[agpilot]

Hi everyone
I couldn't believe my coffee had spilled out unto my trusty Fuji 2650. It was soaked. I slowly turned it around and around letting coffee run out of it. Then I hung it in the center of a large cardboard box with a small light bulb heating the air to about 20 degrees above room temp for a about 10 days to dryout. Hopeing that all remaining liquid had dried up, I then popped batteries in it and..... Wow, it works. ( At least in most normal functions)
The only big problem is the lens looks like a very very dirty windshield in my car.
So what do most use for cleaning. No camera store within 50 miles. How about Q-tips and distilled water? I searched this camera topic but only came up with 3 posts in which factory supplyed cleaning fluid was mentioned. Isn't distilled water as safe as anything else? I hope... I can't be the only dummie who got a camera soaked?
Thanks all. agpilot

[Guyzer]

Give the Q-Tip a whirl. You can't wreck it more that you already have. With any luck there won't be any on the inside. If there is, toss it in the outgoing basket.

[slipe]

Lens coatings aren’t as fragile as some people think. I have a pair of Nikon sunglasses with a multiple layer lens coating on the inside. I clean them almost every day with dishwashing liquid or liquid hand soap and dry them with a Viva paper towel. The coating is still perfect after a couple of years. I’ve had good camera equipment all my life and have never damaged a lens coating by cleaning it.

An old cotton t-shirt that has been washed a few times should be perfect to get the bulk of the coffee using the distilled water. Then use the q-tip for the rim and dry it with the other end of the t-shirt.

[agpilot]

Originally Posted by slipe

Lens coatings aren’t as fragile as some people think. I have a pair of Nikon sunglasses with a multiple layer lens coating on the inside. I clean them almost every day with dishwashing liquid or liquid hand soap and dry them with a Viva paper towel. The coating is still perfect after a couple of years. I’ve had good camera equipment all my life and have never damaged a lens coating by cleaning it.

An old cotton t-shirt that has been washed a few times should be perfect to get the bulk of the coffee using the distilled water. Then use the q-tip for the rim and dry it with the other end of the t-shirt.

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THANKS slipe; That was very welcome information ( and not condescending like the other reply). I did as you suggested and the pictures are getting very close to the same quality as before the accident... Since there is a very slight "haze" on the pictures yet, my only remaining question is: Is there any access to the "inside" of the lens?? I would guess that the lens is a "sealed" unit. Anyone one know for sure if the lens is a Sealed unit or could coffee get in the back side.? I hope only the front of the lens that is exposed can get dirty? Maybe I don't have the exposed surface as clean as before. Hard for me to tell... so I'll also try cleaning some more.
A big THANKS again slipe.... agpilot

[Guyzer]

Originally Posted by agpilot

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THANKS slipe; That was very welcome information ( and not condescending like the other reply). I did as you suggested and the pictures are getting very close to the same quality as before the accident... Since there is a very slight "haze" on the pictures yet, my only remaining question is: Is there any access to the "inside" of the lens?? I would guess that the lens is a "sealed" unit. Anyone one know for sure if the lens is a Sealed unit or could coffee get in the back side.? I hope only the front of the lens that is exposed can get dirty? Maybe I don't have the exposed surface as clean as before. Hard for me to tell... so I'll also try cleaning some more.
A big THANKS again slipe.... agpilot

My answer wasn't meant to be condescending at all. I answered your question quite honestly I thought. I assumed you weren't experienced enough to take the lens apart. It's something that should be done by someone with knowledge in that area. That's what I meant by " not being able to do more damage than what's been done so far". Slipes was a bit more detailed and he suggested a mild soap which is something I wouldn't have done, coating or no coating. Soap will leave a slight film on the lens and maybe that's what is causing the remainder of the problem.... doubtful but still a possibility. I would still take a Q-Tip to it and use some distilled water, just enough to moisten the tip, and I would do it quite a few times with both wet and dry to make sure it's gone. If it is still there and you are brave enough, by all means take it apart and to that end I wish you luck. I know I wouldn't try it without being willing to throw it in the trash if it wasn't successful and I'm a fairly handy guy.

