K20D floats

cwood · 04-11-2010, 08:02 AM

My K20D floats in salt water....

Well - I don't know if it would have kept floating. But I was out on a photo shoot 2 days ago when a rogue wave took out my camera bag. The bag was open face up with all my gear resting inside. I had 50-135 mounted on my K20D with the grip attached when disaster struck. I turned around and saw the camera almost float out of the bag. When I gathered up all my gear and dried it off I opened a few compartments to see if there was any water inside and it was totally dry everywhere. I put the camera back together and kept shooting. When I got home I laid everything out and used wet towels to clean everything off and it appears to be 100% undamaged. The only 2 pieces of equipment that were damaged included a Canon flash (430exII) and the spare battery for my 1DmkIII. Although those 2 pieces of gear amount to ~$350 I feel pretty lucky that it was not a whole lot worse

Here's one shot from the session

flippedgazelle · 04-11-2010, 08:20 AM

K20D floats:

Get 2 large glasses, vanilla ice cream, some root beer...

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Bummer about the damaged equipment, but thank goodness the big stuff survived!

LowVoltage · 04-11-2010, 09:27 AM

I'm glad you posted this. I gives me more faith in the sealing on my K-7 and DA* 16-50!

I am curious, though, was there any kind of sea spray/saltwater damage to the glass elements on the lens? Or sand abrasion? Taking my equipment to any sandy area makes me nervous as hell!

cwood · 04-11-2010, 10:29 AM

Originally posted by LowVoltage

I'm glad you posted this. I gives me more faith in the sealing on my K-7 and DA* 16-50!

I am curious, though, was there any kind of sea spray/saltwater damage to the glass elements on the lens? Or sand abrasion? Taking my equipment to any sandy area makes me nervous as hell!

that would only be a problem if it was rubbed in or rolling in it for a while. I had to stop myself from rubbing down the front element while I was frantically trying to dry the rest of it though. Panic almost got the best of me.

philbaum · 04-11-2010, 11:25 AM

That's a good cautionary note about working on any ocean beach.

20 years ago, i bought my first van from the widow of a man who was swept away by a rogue wave on an Oregon beach.

knoxploration · 04-11-2010, 12:20 PM

Wow... I'm speechless. Kunik, the loss of your flash and battery aside, you are one lucky, lucky individual!

**Ash** · 04-11-2010, 01:32 PM

I doubt the gear would have floated for very long had they been away from the bag and in the water - so you are indeed very fortunate Chris.

Your session was fruitful though - this shot here is very beautifully done.

Reportage · 04-11-2010, 01:41 PM

Originally posted by LowVoltage

I'm glad you posted this. I gives me more faith in the sealing on my K-7 and DA* 16-50!

I am curious, though, was there any kind of sea spray/saltwater damage to the glass elements on the lens? Or sand abrasion? Taking my equipment to any sandy area makes me nervous as hell!

dont bet on it yet...so far the miracle stories have been on the K10D and the K20D.

jct us101 · 04-11-2010, 02:31 PM

I wonder if the salt is going to have any adverse effects on the camera as time goes on too, maybe corroding the metal bits of the lens and such. Has anyone ever had any problems like that?

knoxploration · 04-11-2010, 04:48 PM

Originally posted by Reportage

dont bet on it yet...so far the miracle stories have been on the K10D and the K20D.

I've definitely read at least one person claiming to have dropped their K-7 in the sea and grabbed it back out immediately, without damage.

That said, there's never any way to know whether such a claim has been embellished to any extent. I certainly wouldn't want to test it out myself, and I'd be rinsing any salt water off at the very first possible moment.

I've used my K-7 unprotected in moderately heavy rain (with a WR lens) now without ill effect though.

GerryL · 04-11-2010, 05:01 PM

This is actually very probably that it would float as long as the seals hold up and no water seeps in.
If the air inside that is trapped inside the camera makes it buoyant enough, then it would definitely stay afloat.
Look at the aircraft carriers made of heavy metal, they all float!

Arpe · 04-11-2010, 05:20 PM

The "Did it affect it?" question may not actually be answered in the short term. Come back in a few years and let us know how it's getting on!

cwood · 04-11-2010, 07:07 PM

I gave it a pretty good wash when I got home so I'm pretty comfortable I got any extra salt out of it. Having said that I also have no intention of ever selling this camera so until it dies of whatever natural or unnatural causes it will continue to be a spectacular backup body for me

Another photo from the session

Tuner571 · 04-11-2010, 07:21 PM

Wow, thats one thing I never hope to see with my camera. It's good to hear that it survived though. Makes me more confident that if anything happens it will be alright.

**monochrome** · 04-11-2010, 07:42 PM

Originally posted by GerryL

[snip] . . .

If the air inside that is trapped inside the camera makes it buoyant enough, then it would definitely stay afloat.
Look at the aircraft carriers made of heavy metal, they all float!

Depends on the density of the K20D

If the specific gravity (the ratio of density of the substance or object to the density of water, at a specified temperature, usu. 39 deg. F) of a K20D is less than 1000kg/m(3) then it will float.

For the Americans here, 1000kg/m(3) is about 64lb/ft(3).

