Water proof but not soda proof !

**hjoseph7** · 11-09-2014, 05:18 AM

I was getting out of my car a few days ago so I grabbed my camera(Pentax k-5 IIs) which was sitting on the drivers seat while at the same time grabbing an open can of soda that was sitting in the tray in between the seats. When I went to close the door of the car some soda splashed on my camera. When I got inside I made sure to wipe everything down and made sure everything was working.

A couple of days later I notice that the pop-up flash did not pop-up like it used to. It sort of crawled up very slowly and kept doing that no matter how many times I hit the pop-up button. Now I'm wondering whether I should take the camera in to get it cleaned unless somebody out there has other ideas ?

Last edited by hjoseph7; 11-09-2014 at 05:23 AM.

FantasticMrFox · 11-09-2014, 05:27 AM

That's unfortunate of course, but the flash lies outside the weather-sealed area, so to speak. It's impossible to seal the flash compartment. It's likely the joints just got sticky, you could carefully try to rinse it with some water.

**Mikesul** · 11-09-2014, 06:05 AM

Sorry to hear about the accident. Those things happen. I have had my flash pop up get stuck from grit (I am in the desert a lot with my cameras) but it usually comes unstuck with a little light pressure. Several times I just needed to wait and whatever was causing the sticking worked loose and I was able to open the flash and carefully clean it off. Good luck.

**hjoseph7** · 11-09-2014, 06:05 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by FantasticMrFox

That's unfortunate of course, but the flash lies outside the weather-sealed area, so to speak. It's impossible to seal the flash compartment. It's likely the joints just got sticky, you could carefully try to rinse it with some water.

Thank you, I just did that with a Q-tip and some alcohol. There was a lot of Gunk behind the viewfinder so I cleaned that also. That did the trick, everything seems to be back to normal.

flaviopetrone · 11-09-2014, 06:45 AM

Originally posted by hjoseph7

Thank you, I just did that with a Q-tip and some alcohol. There was a lot of Gunk behind the viewfinder so I cleaned that also. That did the trick, everything seems to be back to normal.

The difference is that the water doesn't leave anything, the soda leaves a lot of sugar.
I am happy that you fixed it!

MPrince · 11-09-2014, 06:54 AM

It's not water proof either. There's a huge difference between weather resistant/weather sealed and water proof.

Bob from Aus · 11-09-2014, 01:16 PM

Yep. That's how my wife fizzled my K5. Insurance payed for a new one and allowed me to keep the crippled K5. CR Kennedy said my camera was not repairable. It is the sugar that's the problem.

All the knobs are still really stiff. However sugar got into the electronics and now it under exposes badly and from time to time it the colors look like super bad transparencies cooked in the sun and then developed in off chemicals. The electronic problems were evident the next day when i found out about the soda. If anything the electronic problem is less of an issue and the stiff controls I can live with. (sometimes I have to really force my on off switch) So I don't think you will get electronic issues unless your camera gets wet and allows the residue sugar to get deeper into the camera. So from my experience you shouldn't have any further issues

At the time i was in the middle of a massive job so I had to buy a new K5 as i didn't know what the insurance would do. Within a month I had 3 K5s.

FantasticMrFox · 11-09-2014, 01:23 PM

Originally posted by Bob from Aus

However sugar got into the electronics and now it under exposes badly and from time to time it the colors look like super bad transparencies cooked in the sun and then developed in off chemicals.

It's official - sugar gives cameras diabetes too.

lawjie · 11-09-2014, 01:55 PM

Originally posted by MPrince

It's not water proof either. There's a huge difference between weather resistant/weather sealed and water proof.

totally agreed! not even the 5D mark III or D810 is water proofed...

magkelly · 11-09-2014, 02:23 PM

Sugar is heck on any kind of electronics. My boy cat dumped a soda on my almost brand new trackman wireless mouse about 2 weeks ago. I did my best to rescue it and clean it and it still works, but it's got a few quirks now that it didn't have before and I have a feeling it won't last too long. I'm ticked because it wasn't inexpensive, it's the only mouse I can use, and I was counting on it lasting several years. In the year that I've had him he's also killed 2 keyboards doing the same thing.

I finally got wise. I have these insulated drink bottles I use now instead of glasses. They're not 100% full proof but they keep things cold and so far he's managed to dunk them several times and nothing hit the electronics. I have a keyboard now that's supposedly spill resistant but unfortunately they don't make Trackman ball mice that are water resistant.

I jokingly call Loki "My little 4 footed wrecking crew." but it's only half a joke. I've never seen a cat more prone towards mishaps than he is. He's got these weird split toes on both front feet. I think that's partly why he's such a klutz. He's got no sense of balance compared to some cats and clearly not much by way of depth perception. Siamese cats supposedly can have balance issues. Watching him I believe it. He's downright clumsy for a cat.

