My year of Unco-disasters is now complete!

H

hausen

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This year I have dropped my iPhone 4s, new Samsung 3GS and newer Samsung Note II, shattering the screens on all. But Saturday took the cake. Was out for a sunrise taking shots from around the Harbour bridge here in Auckland. Was still pretty dark so had M9 + 28/2 on my tripod. Somehow when I was changing positions I tripped and M9 + 28/2 went face down in the Harbour. What a dickhead. Got it out and battery out very quickly but I think it will be dead. The last shot I took with it below. Fingers crossed now the $$$$$$ I spend in insurance saves the day.


Auckland Harbour Bridge by BigHausen, on Flickr
 
Of this is the last shot of the camera, then I say your camera died beautifully.
It will be remembered.
RIP
 
Well Keith, I didn't know it was salt water. I just know someone who had a M8 fall into the water and once it dried up, it worked again and as far as I know still works all these years later.
 
I'd lament the loss of the lens more than the camera. Lenses are forever.
Digital cameras aren't.

I would add, that the last picture that the combination took is a beautiful one.
 
Apparently once salt water hits the printed circuitry John it's pretty well impossible to remove unless you strip it straight away! Once it dries it really goes to town! :D

Bad luck David ... but as you say insurance will save your clumsy arse! :p
 
I think, the conclusion is clear: with the insurance money, get a Ricoh GR1 as a replacement (great 28mm lens...) and start training the postal pigeons for messaging. Latest technology does not seem to be your native game.
 
Well the Insurance company asked for a damage report and Manager at my local agent wrote both Camera and lens off. Have sent to Insurance company and now just wait with fingers crossed. Not sure what to do, have full replacement so if they approve I can immediately get a M9P or I can keep credit for M240 which could be months away. Or get M9P use for 3 months and sell when M240 comes out? Getting ahead of myself though, have to get paid out first:rolleyes: Thanks for all kind words about shot above. Was a perfect morning until..
 
Dude....Hey, I lost a brand new Zeiss F2 35 in a stream when changing lenses, it hit a rock in about 4 ft of water and then got dragged down stream...it came out looking like an egg!

I feel your pain.
 
Insurance. I have it for the first time this year, after nearly 40 years, and on account of tying up a fair amount in the M9-P.

In the old days the advice with a camera dunked in salt water was to immediately dunk it in fresh water and keep doing this through several changes of water in a large bucket. Something might then be rescued. Whether this would work at all with a modern electronic camera I don't know. I guess this was relevant to an expensive mechanical Leica where everything but the shutter curtains might then have been rescuable.
 
Never tested this on a M9 but if it's gone anyway, you can do no harm: Some electronics come back to life after falling into saltwater, if extensively flushed with distilled water to remove the salt and then drying it very good (warm place, covered in silicate granulate).

If I would kill my M9 this way, I would try it, except the insurance needs the camera to pay my loss.
 
A couple of summers ago whilst hiking in New Zealands South Island, I got a dunking crossing a creek. My M6ttl was in a waist bag that was partially submerged for a few seconds. There was little more than a couple of cm's of water at the bottom of the bag by the time I made it to shore but enough for the metering system to die almost immediately and after a day or two the shutter wouldn't fire. Back home in Oz a Leica repairman declared it a right off. My insurance company would only pay out about half its value (it was a Travel Insurance policy and cameras were depreciated by age) but I got enough to buy a Bessa R2M Anniversary kit with the 50/2 Heliar from our bartender. Steve who runs Photoco in the Adelaide Central Market (the only decent camera shop left in town) was able to get the shutter firing and I can still use it though obviously "sans meter". I've read these stories about the old photogs dunking their Leicas in a bucket of water but based on my experiences, I say it's probably either crap or urban myth.
 
I was wading through The Narrows at Zion, fell into a deep hole, My 85yo Leica I together with my body got submerged into water for about 10s until I clumsily climbed back up. Drained the water in the camera and bag, the camera still worked the next day. In fact, it's still been working flawlessly to date. Other than some rust stains near the screws, everything works, even shutter time is accurate.

alan davus said:
...these stories about the old photogs dunking their Leicas in a bucket of water but based on my experiences, I say it's probably either crap or urban myth.
Click to expand...

edit: the pictures I took were all gone though :(
 
my unco moment

I was in melbourne and went to the observation area of mount.... forgot the name, but its where mrs marples is. I saw this 1m stone wall and thought to myself, i can scale that no probs. camera in hand, i leap up, only to realise that my jeans had restricted my extension. what follows is me wounding my shin and smash my camera into the stone wall. what was the dumbest thing? i decided to try again to no avail and smash the lens into the stone again with numerous by standers in awe.

the damage was luckily only a few scuff marks on the hood, a little dent on the base plate on my m7, and the aperture blade being knocked out of its holder thing, aperture blades everywhere. i have since taken apart my nokton 50/1.5 and fixed it. very lucky in my case.

hope your insurance comes through
 
for what it's worth, even if you drop an electronic item in water, including salt water, if you turn it off and rinse it out good it may be salvageable. stick it in a bag full of rice or desiccant packages at a warm temperature for a week before trying it out again.

and now for trivia: the word unco/unko in japanese means sh*t!
 
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