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There’s an old adage that if you dive long enough with underwater cameras, you’ll experience a flooded housing at some point. While we hope that never happens, we have a few pointers on what to do in the unfortunate event of such things.
Flood at depth: take a breath.
The first thing you should do is remain calm, and not take off for the surface.
If you have the misfortune of noticing a leak or a flood while at depth on SCUBA, it is imperative that you not break proper diving safety protocol to try to save your camera. We get it, it’s stressful to see your investment potentially in jeopardy! But no camera is worth your life. Surface at a safe speed, including your safety stop.
If you can tell that the leak is a minor one, while you’re safely surfacing, you can try to prevent water from contacting the actual camera in the housing. Depending on your housing, the best way to do this is to keep your housing level or slightly pointed port-side down – this will allow small amounts of water to run into your port or stay below the tray of your housing, potentially keeping the camera dry.
On the Surface
Once you get to the surface and are back on the boat, dry yourself and your gear off before opening your housing. At this point, either your housing has a minor leak and the water is below the camera level, or the water’s been in contact long enough with the camera to make time not an important part of the equation, anyways.
So, overcome the urge to rip the door of your housing and maybe get your camera wet in the process.
Once you have the camera removed, carefully inspect it for water damage. Do not turn it on if you are not sure! Check all components, remove the battery, memory card, etc. Dry everything and lay it out on a clean, dry surface where you can carefully inspect all parts, like a table cloth on a flat surface in a well-lit area. You can use paper towels or toilet paper to try to soak up small amounts of water in little crevices.
If there is significant water damage
If the flood is major – for example the entire housing has filled with seawater for some time – your best bet may be to rinse everything in freshwater. Salt corrosion is the worst part of this equation, so rinsing with freshwater can help you find a miracle, although it is unlikely that your camera can be saved. However, the memory card may be saved by a freshwater bath and careful drying. Clean all contacts with freshwater and lay out to dry for as long as possible – days is ideal.
For the housing, rinse the inside with freshwater if there are no electronics.
If there is an electronic system, like a vacuum check, it depends on how submerged your housing has been. If the electronics have already been fully submerged, you can remove the battery, rinse with freshwater, and carefully dry. It is likely that the electronics will need to be replaced, but it’s worth a try!
Find the leak and send in for service
The most likely culprit of your flood is a problematic o-ring. Check all of your o-rings after doing the above, and replace as necessary. Check your housing, without a camera inside, in a bathtub. If things seem ok, take it for a dive, but still without a camera inside.
This may allow you to see if there’s still a leak or not.
If there is still an issue, and/or if electronics need servicing, it’s time to send it in for repair – now you can also give the shop or servicer a better idea of the exact problem.
Best of luck! We feel your pain.
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