**monochrome** · 11-09-2014, 02:46 PM

You've heard of 'Don't Drink and Drive? . . . . . . . '

11-09-2014, 05:18 AM	#1
hjoseph7 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2014 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,047	Water proof but not soda proof ! I was getting out of my car a few days ago so I grabbed my camera(Pentax k-5 IIs) which was sitting on the drivers seat while at the same time grabbing an open can of soda that was sitting in the tray in between the seats. When I went to close the door of the car some soda splashed on my camera. When I got inside I made sure to wipe everything down and made sure everything was working. A couple of days later I notice that the pop-up flash did not pop-up like it used to. It sort of crawled up very slowly and kept doing that no matter how many times I hit the pop-up button. Now I'm wondering whether I should take the camera in to get it cleaned unless somebody out there has other ideas ? Last edited by hjoseph7; 11-09-2014 at 05:23 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
O-RC1 water proof remote control	i_trax	Pentax Q	19	02-18-2014 02:38 PM
water proof cover	adwb	Pentax DSLR Discussion	10	02-16-2014 09:06 PM
water proof.	rlatjsrud	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	28	07-25-2012 09:23 AM
645D: How weather proof is weather proof ?	larkis	Pentax Medium Format	18	12-23-2011 03:03 AM
KX, No weather proofing but... Beer proof?	spicy cho	Pentax DSLR Discussion	16	06-23-2011 04:27 AM

11-09-2014, 05:27 AM	#2
FantasticMrFox Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Munich Posts: 2,339	That's unfortunate of course, but the flash lies outside the weather-sealed area, so to speak. It's impossible to seal the flash compartment. It's likely the joints just got sticky, you could *carefully* try to rinse it with some water.

11-09-2014, 06:05 AM	#3
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	Sorry to hear about the accident. Those things happen. I have had my flash pop up get stuck from grit (I am in the desert a lot with my cameras) but it usually comes unstuck with a little light pressure. Several times I just needed to wait and whatever was causing the sticking worked loose and I was able to open the flash and carefully clean it off. Good luck.

11-09-2014, 06:05 AM - 1 Like	#4
hjoseph7 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2014 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,047 Original Poster	Originally posted by FantasticMrFox That's unfortunate of course, but the flash lies outside the weather-sealed area, so to speak. It's impossible to seal the flash compartment. It's likely the joints just got sticky, you could *carefully* try to rinse it with some water. Thank you, I just did that with a Q-tip and some alcohol. There was a lot of Gunk behind the viewfinder so I cleaned that also. That did the trick, everything seems to be back to normal.

11-09-2014, 06:45 AM	#5
flaviopetrone Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Reggio Emilia Photos: Albums Posts: 1,153	Originally posted by hjoseph7 Thank you, I just did that with a Q-tip and some alcohol. There was a lot of Gunk behind the viewfinder so I cleaned that also. That did the trick, everything seems to be back to normal. The difference is that the water doesn't leave anything, the soda leaves a lot of sugar. I am happy that you fixed it!

11-09-2014, 06:54 AM	#6
MPrince Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: WV Posts: 1,495	It's not water proof either. There's a huge difference between weather resistant/weather sealed and water proof.

11-09-2014, 01:16 PM	#7
Bob from Aus Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,094	Yep. That's how my wife fizzled my K5. Insurance payed for a new one and allowed me to keep the crippled K5. CR Kennedy said my camera was not repairable. It is the sugar that's the problem. All the knobs are still really stiff. However sugar got into the electronics and now it under exposes badly and from time to time it the colors look like super bad transparencies cooked in the sun and then developed in off chemicals. The electronic problems were evident the next day when i found out about the soda. If anything the electronic problem is less of an issue and the stiff controls I can live with. (sometimes I have to really force my on off switch) So I don't think you will get electronic issues unless your camera gets wet and allows the residue sugar to get deeper into the camera. So from my experience you shouldn't have any further issues At the time i was in the middle of a massive job so I had to buy a new K5 as i didn't know what the insurance would do. Within a month I had 3 K5s.

11-09-2014, 01:23 PM	#8
FantasticMrFox Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Munich Posts: 2,339	Originally posted by Bob from Aus However sugar got into the electronics and now it under exposes badly and from time to time it the colors look like super bad transparencies cooked in the sun and then developed in off chemicals. It's official - sugar gives cameras diabetes too.

11-09-2014, 01:55 PM	#9
lawjie Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 41	Originally posted by MPrince It's not water proof either. There's a huge difference between weather resistant/weather sealed and water proof. totally agreed! not even the 5D mark III or D810 is water proofed...

11-09-2014, 02:23 PM	#10
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Sugar is heck on any kind of electronics. My boy cat dumped a soda on my almost brand new trackman wireless mouse about 2 weeks ago. I did my best to rescue it and clean it and it still works, but it's got a few quirks now that it didn't have before and I have a feeling it won't last too long. I'm ticked because it wasn't inexpensive, it's the only mouse I can use, and I was counting on it lasting several years. In the year that I've had him he's also killed 2 keyboards doing the same thing. I finally got wise. I have these insulated drink bottles I use now instead of glasses. They're not 100% full proof but they keep things cold and so far he's managed to dunk them several times and nothing hit the electronics. I have a keyboard now that's supposedly spill resistant but unfortunately they don't make Trackman ball mice that are water resistant. I jokingly call Loki "My little 4 footed wrecking crew." but it's only half a joke. I've never seen a cat more prone towards mishaps than he is. He's got these weird split toes on both front feet. I think that's partly why he's such a klutz. He's got no sense of balance compared to some cats and clearly not much by way of depth perception. Siamese cats supposedly can have balance issues. Watching him I believe it. He's downright clumsy for a cat.

11-09-2014, 02:46 PM	#11
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	You've heard of 'Don't Drink and Drive? . . . . . . . '