# Urgent help needed. Sand inside 5d3 body



## Ryan_ (Jun 21, 2016)

Long story short. Changing lenses on my bag at the beach. Camera fell over face down into sand. (Pic attached) Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 21, 2016)

Short response. NEVER change lenses at the beach. Wait until you are in your car or back in the room.

Send it back to Canon for cleaning. They will do the best they can, possibly taking the body down. Don't try to clean the mirror or sensor yourself.


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## cpsico (Jun 21, 2016)

It's really a serious problem, do not attempt anything. Canon service is your best last hope


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## Ryan_ (Jun 21, 2016)

East Wind Photography said:


> Short response. NEVER change lenses at the beach. Wait until you are in your car or back in the room.
> 
> Send it back to Canon for cleaning. They will do the best they can, possibly taking the body down. Don't try to clean the mirror or sensor yourself.


Thanks. Unfortunately thats not always an option, specifically in rapidly changing conditions, such as the moonrise tonight.

I think I will heed your advice on sending it to Canon. The eager part of me is ready to blow out the inside and continue shooting, but I have a strong feeling thats not the best move here.


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## Ryan_ (Jun 21, 2016)

cpsico said:


> It's really a serious problem, do not attempt anything. Canon service is your best last hope


Thanks. I've calmed down a bit since dropping it, thinking more clearly now, and I believe you are both right.


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## 3kramd5 (Jun 21, 2016)

I doubt it's catastrophic. Canon should be able to fix it. They may want to replace the mechanisms.


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## Ryan_ (Jun 21, 2016)

3kramd5 said:


> I doubt it's catastrophic. Canon should be able to fix it. They may want to replace the mechanisms.


Thanks for the reassurance! Going to send it off tomorrow to have it looked at by Canon.

Thanks again guys!


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## Mikehit (Jun 21, 2016)

A mate of mine has a cloth bag he carries with him to dusty places so if he needs to change lenses as a last resort he can do it in the bag, which has elasticated drawstring at the top and it isn't difficult to change lenses without looking at what you are doing.


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## martti (Jun 21, 2016)

My deepest sympathies. I learned the hard way not to change lenses at seaside.
BTW the changing back is a brilliant idea that dates from the days of film. They used to make black velvet bags with sleeves so you could put the camera inside and change 120-220 roll film under direct sunlight.


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## Pookie (Jun 21, 2016)

East Wind Photography said:


> Short response. NEVER change lenses at the beach. Wait until you are in your car or back in the room.
> 
> Send it back to Canon for cleaning. They will do the best they can, possibly taking the body down. Don't try to clean the mirror or sensor yourself.



As a wedding photographer this is ludicrous... even with multiple bodies you end up having to change lenses often, in all types of environments. It's par for the course. Sand in the camera happens, dust happens, the worst is salt water. ***Stuff*** happens, this can be fixed... this is what CPS is for.


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## mnclayshooter (Jun 21, 2016)

I would strongly encourage you, if you try anything, to not use a blower... but rather a vacuum to clean the sand off the mount and the outside of the camera body. Why risk blowing anything more into the inside? 

There's attachments available at Home Depot etc that are specifically made for detailing cars or small nooks/crannies... they come with an adapter to go on a shop vac hose and step the diameter down to something very small - almost the size of a sharpie pen. Because of the constriction, it also significantly reduces the suction power to something much more manageable. That would get the bulk of the sand cleaned off, otherwise, you're going to have a sandy mess on your hands when you try to pack that thing up and send it off... (think sandpaper wrapped around your camera body rubbing and grinding on it every time UPS jostles the package). 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stinger-Micro-Cleaning-Kit-VT1215/100139249?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-BASE-PLA-D25T-WetDryVacs%7c&gclid=CObl8KCnuc0CFRCOaQod5pUH_w&gclsrc=aw.ds


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 21, 2016)

Pookie said:


> East Wind Photography said:
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> > Short response. NEVER change lenses at the beach. Wait until you are in your car or back in the room.
> ...



It's not ludicrous, you just need to minimize your risk. Take two bodies, change lenses in your car, use a changing bag as mentioned below by another user.


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## Pookie (Jun 21, 2016)

East Wind Photography said:


> Pookie said:
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You must have missed that multiple bodies part. Even with 3 bodies you'll end up changing outside... in business you don't have the luxury of saying to a client, "Hang on let me walk back to the car and change lenses, can you sit there for 20 in your wedding gown as I fiddle with my camera."


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 21, 2016)

Pookie said:


> East Wind Photography said:
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> > Pookie said:
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No, I agree there are times you just accept the risk but when it's not necessary then why take the chance? Especially with perhaps with a 6000.00 camera. A good option Canon has available is Carepak. I used it once for a catastrophic rain failure on a 5dsr and they covered it.


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## Sporgon (Jun 21, 2016)

East Wind Photography said:


> Pookie said:
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If I'm changing in a potentially hazardous environment I find the safest way is to have the camera hanging around my neck, classic style. Face away from wind / waves etc, I then only have to worry about the lens. I take the rear cap off the new lens, hold it in my mouth ( not all of it, just the edge  ) change lenses, put rear cap back on lens. That way I have always got two hands to deal with the lens.


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## TeT (Jun 21, 2016)

They make changing bags... Patterson I think is one maker. Somebody makes a thing that looks like a popup light box for changing lenses in also...


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 21, 2016)

TeT said:


> They make changing bags... Patterson I think is one maker. Somebody makes a thing that looks like a popup light box for changing lenses in also...



It does seem pointless to purchase a light proof one for digital cameras. Would be easier to just use a clear plastic trash bag and maybe some rubber bands.

The concept is sound as long as it's not over engineered.


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## sulla (Jun 21, 2016)

If it were anything else but sand, I would give it a try and clean it myself. Have done so several times with any given dust (but sand) on my 5D. Never had any difficulties in cleaning it.

But, you know, sand, that is a different story. Sand grains are so hard they will scratch any surface. Sand grains might be removeable by suction from the mirror, but risk is, if one grain comes between the shutter and the sensor, chances are the shutter will drag the grain over the sensor thereby scratching it. So, I would even refrain from opening the shutter via the menu for manually cleaning the sensor. Also, if a grain is in the mechanism of the mirrorbox, it might even be risky to move the mirror (by hand) in order to look underneath if there was sand on or around the shutter.

I also would not use a blower on this one as essentially you would be sand-blasting the interior of the camera.

I would, however, put a body cap on the bayonett and clean the outer surfaces of the camera with a vaccum cleaner and a wet cloth. This will reduce the risk of further contamination of sensitive parts during shipping of the camera to CPS.


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## TeT (Jun 21, 2016)

East Wind Photography said:


> TeT said:
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> > They make changing bags... Patterson I think is one maker. Somebody makes a thing that looks like a popup light box for changing lenses in also...
> ...



If you spend your days around wind sea and sand... almost a requirement that you have something in place, I would think.


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