I doubt it, but I use a battery grip, so maybe mine feels dense - but I'm not going to immerse a K20D to find its volume

04-11-2010, 08:02 AM	#1
cwood Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: California Posts: 851	K20D floats My K20D floats in salt water.... Well - I don't know if it would have kept floating. But I was out on a photo shoot 2 days ago when a rogue wave took out my camera bag. The bag was open face up with all my gear resting inside. I had 50-135 mounted on my K20D with the grip attached when disaster struck. I turned around and saw the camera almost float out of the bag. When I gathered up all my gear and dried it off I opened a few compartments to see if there was any water inside and it was totally dry everywhere. I put the camera back together and kept shooting. When I got home I laid everything out and used wet towels to clean everything off and it appears to be 100% undamaged. The only 2 pieces of equipment that were damaged included a Canon flash (430exII) and the spare battery for my 1DmkIII. Although those 2 pieces of gear amount to ~$350 I feel pretty lucky that it was not a whole lot worse Here's one shot from the session

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04-11-2010, 08:20 AM	#2
flippedgazelle Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NJ, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,270	K20D floats: Get 2 large glasses, vanilla ice cream, some root beer... Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Bummer about the damaged equipment, but thank goodness the big stuff survived!

04-11-2010, 09:27 AM	#3
LowVoltage Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Mount Joy, PA Photos: Gallery Posts: 544	I'm glad you posted this. I gives me more faith in the sealing on my K-7 and DA* 16-50! I am curious, though, was there any kind of sea spray/saltwater damage to the glass elements on the lens? Or sand abrasion? Taking my equipment to any sandy area makes me nervous as hell!

04-11-2010, 10:29 AM	#4
cwood Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: California Posts: 851 Original Poster	Originally posted by LowVoltage I'm glad you posted this. I gives me more faith in the sealing on my K-7 and DA* 16-50! I am curious, though, was there any kind of sea spray/saltwater damage to the glass elements on the lens? Or sand abrasion? Taking my equipment to any sandy area makes me nervous as hell! that would only be a problem if it was rubbed in or rolling in it for a while. I had to stop myself from rubbing down the front element while I was frantically trying to dry the rest of it though. Panic almost got the best of me.

04-11-2010, 11:25 AM	#5
philbaum Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Port Townsend, Washington State, USA Posts: 3,659	That's a good cautionary note about working on any ocean beach. 20 years ago, i bought my first van from the widow of a man who was swept away by a rogue wave on an Oregon beach.

04-11-2010, 12:20 PM	#6
knoxploration Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 846	Wow... I'm speechless. Kunik, the loss of your flash and battery aside, you are one lucky, lucky individual!

04-11-2010, 01:32 PM	#7
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	I doubt the gear would have floated for very long had they been away from the bag and in the water - so you are indeed very fortunate Chris. Your session was fruitful though - this shot here is very beautifully done.

04-11-2010, 01:41 PM	#8
Reportage Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 739	Originally posted by LowVoltage I'm glad you posted this. I gives me more faith in the sealing on my K-7 and DA* 16-50! I am curious, though, was there any kind of sea spray/saltwater damage to the glass elements on the lens? Or sand abrasion? Taking my equipment to any sandy area makes me nervous as hell! dont bet on it yet...so far the miracle stories have been on the K10D and the K20D.

04-11-2010, 02:31 PM	#9
jct us101 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Rohnert Park, CA Posts: 3,793	I wonder if the salt is going to have any adverse effects on the camera as time goes on too, maybe corroding the metal bits of the lens and such. Has anyone ever had any problems like that?

04-11-2010, 04:48 PM	#10
knoxploration Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 846	Originally posted by Reportage dont bet on it yet...so far the miracle stories have been on the K10D and the K20D. I've definitely read at least one person claiming to have dropped their K-7 in the sea and grabbed it back out immediately, without damage. That said, there's never any way to know whether such a claim has been embellished to any extent. I certainly wouldn't want to test it out myself, and I'd be rinsing any salt water off at the very first possible moment. I've used my K-7 unprotected in moderately heavy rain (with a WR lens) now without ill effect though.

04-11-2010, 05:01 PM	#11
GerryL Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: CA Posts: 2,731	This is actually very probably that it would float as long as the seals hold up and no water seeps in. If the air inside that is trapped inside the camera makes it buoyant enough, then it would definitely stay afloat. Look at the aircraft carriers made of heavy metal, they all float!

04-11-2010, 05:20 PM	#12
Arpe Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,452	The "Did it affect it?" question may not actually be answered in the short term. Come back in a few years and let us know how it's getting on!

04-11-2010, 07:07 PM	#13
cwood Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: California Posts: 851 Original Poster	I gave it a pretty good wash when I got home so I'm pretty comfortable I got any extra salt out of it. Having said that I also have no intention of ever selling this camera so until it dies of whatever natural or unnatural causes it will continue to be a spectacular backup body for me Another photo from the session

04-11-2010, 07:21 PM	#14
Tuner571 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,549	Wow, thats one thing I never hope to see with my camera. It's good to hear that it survived though. Makes me more confident that if anything happens it will be alright.

04-11-2010, 07:42 PM	#15
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by GerryL [snip] . . . If the air inside that is trapped inside the camera makes it buoyant enough, then it would definitely stay afloat. Look at the aircraft carriers made of heavy metal, they all float! Depends on the density of the K20D If the specific gravity (the ratio of density of the substance or object to the density of water, at a specified temperature, usu. 39 deg. F) of a K20D is less than 1000kg/m(3) then it will float. For the Americans here, 1000kg/m(3) is about 64lb/ft(3). I doubt it, but I use a battery grip, so maybe mine feels dense - but I'm not going to immerse a K20D to find its volume