[MetteHHH]

I am in a bit of a dumb situation, which I brought myself into once again...

Yesterday I went on a manatee-trip in Homosassa with my family. I brought my DiCaPac to take manatee photos with my K3. Suddenly there was a manatee, and the whole boat hurried into the water. In the confusion, I got a defect snorkel and mask, and while I was struggling with that my camera bag was submerged more than I would normally let it, and for longer. The pac failed, and the camera was completely flooded with murky river water.

I can't spend the rest of my holidays without a Pentax. But I also can't afford a proper replacement. I found a second hand K5II on BHPHOTOVIDEO, but they just declared some obscure two-week holiday that I never heard of, so I can't order from them.

What I need is an online buying option for a second hand camera, preferably a K5II, which could be ordered today with expedited shipping... I looked around Adorama and also on the marketplace, but didn't find an obvious solution...

Help, tips, pointers, anything appreciated. I am at St Petes beach now, it's full of shorebirds and dolphins, and my 300mm urgently needs housing!

[bluestringer]

https://www.keh.com/358022/pentax-k-5-ii-digital-camera-body-16-3-m-p

[psychdoc]

KEH has used K5II's.
https://www.keh.com/358022/pentax-k-5-ii-digital-camera-body-16-3-m-p


P.S: DId the K3 not survive the dunking?

[vonBaloney]

KEH is in Atlanta -- I get stuff from them in Savannah (2 hours north of FL border) the next day usually even with normal shipping. You could probably get an overnight to FL and have it tomorrow if you order something now...

[MetteHHH]

Thanks guys. It is $80 more than the offer on BH, but since they are not an option I guess I should go for this one.

[JayBee451]

You don't seam to have much luck with cameras this year Mette.

[sholtzma]

Where's the nearest large city? Why not just drive south to Tampa, or north to Gainesville, or East to Orlando--to find a camera store that will rent you a Pentax for a couple days. Cheaper and faster than buying one that needs to be shipped....

[MarkJerling]

I am in a bit of a dumb situation, which I brought myself into once again...

Yesterday I went on a manatee-trip in Homosassa with my family. I brought my DiCaPac to take manatee photos with my K3. Suddenly there was a manatee, and the whole boat hurried into the water. In the confusion, I got a defect snorkel and mask, and while I was struggling with that my camera bag was submerged more than I would normally let it, and for longer. The pac failed, and the camera was completely flooded with murky river water.

I can't spend the rest of my holidays without a Pentax. But I also can't afford a proper replacement. I found a second hand K5II on BHPHOTOVIDEO, but they just declared some obscure two-week holiday that I never heard of, so I can't order from them.

What I need is an online buying option for a second hand camera, preferably a K5II, which could be ordered today with expedited shipping... I looked around Adorama and also on the marketplace, but didn't find an obvious solution...

Help, tips, pointers, anything appreciated. I am at St Petes beach now, it's full of shorebirds and dolphins, and my 300mm urgently needs housing!

Did water get into your camera, or just into the DiCaPac and onto the camera?

[MetteHHH]

JayBee, I totally agree. This time I won't bother asking my insurance company...

The DiCaPac has worked before, I might have done something wrong when I sealed it. The bag was entirely flooded, and because of my defect snorkelling gear it took me a while to find my orientation and swim back to the boat.

i opened tje bag and poured out the water. Then I looked at the front element of my poor DA* 55-135mm, which looked like a half full aquarium, took it off, and poured quite a bit of water out of the house itself. Even the battery leaked water after I took it out.

The whole thing is sitting in a plastic bag full of rice at the moment. In a few days I might try to put in another battery and try it out, I am not sure when it would be safe.

Even if I am incredibly lucky and it somehow survived this, it will still need a big round of cleaning, since the water was very muddy...

I know it is a dumb story. I hate that I did this. The boat was full of children and relatives, the water was full of manatees, I lost my ability to think clearly. That is how most of my problems begin... (Not the manatee-bit)

[magkelly]

Where's the nearest large city? Why not just drive south to Tampa, or north to Gainesville, or East to Orlando--to find a camera store that will rent you a Pentax for a couple days. Cheaper and faster than buying one that needs to be shipped....

Because likely he won't find one. FYI, there is not whole of Pentax presence in the state, store-wise. No retail outlets that carry much of anything Pentax oriented except for a few Sam's clubs that supposedly get the entry level DSLR's once in a while. You can't just walk into a store in FL and buy Pentax anything. Not even in the major cities. Camera stores will special order for you, but they rarely have anything Pentax on the shelf. His best bet is KEH or Amazon and 2 day shipping. Or maybe Craig's List if he's desperate and lucky he might find something there...

[MarkJerling]

JayBee, I totally agree. This time I won't bother asking my insurance company...

The DiCaPac has worked before, I might have done something wrong when I sealed it. The bag was entirely flooded, and because of my defect snorkelling gear it took me a while to find my orientation and swim back to the boat.

i opened tje bag and poured out the water. Then I looked at the front element of my poor DA* 55-135mm, which looked like a half full aquarium, took it off, and poured quite a bit of water out of the house itself. Even the battery leaked water after I took it out.

The whole thing is sitting in a plastic bag full of rice at the moment. In a few days I might try to put in another battery and try it out, I am not sure when it would be safe.

Even if I am incredibly lucky and it somehow survived this, it will still need a big round of cleaning, since the water was very muddy...

I know it is a dumb story. I hate that I did this. The boat was full of children and relatives, the water was full of manatees, I lost my ability to think clearly. That is how most of my problems begin... (Not the manatee-bit)

Remember it's not water that kills cameras, it's dirty water. I would suggest, if you have insurance, do nothing - let them deal with it. If you don;t have insurance, then first rinse everything that got wet with distilled water (no additives) and dry. Once dry, you can try to power up.

[Moropo]

Even if the Pac failed, why did so much water get into the camera/lens? They are both WR. Yes, I know WR doesnt mean submersible but still "half full aquarium"?

Also, Amazon has 1-day shipping.

[Oldbayrunner]

Even if the Pac failed, why did so much water get into the camera/lens? They are both WR. Yes, I know WR doesnt mean submersible but still "half full aquarium"?

Also, Amazon has 1-day shipping.

THe DA 55-135 is not WR , it's the Da 18-135 WR that is.

[Moropo]

THe DA 55-135 is not WR , it's the Da 18-135 WR that is.

It's a DA*, doesn't that have the same "sealing" as the WR lens?

[Oldbayrunner]

nope, most DA or DaL lenses are not WR unless specified as such.