Did you know a Minolta Spotmeter F floats?

wildbill · Apr 28, 2006

I bounce my down a boulder this morning and into the river it went. It floated luckily and now i've got a very wet meter. I dismantled the housing in hope that it'll be okay.
I may be looking for a another one if anyone has one for sale. I don't really want to get a different brand since i use it for lighting and it's the industry standard that i've gotten use to.

vinny

Dave Parker · Apr 28, 2006

Been there done that more than once! always an expensive mishap,,hope things turn out okay!

glbeas · Apr 28, 2006

Best advice for these situations is to flush out the instrument with distilled water then dry it out in a warm spot thoroughly.

Dan Henderson · Apr 29, 2006

apparently Pentax does not build flotation into their meters. Last summer while photographing waterfalls I hear a "splunk" as I bent over. At first I thought I spooked a frog off the bank, then noticed air bubbles emitting from what looked suspiciously like the pistol grip of a Pentax/Zone VI spotmeter on the bottom of the pond...

...thank God for elderly Polish camera repairmen!

RH Designs · Apr 29, 2006

I had a Spotmeter F which got wet and died. I sent it to Minolta for an estimate, they sent it back in pieces and wanted almost as much to repair it as a new one would cost. I bought a Sekonic ... Hope yours recovers!

Regards
Richard

donbga · Apr 29, 2006

glbeas said:
Best advice for these situations is to flush out the instrument with distilled water then dry it out in a warm spot thoroughly.

No this isn't the best advice. Unless the liquid is very corrosive like sea water flushing with more water doesn't accomplish anything positive.

glbeas · Apr 29, 2006

donbga said:
No this isn't the best advice. Unless the liquid is very corrosive like sea water flushing with more water doesn't accomplish anything positive.

Thats where you are off base Don. Immediate flushing with distilled water to remove dirt and salts that are dissolved in any natural source of water is recommended by any repair tech. The longer the dirty water sits in the instrument the more likely permanent damage is to occur if it hasn't already.
Distilled water is nonconductive and will not damage electronics, and getting rid of any moisture from the dunking via flushing is the best course. If theres anything vital in the instrument that will dissolve in water it's probably a loss, but thats not very likely.

donbga · Apr 29, 2006

glbeas said:
Thats where you are off base Don. Immediate flushing with distilled water to remove dirt and salts that are dissolved in any natural source of water is recommended by any repair tech. The longer the dirty water sits in the instrument the more likely permanent damage is to occur if it hasn't already.
Distilled water is nonconductive and will not damage electronics, and getting rid of any moisture from the dunking via flushing is the best course. If theres anything vital in the instrument that will dissolve in water it's probably a loss, but thats not very likely.

I didn't say that letting the water stay in the meter would be a good thing and I don't think flushing with distilled water is going to get rid of moisture or effectively flush out any mineral content found in fresh water. If there is any hope of saving the meter it wil be to dry it out ASAP.

One friend of mine that dropped his Pentax spot meter in a stream in the Smokies was amazed that it still worked after letting it dry out. He didn't flush it with distilled water, nor did he even take it apart. IMO flushing with more water is just way over kill.

glbeas · Apr 29, 2006

donbga said:
I didn't say that letting the water stay in the meter would be a good thing and I don't think flushing with distilled water is going to get rid of moisture or effectively flush out any mineral content found in fresh water. If there is any hope of saving the meter it wil be to dry it out ASAP.

One friend of mine that dropped his Pentax spot meter in a stream in the Smokies was amazed that it still worked after letting it dry out. He didn't flush it with distilled water, nor did he even take it apart. IMO flushing with more water is just way over kill.

The pentax must have robust circuits, he was lucky. Many electronic instruments don't have the circuits sealed to moisture. What happens is the water dries and the salts concentrate on the surface and corrode metal surfaces. It doesn't take much to disrupt microcircuits. The mineral deposits can also create short circuits by bridging adjacent circuits.
Certainly if theres no distilled available and the instrument is not horribly expensive it's worth trying to dry it out, but you risk irreversible damage to electronics in some of the more delicate circuits. The standard procedure for immersion is to keep it immersed until the repairman can disassmble and properly clean it. That way theres less chance if corrosion during drying.

wildbill · Apr 29, 2006

Well, I've dried it overnite and put 'er back together. So Far it works and is dead on.
I didn't flush it out. Maybe we've got good water here in L.A.

reggie · Apr 30, 2006

donbga said:
No this isn't the best advice. Unless the liquid is very corrosive like sea water flushing with more water doesn't accomplish anything positive.

Speaking of sea water........

I was Garapata Beach one afternoon. The surf was rough, but I stood fairly far away from the edge all the way to the sandstone cliff. I was looking down at my GPS unit and suddenly a wave rushed in and covered me over my head! It was amazing that I wasn't carried out to sea (locals told me they lose a few tourists there like that). When the water receeded and I recovered, every pocket I had was filled with sand.

I was wearing my Pentax digital spot meter and it never recovered. I got it repaired by Pentax for a reasonable sum. Garmin replaced my GPS for $99.

So, I have to agree. Sea water is very corrosive. It eats away your wallet very very fast.

-R

Claire Senft · Apr 30, 2006

Since I enjoy both photogaraphy and fishing I will keep this in mind should I run out of bobbers.

Did you know a Minolta Spotmeter F floats?

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