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07-30-2009, 02:30 PM   #1
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Wow...GX-10 is dead?

Ok.. maybe it was MY stupidity, but I have been doing this for quite a while (using the sink not the bath tub but I wanted to try the tub for once).

So we all know how our K10Ds and K-7 are sealed, but they aren't COMPLETELY sealed ( I should of thought about it before).

Obviously bath tub sinks provide a continuous stream of water, not like rain which goes drop by drop. SO, after a 50+ times of doing it, I washed my camera, but this time using the tub.

Here are the pictures I took right before it "died".


My GX-10 being soaked (obviously)

This is directly AFTER i finished washing it.

Took a picture right after taking a picture of it just being finished?

It worked but then I tried turning it on again and it just won't turn on. I also discovered there was WATER coming out of the aperture lever from my 50-135mm, so I tried shaking out as much water out as I can and now I have it laid out on the desk vertically where the hood is pointed towards the ceiling.

I removed the battery out and i left the camera outside in 100 Degree weather. Any other precautions or donations?

07-30-2009, 02:34 PM   #2
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give it a few days
07-30-2009, 02:42 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Gooshin Quote
give it a few days
what about the lens? Won't fungus and mold start growing in it? I'm not sure though...
07-30-2009, 02:43 PM   #4
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What you did was just about right.
Let it fully dry..for a week even 'coz it might seem on the outside that it is dry but it might still have lingering moisture inside.
Be patient and your patience would be rewarded.
Once it is completely dry, it should turn back on to life.
..as Dr. Frankenstein once said.."its' alive"!

07-30-2009, 02:44 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by GLXLR Quote

Obviously bath tub sinks provide a continuous stream of water, not like rain which goes drop by drop. SO, after a 50+ times of doing it, I washed my camera, but this time using the tub.
Wow...you're brave to wash it like that.
Are you saying that you've been washing it in the tub for 50 times before it finally died?
If yes, that's amazing indeed.
07-30-2009, 02:44 PM   #6
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3 years ago, my K10D took a swim in the infinity pool when I had my holiday in some resort country. Stayed under fresh water for almost 2 seconds with the Sigma 17-70. Died right away.

Took out the batteries and amazingly the water did not intrude much into the camera. Pointed the hairdryer directly at the lens mount and blasted it (heat: high) for almost an hour. It started to work but there were still vapours in the LCD. Left it overnight to dry (i put the camera face down with a piece of tissue covering the mount, but at home, you can do better with silica gel in a sealed box)

next day the Sigma 17-70 was still a little foggy and the pictures it took lacked contrast, otherwise, everything else, including the flash, worked perfectly.

After the vacation I put things in a sealed box with silica gel for a week just to make sure, and then sent the body to Pentax to "check for general functionality and seals, camera was exposed in very heavy rain". The result was "everything works fine".

I since took the camera to a few more vacations, camps, hiknig trails and it exhibited absolutely no problem shooting in good weather or under rain, the most recent one was only 3 months ago, before it got sold at a nominal price to an acquaintance. He's still enjoying the camera.
07-30-2009, 02:45 PM   #7
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After drying out the lens too, maybe you could treat it with some silica gels.
Molds and fungus would only grow if the conditions are right..like enough moisture and darkness.
It usually gets killed by UV so sun exposure is good to prevent its growth.

07-30-2009, 02:46 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by GLXLR Quote
what about the lens? Won't fungus and mold start growing in it? I'm not sure though...
put it somewhere where it is dry (borrow a friends de-humidifier??), and where there is air-flow (put a fan on it, in the same room as the de-humidifier)
07-30-2009, 02:50 PM   #9
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I'm surprised that after washing it in the tub for more than 30X that you haven't been tempted to put it in the washing machine!
That's one tough cookie though as it survived 50 washings!
Once it gets dry, it can probably survive more..
07-30-2009, 02:52 PM   #10
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no you do not want to leave out in 100 degree weather for too long, its hard on the equipment with expansion, especially since its sealed. Want you want to do i take all of the equipment, and put them in bags of rice for a couple of days, especially the lens. If there are spots on the lens, you can try soaking in 100% deionized water for two reasons. The water is non conductive, and won't break or short anything (You can run a computer submerged in the stuff) and since its pure, it will evaporate withourt leaving any traces on the glass, or contaminates for fungus to live in. hope this helps.

