My s50 flooded on the 1st dive in Aruba!!

[mtiffee]

Bummer..
I cleaned and lightly greased the o-ring the night before, checked and double checked for hairs, dirt, salt- added my moisture muncher. I rechecked at the dive boat, submerged it in the rinse bucket on the pier looking for any sign of leaks.. all looked good. As I dropped down I looked for leaks- didn't see any.. then at around 25 feet all of a sudden there were 10 or 15 drops of water in the case, as if something popped. The camera immediately shut off and has been dead ever since.

I just took it apart (6 days later - couldn't find small screwdrivers in Aruba) and I did notice some corrosion/oxidation on one connector inside the camera. lots of brown and green goo. Not sure what to do- I assume the camera has shorted and is fried.

I'm planning on purchasing a Canon 20D (with flood insurance) as soon as a housing is made but I was hoping to keep the s50 around as a backup.

So alas, no pictures from Aruba.. Usually when i don't bring my camera I see whale sharks, manta rays, sea horses, great white sharks, pods of dolphins, and mermaids all on a single dive- not this time though.

 

[Gilligan]

Sorry to hear about your camera. I have been there myself. Any way you can do a test on your housing, possibly at a local dive shop that has a pressure testing device?

Someone (can't remember their name) posted an easy way to check for the leak. Dust the interior of all the plungers and dials on the housing with grape flavored Kool Aid (a white powder). Seal and pressure test the housing. The purple area(s) is your leak as the Kool Aid turns purple when wet. Rinse out and dry the housing. Fix the leak if possible. Try and find a refurbished camera as a replacement.

 

[Dee]

Sorry about your flood!

Gilligan...that's a FredT tip. works great!

 

[mtiffee]

Cool.. I'll go get some kool aid tomorrow I found a s50 on Ebay that is pretty cheap but the LCD doesn't work. I can put in my LCD (which I assume works) and have a working camera I think....