. Apple nor most repair stations would not touch them. They seal newer models better.

 

[tpatana]

You could bake it to stop the corrosion, although should have done right after. Like oven at 50C for day. I think some companies use ultra-sound too.

Like said above, it's all random if it'll die tomorrow, next year or never.

 

[bergstrom]

Have a cheaper spare body as a back up.

 

[Rocky]

There is a video in Youtube that shows how to fix a intermitten shutter release on 20D, 40D etc. ,without take the camera apart by using alcohol. You might want to try it on your 5D.