Digilux5 took a dive

[Eckhart]

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My trusty Digilux 5 went overboard with me when my canoe capsized late September last year. The camera was quite protected in a special pocket of my outfit which is somewhat waterproof.

There were some drops of water on the camera when I took it out. I went to see the local Leica dealer (Toronto, Canada) and he told me that he will send it for repair to their New Jersey Leica repair service. At the same time he told that he was afraid that I had to throw away that camera because of corrosion after such an accident (!?). Naturally the camera came back a month later with a notice: cannot be repaired because of corrosion (!).

 

Some years ago, I had a problem with the sensor of my old Digilux 2 and I send it back to Leica Solms. It came back with a complete repair and cleaning and a little notice (freely translated): " your camera is no longer under warranty. However such a technical problem should not have happened with our cameras. Therefore the sensor replacement and the cleaning of the camera are free of charge...":)

 

I need your advice what to do next:

 

1- Send my Digilux 5 to Solms and see what they can do, trusting their outstanding tradition of honesty?

2- Throw my Digilux 5 away (according to the local dealer their lifespan is calculated for a few years and then they are no longer worth to be repaired)?

 

I would be inclined to go for option 1 having experienced some bad examples of North American greed with regards to repair services (car, fridge etc.).

However, perhaps I am biased and this is truly a Japanese throw away product which does not tolerate the slightest water contamination.

Your opinion or personal experience is appreciated.

[koray]

I am sorry to tell you this, but water damage (especially salty water) is fatal for electronic devices, regardless of their origin. You can never know the extend of water intrusion, and one drop is enough when there is live battery inside. That is why the first thing to do in the case of water contact is to remove battery.

 

Don't throw it away. You can list your item on eBay "for spares and parts". You can list the box and accessories separately to increase return.

 

K.

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[earleygallery]

Leica repaired your Digilux 2 for free because the sensor failure was a known issue and the manufacturer accepted liability for a faulty batch.

 

Your Dlux5 broke due to your own fault so it would not be reasonable to expect a free repair - that's not to say that Leica wouldn't offer it, but I'd say it's very unlikely.

 

If you have doubts about the honesty of your dealer then post it off to Leica to see if they can repair it. Be aware that they will usually charge a fee for the estimate if you don't proceed, and the return shipping cost.

 

If it were me I'd forget about it and buy a new camera. You could also take the camera apart and have a look inside for yourself.

[tonycamco]

send it to solms what the worst that they can say .

[Eckhart]

Thanks guys. Very helpful! I fully agree with Koray. Some electrical problem with a short-circuit makes sense, much more than "corrosion" occuring a few days after that accident. Having the dealer and the repair service using the same wording made me suspicious.

 

I loved to take my Digilux 5 with me on every expedition out in the rough (Canada) as it was easy to carry. I didn't want to put my old R5 at risk (or even more my brand new M240, which I completely fell in love with after going to Solms myself last year ). I just didn't realize how fragile this Digilux 5 was (only a few drops of water:eek:).

 

I might still try Solms as earleygallery and tonycamco suggested. The worst which can happen is that they confirm it is dead. I am happy to pay for that (then I have to look for a replacement compact outdoors camera...).

 

This is a great community here, always very helpful (recently you helped me with making my decision to jump on the M bandwagon: it emptied my bank account but brought more durable enjoyment than a mistress for the same price:D)

 

Cheers,

Eckhart

[earleygallery]

Just had another thought. The camera was made by Panasonic and I'm pretty sure if you post it to Leica they just pass it to the nearest Panasonic service centre.

 

You might be better off sending it to your local Panasonic service centre yourself.

[pgk]

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I flooded a housing years ago and destroyed a Nikon F801 and 60mm AF micro-Nikkor. i sent them to Nikon UK for confirmation for my insurers and was surprised to hear that they would repair the lens (it had been flooded at 20m then put in numerous fresh water rinses for about 2 days so had been waterlogged). So it was repaired at economic cost (less than half the replacement cost). Less than 6 months later there were signs of corrosion inside the lens and it went back under repair warranty. It was repaired (I suspect this time it had totally new innards which was probably far from economic) and I discovered that not long afterwards Nikon stopped repairing salt water damaged equipment (so mine probably wasn't the only saltwater repair they'd done).

 

The problem is that saltwater causes so many problem that even if repaired, the equipment may still fail later on. If your camera had saltwater ingress then simply chuck it and save yourself a lot of time and effort.

