[lister6520]

Rice is widely said to be a good drying agent but it is not reliable and not the most effective either. For starters rices is not always dry, especially if it is packaged in a porous cardboard box as it often is. It will have already been absorbing moisture for days or even weeks so will not be very effective.

The best drying agent I know of is calcium chloride. It is widely available at supermarkets as a 'refill' for small dehumidifiers that don't use electricity. The 'dehumidifier' being just a plastic container with holes or slots and you pour the 'refill' into it.

Just buy a bag of the stuff, empty it into a bowl, not filling more than half and place the bowl together with the camera into an airtight plastic box, the sort of which is used to preserve food. Alternatively just poor the stuf into the botom of the box and then place the camera on something to keep it out of contact with it. That way you have a larger surface area of the drying agent, making it more effective.

Placing the box in a warm, or even mildly hot location will speed up the drying process.

Also, remove the lens and open all ports/doors on the camera to ensure the vapour has an easy way out.

[atax112]

Rice is widely said to be a good drying agent but it is not reliable and not the most effective either. For starters rices is not always dry, especially if it is packaged in a porous cardboard box as it often is. It will have already been absorbing moisture for days or even weeks so will not be very effective.

The best drying agent I know of is calcium chloride. It is widely available at supermarkets as a 'refill' for small dehumidifiers that don't use electricity. The 'dehumidifier' being just a plastic container with holes or slots and you pour the 'refill' into it.

Just buy a bag of the stuff, empty it into a bowl, not filling more than half and place the bowl together with the camera into an airtight plastic box, the sort of which is used to preserve food. Alternatively just poor the stuf into the botom of the box and then place the camera on something to keep it out of contact with it. That way you have a larger surface area of the drying agent, making it more effective.

Placing the box in a warm, or even mildly hot location will speed up the drying process.

Also, remove the lens and open all ports/doors on the camera to ensure the vapour has an easy way out.

Hello, that is an awesome idea! Never thought of that. I will buy some today.
Yesterday i have put my k-30 in a cardboard box with rice again. Closed it up and left it in the window to get some heat. I'll look for a closeable plastic container and put it in there today. All "holes" open.

Thanks for the advice!

[atax112]

Ok, so I found some CERESIT humidity absorbers in our local shop. I've bought two bags, put them in a large dark trashbin bag with the body opened as it can be. No lens, covers all open, flash up. I sucked the air out as I could and tied a knot on the bag. It should be good now, those absorbers are for smaller rooms so if anything, those will dry the k-30 out. All of this lies within a cardboard box to keep the absorbers horizontal and I've put it back in the window.

I'll leave it like this at least until Monday and then I'll check. Basically after a day the autofocus is pretty much ok and the display is dim but definitely working, hoping for the best.

Fingers crossed! Thank you all.

[SteveB]

Ok, so I found some CERESIT humidity absorbers in our local shop. I've bought two bags, put them in a large dark trashbin bag with the body opened as it can be. No lens, covers all open, flash up. I sucked the air out as I could and tied a knot on the bag. It should be good now, those absorbers are for smaller rooms so if anything, those will dry the k-30 out. All of this lies within a cardboard box to keep the absorbers horizontal and I've put it back in the window.

I'll leave it like this at least until Monday and then I'll check. Basically after a day the autofocus is pretty much ok and the display is dim but definitely working, hoping for the best.

Fingers crossed! Thank you all.

I wouldn't test the flash even just the once until a few days after the camera is otherwise hopefully working OK. 300 volts and a tiny amount of moisture could kill any electronics inside.

[atax112]

It works. Well at least it takes pictures. No problems with that. Focus is accurate, no issues whatsoever.

The display however is dead. Solid black, not even a blink. Nothing. I will take it into repairs on Monday.

If you got any suggestions what I can try until then, please share.

Thanks.

---------- Post added 05-10-14 at 11:52 AM ----------

Holy lord of the Pentax race!

After a few tries it came alive! The display is good as new with a few stains on the inside of the plastic cover.

