[TOUGEFC]

Hey guys, today on a shoot at a waterfall, my flash took a plunge into water

Had a light stand setup with an umbrella, wireless receiver and Pentax 540 flash, I had my wife holding the lightstand the whole time and she let it go for a second thinking it was stable and the whole lot fell into fresh water, as soon as i saw it happen i raced over as fast as i could, the flash was still turned on after being pulled out of the water (it was only in the water for a matter of seconds) and i pulled the batterys out of everything straight away. And i havent turned it on since. I dried it off best as a could and put a silca gel pack in the battery compartment right there.

Only just got home is there anything else I can do?
Will it be ok?

[taiweitai]

just like any other electronic device u want to make sure its completely dry before u turn it back on ........ it only takes once to fry the flash, u wanna wait several days or use things like hair dryers, etc

but if the damage is already done, i guess its time for a new flash .

I am surprised that Pentax did not make it water-proof for their top of the line flash to work with their cameras like k-5

[Junyu]

I've read somewhere that sinking it into a bag of rice for a few days would dry it

[TOUGEFC]

Thanks for tips guys, ive got it sealed in a snap bag with rice with fresh packets of silca gel in the battery compartment.

Hoping for the best

[alohadave]

Thanks for tips guys, ive got it sealed in a snap bag with rice with fresh packets of silca gel in the battery compartment.

Hoping for the best

Change out the rice and silica often, or you may end up with moldy rice in the bag and mold in your flash.

[Ratmagiclady]

Ouch, Tou.

I am surprised that Pentax did not make it water-proof for their top of the line flash to work with their cameras like k-5

Well, the weatherproof cameras aren't designed to actually go underwater, so that may not have helped: anyway, TOU would likely have a flash with some water *in* there and not much way out. I don't know how feasible it would be to totally button one up, but it'd probably be a desireable feature if they did.

Which leads to the question in my mind, ...Did you actually find or detect any water inside when you retrieved the flash, Tou? I don't think I've ever actually heard of this kind of thing happening before. I've only tried one of those in a store, and didn't examine that closely, ...but since it was still running, just maybe the design's more water-resistant than we assume.

Good luck, anyway. You're doing the best thing I know of, really.

[slip]

my daughter's ipod had the same event but in the washing machine. I agree with the others that possibly starting with rice overnight then gently drying with a blow dryer might fix the problem. if it has any moisture inside when you start it up it is likely a gonner. fixed the ipod once but when it happened a second time it was toast
you might want to try what I did if it isn't under warranty anymore... open up all screws possible and open the unit up as much as possible to assist in drying (after the rice treatment of course )

good luck

cheers

[Tommot1965]

Hey guys, today on a shoot at a waterfall, my flash took a plunge into water

Had a light stand setup with an umbrella, wireless receiver and Pentax 540 flash, I had my wife holding the lightstand the whole time and she let it go for a second thinking it was stable and the whole lot fell into fresh water, as soon as i saw it happen i raced over as fast as i could, the flash was still turned on after being pulled out of the water (it was only in the water for a matter of seconds) and i pulled the batterys out of everything straight away. And i havent turned it on since. I dried it off best as a could and put a silca gel pack in the battery compartment right there.

Only just got home is there anything else I can do?
Will it be ok?

Id say youll soon know the answer to that ,,thats a real shame...but you did get a great set of images ...sand bags might be the go next time...

[hoanpham]

I m not sure if the flash is ok. You may need to open it up, let dry the electronics even more. moisture and high voltage capacitor is not good combination. I use a large size ziplock bag zip all the flash and the radio receiver.

Hope all ok for you. It is also cheaper if you can buy original parts replace by yourself, but careful for high voltage.

[taiweitai]

Ouch, Tou.





Well, the weatherproof cameras aren't designed to actually go underwater, so that may not have helped: anyway, TOU would likely have a flash with some water *in* there and not much way out. I don't know how feasible it would be to totally button one up, but it'd probably be a desireable feature if they did.

Which leads to the question in my mind, ...Did you actually find or detect any water inside when you retrieved the flash, Tou? I don't think I've ever actually heard of this kind of thing happening before. I've only tried one of those in a store, and didn't examine that closely, ...but since it was still running, just maybe the design's more water-resistant than we assume.

Good luck, anyway. You're doing the best thing I know of, really.

Yea, i forgot the "Pentax" language, which i meant WR. A flash would stand a lit bit of weather would be nice

[TOUGEFC]

Yeah its still currently in a air sealed bag with the flash trigger and i have changed the rice and i also un-screwed parts of the flash casing off, looks pretty dry but im going to wait until tomorrow before i test it.

[Ratmagiclady]

Yeah its still currently in a air sealed bag with the flash trigger and i have changed the rice and i also un-screwed parts of the flash casing off, looks pretty dry but im going to wait until tomorrow before i test it.

Yeah, it's probably maddening, but patience is about all that's likely to help here.

[twitch]

Ouch, sorry to hear that, hope it turns out OK. At least it wasn't your new K-5 though

[Ratmagiclady]

Ouch, sorry to hear that, hope it turns out OK. At least it wasn't your new K-5 though

Well, it's certainly beyond the promises of WR, and not something I'd advise, but people *have* like washed these weathersealed cameras with hoses and stuff. A K-5 might survive easily. But don't try it. These seals are not made for *pressure.* Do not do this.

[TOUGEFC]

Well my cactus v5 receiver seems to work, i pulled it out and fitted the batterys and turned it on and it is syncing with the trigger fine, but i havent tested a flash with it yet as the 540 is my only flash, i think i might wait until tomorrow to test that.