The unexpected final shot

I had my camera set up for the shot and walked away from the camera for a shot to survey the area while the shutter was open. While I was away, and not nearby, a stronger than normal wave came by, and as the water receded, the sand shifted and down into the water my camera went. Attached to my camera were my Big Stopper filter, my EF 16-35 2.8L USM II, my Really Right Stuff ball head and my Manfrotto tripod. The camera and the gear were only in the water for about 3 to 5 seconds, but it was enough to kill the camera. I immediately took out the battery and the memory card and rinsed my 5D3 and lens with some fresh water. I was able to get my waterlogged camera and lens a CPS center Costa Mesa, CA a few days later and hoped for the best. The folks over at the CPS were great and did all the could for me, but my camera was not able to be repaired. However, the lens was salvageable and was repaired even though there was still water in the lens when I left it in Canon’s care. Luckily, the CF card survived unharmed and I was able to get to all of my images from the last few days of shooting. The upside to dropping off most of your gear at the Canon place is that I didn't have to lug it back with me on my return trip home! So, this was the last shot that my 5D Mark II took and I was glad was able to get a decent picture for all that trouble.

About six months ago I fired up my 5D3 to see it it would work and to my astonishment, the shutter started to fire in rapid succession and the LCD screen lit up with an error 20 code. hoping I could still get some use out of my old camera, I called Canon and they said due to the salt water, any repairs would be short lived because of the salt water immersion.

My salt-water christened camera sits on my desk as a very expensive paperweight.

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