from now on i would wash your camera in pure water you buy in those gallon jugs at the store, they are only 60 cents, totally worth it, and will never harm the equipment, if dried properly, faster and more thorough in rice.
07-30-2009, 02:56 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by bobloadmire Quote
no you do not want to leave out in 100 degree weather for too long, its hard on the equipment with expansion, especially since its sealed. Want you want to do i stake all of the equipment, and put them in bags of rice for a couple of days, especially the lens. If there are spots on the lens, you can try soaking in 100% deionized water for two reasons. The water is non conductive, and won't break or short anything (You can run a computer submerged in the stuff) and since its pure, it will evaporate withour leaving any traces on the glass, or contaminates for fungus to live in. hope this helps.
This is true too as this is what they do to soaked cellphones.
I think they use distilled water to wash away the salt water (if soaked on sea) or hard water (if soaked on regular tap water)..then it is left to dry not in direct sunlight though if it is a 100 degrees or more.
07-30-2009, 03:00 PM   #12
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50+ washings in the sink (where your brush your teeth and stuff) so it wasn't an extremely powerful jet of water. This time I kinda went bold and tried the tub (due to another member's success).

I am not scared at all about the body, but the lens does! Should I send it back for repairs or just let it dry out via outside air (extremely hot and humid) or let it dry indoors (80 degrees + not very dry/humid) or use the blow dryer (extremely hot and dry).

I noticed that there are absolutely no spots in the lens. It seems to me no water got onto the glass but rather somehow got it's way through the aperture lever and into the camera.

Lessons learned:
1. Washing with sink is perfectly fine: Tub not so much
2. never point the lens upward during wash
07-30-2009, 03:03 PM   #13
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if you want to recover this leave it in the sun, with all covers open, and I suggest upside down, since it is likely water went int he top, probably around the flash, which should be opened for the dry out/

take the batteries out and let it bake. 1-2 days.

put the batteries in and try.

I have my *istD get saturated when a kayak got swamped, did the same thing for 4 hours, and it has worked perfectly for over 5 years.

Just make real sure it is dry.


once done drying out if it still works, store it with several bags of silica gell, to really dry it out.

Your experience does however, make me wonder, .....
but I'll leave my criticism's for the moment
07-30-2009, 03:16 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lowell Goudge Quote
if you want to recover this leave it in the sun, with all covers open, and I suggest upside down, since it is likely water went int he top, probably around the flash, which should be opened for the dry out/

take the batteries out and let it bake. 1-2 days.

put the batteries in and try.

I have my *istD get saturated when a kayak got swamped, did the same thing for 4 hours, and it has worked perfectly for over 5 years.

Just make real sure it is dry.


once done drying out if it still works, store it with several bags of silica gell, to really dry it out.

Your experience does however, make me wonder, .....
but I'll leave my criticism's for the moment
Someone suggested to leave it rice (and being Chinese I have plenty of that! ) So i went out and put only the lens inside the rice pot (hopefully it will still be eatable afterwards. The body I left inside to cool off for a few days.

I don't think the camera or lens should be blamed, but rather the photographer (me) .
The GX-10 was designed for muddy/rainy/sandy/humid environments. It was not designed to work in water falls (basically it would need to be water proof). I'd still say the GX-10 would work up to hurricane condition rains (it would probably work even in extreme thunderstorms).
Sigh* boredom can be painful...

Last edited by GLXLR; 07-30-2009 at 03:27 PM.
07-30-2009, 03:31 PM   #15
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I'm impressed by how well the seals in the camera and lens have worked for you but...

I'm a scuba diver. And I have yet to meet a diver who photographs underwater with any frequency who has not had a camera flood or at least leak. A reasonable protest is that the pressures are vastly greater at 90' than under the bathtub faucet. True enough. The problem is that a little, teeny, tiny flaw in an o-ring or in the silicone lube on the o-ring can cause a flooding. And these cameras or, more commonly now, housings are designed for depths of 100' or more. I had a housing that worked great for many, many dives and then flooded at 15 feet (about 1.5 atmospheres of pressure). It was my fault. There was a very small grain of sand next to the o-ring that allowed the water in. Miraculously, the camera survived, as I hope yours does. So, while I'm delighted that my K20D is weather sealed, it isn't waterproof. I look on it as able to reliably withstand some drizzle. Maybe it can do more, but I'll put it in a dive housing first and then cross my fingers.

Good luck with your camera.
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