[marknorton]

If you've sent it to Leica NJ and they have said no, Solms are not going to be any different. Apart from anything, you've left it far too late. Since September, the corrosion which started with the real-time clock battery will have gained hold and the camera is undoubtedly a write-off. Just forget about it, do not even waste the money sending it anywhere.

 

The only way to save a camera is to remove the battery immediately and repeatedly rinse it in fresh, preferably de-ionised water before dismantling it and drying it out. You may be lucky but generally will not be.

 

I managed to get a Panasonic MFT camera working again by doing just that but not before buying a non-worker on eBay to get a couple of parts which had corroded but it was a lot of work and more of an interesting exercise than anything else.

[wizard]

Salt water ingress is simply disastrous for all kinds of electronic and mechanical equipment. Mechanical watches are a good example, their movement will be destroyed quickly if you are not able to rinse it with fresh water very soon. Electronics are even worse, my brother had someone spill his glass of table water over his point and shoot digital camera, and it died instantly (it was switched on when the water hit).

 

So look no further, there isn't any light at the end of THAT tunnel I am afraid.

 

Andy

[Eckhart]

thanks for your comments!

Just a few comments:

It was standard Canadian lake water (no salt ). Only a few drops were on the camera inside of my pocket. I brought it immediately (next day) to the local dealer who sent it to Leica NJ. I was amazed that corrosion was the problem after such a short period... a short circuit would have been more in the order of things...that dog don't hunt.

This and the nice story about those cameras having a short lifetime inciting me to buy a new one immediately...sorry if I am wrong but I smell a rat:mad:

 

The suggestion that Solms won't differ from Leica NJ if only for diplomatic reasons makes sense to me...good bye Digilux

[pgk]

It was standard Canadian lake water (no salt ). Only a few drops were on the camera inside of my pocket. I brought it immediately (next day) to the local dealer who sent it to Leica NJ. I was amazed that corrosion was the problem after such a short period... a short circuit would have been more in the order of things...that dog don't hunt.

Whilst I would have thought that freshwater might have given a better chance of the camera surviving however.... corrosion really can set in within minutes if the battery is not removed. As has been said previously, it is essential to remove the main battery as soon as possible - as in immediately the camera is recovered from the situation causing water ingress.

 

That said, cameras usually have a small battery or similar built in, which supplies sufficient power to retain settings, dates, etc.. and this may supply enough power to cause corrosion too. As conjecture, it may be that newer cameras have more power requirements for retaining settings which is why your older camera was repairable whilst this one is not. Just a thought.

[mrware]

Any water that will conduct electricity is a problem for electronics. All freshwater lakes in the world have dissolved minerals in them. It's the dissolved mineral content that makes water conduct electricity.

 

Pure water will not conduct electricity, but water isn't found in nature in a 100 percent pure form.

[Eckhart]

Thanks guys. I never realized how quick corrosion can settle in. Perhaps I was wrong thinking that they tried to get me to buy a new compact camera.

Well then, good bye Digilux 5.

Thank you for giving me this detailed explanation which makes sense...

[mrware]

for anyone that would like to see an experiment showing water not conducting and then conducting water.

 

It doesn't have to be sodium chloride. Magnesium, potassium and others would work as well.

[frank yantorno]

Maybe its too late and you have already sold her for parts, but last year the same thing happened to me, though mine was completely submerged, unprotected. I sent her to Solms and they said she could not be repaired, however, they offered me a brand new one for a very good discounted price. I took it and I never leave home without her. Always send your loved ones to Solms first and ask questions later.

[jank]

The old mechanical device would suffer from corrosion.

As I recall it used to be recommended to take "drowned" camera and place it in clean, distillated water to prevent corrosion ( preventing O2 getting to it) and send it to repair shop.

In this electronic time, the situation is quite different. Most of the circuitry is coated ( conformal coating) to protect the parts exposed to environment.

this naturally excludes connectors. These are usually Gold plated, but some of the solder and exposed Cu conductors stay exposed.

When these parts get exposed to water ( even very slightly contaminated with salts), metal atoms start migrate from one electrical contact to another ( if any voltage is present), thus building a conductive path with ever increasing conductivity..It might take months to build it to the point it affects the function.

One can possibly save the instrument by removing the battery, thoroughly cleaning contacts, even washing them with water to remove contaminants, then wash it with the solvents ( alcohol) to remove residual water .Perhaps saving the instrument, or just extend its life.

Jan