Getting water into the camera is one of the most troublesome situations for any photographer. When I accidentally dropped my camera into a pool, I knew I had to act quickly and take steps to get water out of my camera.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, you are in the right place. Whether your camera was caught up in the rain or dropped into water, this guide will talk about all the ways in which you can get water out of it. Sometimes, humidity and condensation might be the reason behind moisture inside the lens of your camera.
No matter what the reason is, there are a number of steps that you can take. So if your camera is a victim of water damage, continue reading this guide and allow me to walk you through different methods for correcting the situation and minimizing damage.
How To Get Water Out of Your Camera
Having gone through this situation myself, I understand how stressful it can get. But before you panic, it is important to turn your camera off and remove the battery to avoid short circuits.
If your camera is equipped with any accessory or even a memory card, remove it immediately. Now to get rid of the water from your camera, consider the following methods that I swear by.
1. Dry cloth
Once you have taken out all the accessories, battery, and memory cards, proceed to wipe off visible water using a dry cloth. While doing so, make sure not to rub water back into the camera.
Since cameras are full of gaps and crevices, the chances of the water being trapped inside are high. So to dislodge water, you may use a can of compressed air. You can also use a vacuum cleaner to blow air into the crevices and dislodge water droplets.
2. Raw Rice
A popular method to dislodge water from your camera is to use uncooked rice. If you have come to know about it for the first time, you might be surprised. Even when I was looking for ways to get rid of water from my camera, stumbling upon this method was surprising for me.
But with the absorption capabilities and hygroscopic nature of raw rice, you can definitely absorb moisture from your camera. Follow the following steps to use raw rice for absorbing water from your camera:
Step 1: Put the lens in a container
The first step is to simply put the lens of your camera upside down. You are free to use a container or an airtight bag for the same.
Step 2: Add raw rice
Next, pour uncooked rice into the container or bag. Preferably, you should use about 3-4 cups.
Step 3: Leave it undisturbed
Now is the time to let the raw rice use its absorption capabilities to soak up water from your camera. You should leave this container of rice and your lens undisturbed for 2-3 days.
While you wait for this time, make sure the container or bag is airtight and sealed properly. This is because of the fact that raw rice will only be able to soak up water from your lens if the vapor inside of the rice grain is less than what is present outside.
3. Silica Gel
The combination of water and silica makes silica gel. If you don’t know what silica is, it is an integral component of sand. From shoe boxes to new bags, you are likely to have stumbled upon silica gel packs.
But why are these silica gel packets kept in these products? Well, silica gel packets are able to keep the products at the most appropriate humidity, and brands tend to make use of them for this purpose.
When you put a pack of silica gel inside of something, it will prevent the product from getting damp by soaking up all the moisture from the air. You can easily get silica gel packets online or from supermarkets. Refer to the following steps to get rid of water from your camera using silica gel.
Step 1: Add silica gel to a container
The first step is to add a silica gel packet to a container that is airtight or in a zip bag.
Step 2: Put the camera lens inside
Now that you have a container full of silica gel, remove the camera lens from your camera and place it inside the airtight container or zip pouch. While you do so, make sure the lens is displaced in a way that its front element faces down.
Step 3: Make sure it is sealed
Now make sure that the container is sealed properly. This is because silica gel dries out everything around it, and for that to work efficiently, you need to prevent air from entering the container that has silica gel and your camera lens.
Step 4: Leave it undisturbed
In order to let the silica gel soak up moisture from your lens, you should leave it undisturbed in a warm place for more than 50 hours. After leaving it undisturbed, if the silica gel fails to work properly, the packets could possibly be exhausted already. In that case, you can either get fresh silica gel packets or simply bake the previous one in an oven to get rid of moisture.
4. Sunlight
What should you do if raw rice and silica gel packets fail to work and get water out of your camera? Well, sunlight is a commonly-known alternative for drying out water from your lens. However, it can be risky for your camera, especially if left for extended periods of time.
Sun is capable of absorbing water from the elements of your camera lens. So if your camera lens is a victim of water damage, you can put it under the sun. But make sure that you don’t leave it undisturbed for long, as it can result in irreversible damage being caused to your lens.
Its internal components, like the iris, may get damaged, and the shutter curtains, along with sensors, may also be at risk. This is not all. Your camera may rust, and its lens might magnify the intensity of the sun to cause further damage to the internal components.
5. Professional Help
If neither of the methods listed above helps you to get water out of your camera, this might be your sign to rely on professional help. If the water going inside of your camera lens is muddy, salty, or impure, none of these methods are likely to work efficiently, which leaves professional help to be the only resort.
Professionals are experienced in reversing the damage caused to your lens by water, and they are most likely to defog it in the safest manner. You may find it a bit costly, especially when compared to all the other methods listed in this guide, but it remains the most effective method that resolves your issues in no time.
Conclusion
The stress that comes with getting water in your camera can tempt you to try unsafe methods like keeping your camera in your car’s air conditioner or even a microwave. Resorting to such methods may cause irreversible damage to the internal components of your lens.
Therefore, it is important to rely on methods that are safe and tested. If you were wondering how to get water out of your camera safely, I hope the DIY methods listed in this guide were helpful. However, if raw rice and packets of silica gel fail to bring results, you may rely on professionals to get water out of your camera and eliminate further damage.