[hbrillon]

I was shooting in a dusty environment with my K-5 the other day. When I got back home, into the shower it went, as per the many promotional and amateur videos of Pentax cameras being hosed down or put under sinks/showers/etc. The camera was very clean afterwards but the autofocus stopped working, soon followed by the shutter and then visible water accumulation and fogging in the viewfinder.


Pentax claim they need to see the camera before giving me any sort of answer. It is still under warranty so I'll be sending it in for repairs. I will keep you posted.

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Last edited by Unregistered User 8; 08-18-2020 at 11:39 PM. Reason: Remove swearing

[Adam]

The K-5, or any DSLR for that matter, is not resistant to water at high pressure. Most of the time you'll be fine, but if you really blast it with a stream of water, bad things can happen. Hopefully you'll be covered under warranty!

[vonBaloney]

And I'm assuming you had a WR lens on it?

[Eulogy]

And I'm assuming you had a WR lens on it?

If this is the case, Pentax should probably replace it. If not, you clearly didn't read the warnings.

Also - Just because Heie did it doesn't mean it's a good idea! He's demonstrating the extremes of it, not day to day usage :P (Though, I think everyone still applauds him for being man enough to do it)

[Kozlok]

Did it with my K-30 just to check the seals. Made sure the pressure was really low, made sure not to blast the sealed bits.

[rawr]

Just let it dry out a good while in a dry place or somewhere with some silica gel or dry rice, with the lens off and the battery door, SD card door etc open, and try it again.

People have frozen even non-WR cameras into blocks of ice and they still worked after being thawed out. Most cameras are tougher than we imagine. Usually only salt-water is the serious camera killer.

[hbrillon]

And I'm assuming you had a WR lens on it?

Of course :P I was using the 18-55 kit lens. I suspect a faulty seal is to blame but I can't be sure until Pentax sees it.

[Bob from Aus]

Shit.

I usually say that and bite my lip before I put my cameras under a tap for a few seconds.

I did have sprite fizzy drink leak into my K5 and stuff up my electronics. Wife sprayed it all over the car and I only found out the next day when most of the nobs had frozen. The the crazy colours of the photos made me feel sick when I eventually got in on . Fortunately my insurance replaced the camera.

[VisualDarkness]

If this is the case, Pentax should probably replace it. If not, you clearly didn't read the warnings.

Also - Just because Heie did it doesn't mean it's a good idea! He's demonstrating the extremes of it, not day to day usage :P (Though, I think everyone still applauds him for being man enough to do it)

During his interview session with Pentax the mentioned that when the tech guys at Pentax saw that video the cringed!

The camera is not designed for that kind of abuse and the manual actually warns about fluids and dust in excessive amounts. Though that doesn't mean that it will break, just that Pentax won't take responsibility for damage in these kind of circumstances. A single tiny hair on the o-ring on the mount of the lens can essentially render the sealing worthless, there is just too much risk involved for them to be responsible. Still, they can be nice and fix it anyway to give a bit of goodwill to a customer.

With that being said my K-5 has been wet numerous times and not a single leak. Live on the edge!

[calsan]

Sorry to hear, it but:

I've never seen an official Pentax video or document saying you can wash the camera in the shower.
There are lots of amateur videos of people pushing their luck with their own gear, however.

The 18-55 wr is also described as "weather resistant" - that's weather resistant, not water proof.

A shower or tap puts out the water under pressure, unlike rain, humidity or getting splashed. You would need a waterproof camera to withstand what you did with the camera.

So, maybe someone here will learn from your mistake.

[VisualDarkness]

Just let it dry out a good while in a dry place or somewhere with some silica gel or dry rice, with the lens off and the battery door, SD card door etc open, and try it again.

People have frozen even non-WR cameras into blocks of ice and they still worked after being thawed out. Most cameras are tougher than we imagine. Usually only salt-water is the serious camera killer.

Your first sentence is very important. The worst thing you can due with water damaged electronics is to try to force is on as the short-circuiting is usually the thing killing it, not the water itself. As soon as you see the leak or the symptoms pull the battery and open all lids.

The best thing after that should be to first sink down the electronics in a big bowl of distilled water to get rid of the decomposition from the water (salt, minerals etc) that may affect it later, but the problem is oils and grease running and the risk of trapped water. This is completely at your own risk!

[davidreilly3207]

The 18-55 'kit' lens may or may not be WR. It has to have WR in the name.

[pxpaulx]

The 18-55 'kit' lens may or may not be WR. It has to have WR in the name.

I was gonna comment since the OP just said of course I used the 18-55 lens...there are about 5 different versions of that lens, only 1 of which is WR! Though if bought as an actual K5 kit, I believe only the WR was an option.

[kkoether]

While I've used my K200D in the rain up to a downpour I'd NEVER submerge it or put it under a running stream of water. That's asking for trouble! Seals are designed to keep water and dust out under normal atmospheric pressures not forced with added pressure. Good Luck.

[RonHendriks1966]

Let's hope for the best.