[agpilot]

Hello Guyzer: Thank you for an expanded reply. I may have been too discussed about having an accident... spilling coffee on my camera. Regarding your second post, Am I right in assuming that your implying that liquid(coffee) can seep into the lens mechanism which could put a dirty film on the "inside??" If so, that would be a lot harder to try and clean. The outside of the lens that I have easy access to now looks fairly clean using a magnifying glass to check for dirt or film. The current pictures seem to have a slight dullness ( I called it haze last post) or reduced color sharpness. I am not a pro with taking picture so I don't know all the terms used. Be that as it may, I am quite happy that I did not toss it away right away. This camera will be useful in taking pictures not needing high quality. Example was yesterday when I went to checkout buying two different farm tractors. I slowly walked around them taking pictures to be viewed later when I got home and was reviewing possible purchase. A picture in this case is more then a 100 words in a notebook.... In summary: Should I assume that you implied that the lens mechanism is NOT sealed and liquid can quickly coat BOTH sides of this lens?? Thanks and hope you have a nice day... agpilot

[slipe]

I would think that most lenses wouldn’t let liquid seep in from the front. Capillary force could have sucked liquid in through the lens extension mechanism and you could have coffee on the back of the lens or sensor though. Or even had it seep up into the lens elements from the back. I have no idea whether the latter could happen.

If you feel competent to take the thing apart you might do some good. People clean the sensors all the time on DSLRs, so whatever you can access can probably be cleaned if you are careful.

[Guyzer]

Originally Posted by slipe

I would think that most lenses wouldn’t let liquid seep in from the front. Capillary force could have sucked liquid in through the lens extension mechanism and you could have coffee on the back of the lens or sensor though. Or even had it seep up into the lens elements from the back. I have no idea whether the latter could happen.

If you feel competent to take the thing apart you might do some good. People clean the sensors all the time on DSLRs, so whatever you can access can probably be cleaned if you are careful.

Ditto what Slipe said.... But I would like to reinforce my original statement which you touched on a bit... sorta. If you are not experienced in taking those things apart be ready to throw it out. Most things are easy to disassemble and can be a bear to get back together. If you're ok to use it as a second type camera as you did for the tractors then leave it alone. Just my two cents worth.

PS: I tried to get one of my Canon DSLR lens apart and gave up. Believe it or not I couldn't even get the front lens retainer off to gain access to remove the lens and get rid of some dust. Sometimes you have to be a rocket scientist when you can't get your mitts on a manual. In that case I stopped because the lens was worth $700 and I didn't want to have to ship it out in pieces.... and like I said before I'm a handy type person not usually afraid to tackle something like that.

You could try posting your problem here and see if someone there could give you a heads up on taking it apart. If you do please post back and let us know how it went.
http://www.fixya.com/support/p223307...digital_camera

[cpscdave]

You'd have to be carefull opening up digital camera that is not a DSLR.

The manufactures know that with a DSLR that the ccd will be exposed to a certian ammount of dust and static and are built to withstand them. But with a sealed digital camera the manufactures make the assumption that as the camera is sealed that dust and static will not get to the ccd.

In all reality if there is grime on the inside of the lens there really isnt a lot you can do about.
While you may be able to open it up and clean it you will most like expose the CCD to static and the like and end up burning out pixels.

If the camera is useable currently I'd just leave it be, if its not and you about to put it in the "outgoing basket" give it a try dont have much to loose

[agpilot]

To: Slipe, Guyzer and cpsdave: Thank you all very much. I'll review this string over again next weekend when I have more free time to take a real close look at the camera.
I have been one of those types that will fix something that I get a notion to when almost no one would even try... and that included removing an automatic transmission out of my car and repairing it after the second failure. ...and it worked great from then on. Also rebuilding a 4 month old Corvette that had over 50 percent damage even tho I'd never worked on one before. But this is such a low cost item so I may decide to declare victory and just use it as a utility camera and consider getting a new camera with better quality for more important pictures... You were all very helpful. Thanks again. agpilot
(Ps, Fixing things is a great way to learn something new and different)