SD Cards, salt water and mud - Good Mix?

Ok so I know the answer to this really, but well if you don't ask and all that:

We were crabbing with the kids on Mersea Island the weekend when the camera slid straight out of an unfastened pocket and straight into the drink..........

Despite not being able to see the bl00dy camera I fished it out with a hastily bought net and left it drying out.

I know the camera is fubar'd but was hoping the SD card might be ok, seemingly it isn't though as the card reader I have won't recognise it.

Any chance for it?

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by krhall

Ok so I know the answer to this really, but well if you don't ask and all that:

We were crabbing with the kids on Mersea Island the weekend when the camera slid straight out of an unfastened pocket and straight into the drink..........

Despite not being able to see the bl00dy camera I fished it out with a hastily bought net and left it drying out.

I know the camera is fubar'd but was hoping the SD card might be ok, seemingly it isn't though as the card reader I have won't recognise it.

Any chance for it?

I am guessing the battery discharged through the SD card - it should be ok in salt-water.

Try cleaning the contacts and try a different SD card reader.

How big was the card - even 4GB ones are cheap (£10ish) these days...

I would have thought it'd be fine and I wouldn't expect the camera to be beyond recovery from a brief dunk in some salt water although that might be a bit optimistic of me. Might need some gentle cleaning to get any muck off of the contacts on the SD card. I've put them through washing machines and they've survived and heard of them being left in dishwashers before. Apparently boiling them in salt water for several hours isn't good though, don't do that.

Was the camera powered up at the time?

Originally Posted by krhall

I know the camera is fubar'd but was hoping the SD card might be ok, seemingly it isn't though as the card reader I have won't recognise it.

Any chance for it?

My mate found an SD card in a rockpool. No idea how long it had been there, but he managed to nurse it back to health. A bit of WD40 on a cotton bud rubbed gently over the contacts, IIRC. HTH

[JamesMio]

Is crabbing the new dogging?

Memory cards are normally surprisingly durable if you let them dry out fully before using them although the fact the card was in the camera may be an issue. I've been swimming with memory cards in my pocket all of which worked fine after being dried out.

John

Camera was off at the time and the card was in it, it wasn't a quick dip though it was there for well over 15 minutes, but to look at now the camera appears fine the lcd screen has dried off etc.

Will try the wd40 trick see how that goes.

it was a 4gb card, but not really the cost of the camera or the card the issue just the stuff on it with the kids over the weekend and that.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by krhall

Camera was off at the time and the card was in it, it wasn't a quick dip though it was there for well over 15 minutes, but to look at now the camera appears fine the lcd screen has dried off etc.

Will try the wd40 trick see how that goes.

it was a 4gb card, but not really the cost of the camera or the card the issue just the stuff on it with the kids over the weekend and that.

Leave the camera on a towel in the airing cupboard with the battery out and any and all "doors" (like if the screen swivels) open for at least a week, and longer if you can - its like preparing conkers

Longer you leave it, better chance of it recovering.

[TSM]

does the computer recognise that its been put in the card reader but is asking to format the drive?

If it recognises the card then try getting some recovery software.

At work we use PhotoRescue for lots of the photographers cards that get corrupted because they use them too much or remove them from cameras before they finish writing etc..

Right have left the camera and the card to dry. Camera doesn't want to start even after a contact clean with wd40.

....and worst of all the SD card still is being picked up by any device I plug it into.....so I guess that my original prognosis of it being fubar'd is correct.