Guys, this is amazing! I will go and take some shots.

Thank you very much for all the help, this community is the best ever!

[Lauke_101]

Told ya.. But tame your enthousiasm a bit (I know, it's hard). It's probably not 100% dry yet, so don't risk killing your camera on the home stretch. Leave it to dry for a few more days just to be sure.

Congrats though! Good to hear it works again.

[atax112]

Told ya.. But tame your enthousiasm a bit (I know, it's hard). It's probably not 100% dry yet, so don't risk killing your camera on the home stretch. Leave it to dry for a few more days just to be sure.

Congrats though! Good to hear it works again.

Thanks! Sure, of course. I made a few shots and left it to dry again. Unfortunately some dirt got in and I can't seem to clean it off so I will take it to the shop to get it clean, but this is so great! These cameras are super durable and withstanding.

Love my k-30 more than ever!

I am a bit concerned about dust getting in though, I had to get it cleaned not so long ago. I am swapping lenses camera faced down. Probably it got dusty when it was drying in the bag, no lens. Little particles of dust could have gotten in.

[nutkasse]

hi all, just got back from jamaica from my daughter's wedding with my pentax k30. went to a waterfall with a 18-250mm lens. lens didn't get wet but camera did, & just a bit. shutter button got stuck!!, nothing. went back to hotel put camera under hair dryer & opened all ports!! warmed up camera for a few minutes & slowly but surely camera started to work. warmed it up some more & everything seems to be normal. the camera is supposed to be water resistance but it is not.maybe pentax has a bunch of cameras with faulty seals??? wonder what pentax has to say!!!

[RyanW]

hi all, just got back from jamaica from my daughter's wedding with my pentax k30. went to a waterfall with a 18-250mm lens. lens didn't get wet but camera did, & just a bit. shutter button got stuck!!, nothing. went back to hotel put camera under hair dryer & opened all ports!! warmed up camera for a few minutes & slowly but surely camera started to work. warmed it up some more & everything seems to be normal. the camera is supposed to be water resistance but it is not.maybe pentax has a bunch of cameras with faulty seals??? wonder what pentax has to say!!!

They'll say two things.
1. It's weather resistant, not water proof
2. They don't cover water damage.

Based on recent stories in the various Pentax fora I'd be a little less cavalier about exposure to water.

No way for an owner to know before exposure to moisture if they got a gem or a dud weather sealing wise. When you do know, it may be too late.

I hope this is a few bad ones and hot a harbinger of future Pentax weather worthiness because that was truly one of the advantages enjoyed by Pentax owners.

[JimC1101]

If you are not using a WR lens, your K-30 will not be water resistant. If any lens would be able to be water resistant, there would no reason to make specific WR lenses. As I stated, I live in the Philippines and it can be quite wet in my area. One thing I make sure to do is to check the weather and make sure that if I am out shooting, I make sure that I will have a WR lens just in case. I have quite drenched many times and have never had a problem with my K-30 and 18-55WR. If you are going to use non WR lenses, you need to be very careful as treat it as a non WR body even though it is the K-30.

[felixkh]

hi all, just got back from jamaica from my daughter's wedding with my pentax k30. went to a waterfall with a 18-250mm lens. lens didn't get wet but camera did, & just a bit. shutter button got stuck!!, nothing. went back to hotel put camera under hair dryer & opened all ports!! warmed up camera for a few minutes & slowly but surely camera started to work. warmed it up some more & everything seems to be normal. the camera is supposed to be water resistance but it is not.maybe pentax has a bunch of cameras with faulty seals??? wonder what pentax has to say!!!

The 18-250 you have is not weather sealed so water can still get in from the lens mount because of that. The K30 is WR BUT your lens is not. As I pointed to OP earlier, WR Body + NON-WR lens does not make a WR equation.

I have used my K30 with the DA18-135WR and the DA*16-50 with no issues on my K30 in Singapore. It is a bad as the Philippines as we are in the tropics.