F11 camera I have a f11 that I use underwater, It has never got wet or even moist at any time, lately I have been using it on land and water both and I keep loseing my cards, I do not remove the cards with power on, The camera says card not initialized so I can not take any pictures but I can still hook it up to my computer and download the pictures. I have a 512 and a 1 gig card lost in the last month and do you know of a good picture program to modify and enhance my underwater shots that works on a mac computer

Traditionally, the E23 error code in Canon Powershot models is the CF/SD card memory full error. Do you get the same error message when using another card or when there is no card in the camera?

If you've tried a different memory card and made sure it's inserted properly and still get the the error then the camera is water damaged. Canon repair manuals indicate the E23 error is generated from the "PCB board" (main camera electronics) so the only option would most likely be a board replacement.

HOWEVER - I can make this suggestion. I had a Canon DSLR get submerged underwater in a "moose vs canoe" incident some time back. I read to remove the battery and memory card (leave the doors open), wrap the camera in a clean, paper bag and completely cover it in a bowl of plain, dry, uncooked white rice to absorb moisture that may be trapped in the camera. It's a last ditch effort and may already be too late, depending on how wet your camera got and how soon you can do this. You'll need to leave it in the uncovered bowl of rice for at least a week and keep the bowl in a dry area. This worked for me but my camera was completely submerged for less than 10 seconds. Good luck!

Any water exposure will destroy your camera, no it can't be fixed sorry.

Thomas Drayton
Owner, www Darntoothysam com Digital Camera Repair

Unfortunately, these "waterproof" cameras don't always work as advertised. If the camera is still under warranty, I'd start there. It may be too late for this, but an old trick to dry out electronics is to put it in a bag of white rice for a few days to absorb moisture. It's a long shot, but I revived a wet cell phone once this way.

No, it is not water proof camera so unable to shoot underwater without water proof casing that is another product. Camera must be packed in water proof casing to take pictures underwater.
Click Sony Support link to download optional accessories brochure rleated to DSC-T700 and check AKP-THA water proof casing for this model.
Thanks.

Sorry for the delay.

The two most obvious causes for your fault are damage to the microswitch which senses when the cover is closed and water ingress into the camera. The first possibility is often caused by the second one as any moisture getting into the switch can cause corrosion, but it can also "just happen".

From your answer, the camera would appear to be around two years old; the waterproofing seals and packing distort and harden with age so must be replaced annually. I don't know whether the camera has been used in seawater or pool water, but after use the camera must be submerged in a bucket of fresh water for about ten minutes. This flushes out traces of salt or pool chlorine; salt water dries out to leave salt crystals which distort the seals and may even physically damage them, pool water contains chlorine (sometimes ozone) which chemically attacks the seals. Either way, a damaged seal allows some water into the camera and it only takes a minute amount to damage it. Some people (myself included) find that carrying a bucket of fresh water to the beach just isn't practical and so rinse the camera off under a tap (US=faucet) or beach shower. This is not a good idea and every underwater camera which I use for snorkelling specifically forbids it. Page 65 of your camera manual also warns against it. The problem is that the force of the water falling directly onto a seal is enough to overcome it. Underwater, the pressure is steady and the whole camera is experiencing the same forces, but a modest gravity flow from a tap or water bottle puts uneven pressures on the seal and can unseat it just enough to allow a little water inside. Although I do break the rules, I normally protect the camera by thoroughly wrapping it in a t-shirt or even by slipping it into my shorts/wetsuit so that there's no direct flow of water onto the camera surface.

The other possible cause of water ingress is if the camera cover was closed without checking for sand or debris on the aperture or if the camera has ever been dropped. I know it's a tough shock-resistant camera, but the seals don't always survive rough handling. If the camera door has been opened before the camera is fully dry or if it's done when you have wet hands then it's also possible for a drop of water to get inside, and that's all it takes for the switch or some other component to corrode. The problem is worse if the camera has been stored between wet use with the doors closed and the memory card and battery in place: this camera is best stored open and empty.

Unlike most modern compact cameras, yours is designed to allow regular servicing even if it's only to replace the seals. I recommend that you contact your nearest Olympus Service Centre for an estimate. They can only give you the price of the re-waterproofing work, but you can stipulate that they try to fix the door fault first as the rest of the job is pointless if that cannot be fixed or proves to be too expensive to repair.

For servicing and repair, click here if you're in the USA and here if you're in the UK or Ireland. If anywhere else, then click here instead and navigate to your local page.

If you decide not to go ahead with the repairs and maintenance, then as a specialist model your camera will still have some value if you sell it online as a "spares or repairs" model.

Sorry that there is no quick fix option in this case, but I hope that my reply has explained what has probably happened and why and that it helps you to avoid repeating any mistakes which you may have inadvertently made. There is a very good chance that your camera can be fixed by Olympus; the repairs are unlikely to be cheap, but they're still far cheaper than buying another camera with equivalent underwater performance. The current Olympus Tough range descended from models like yours but are not as well made which explains why you'll see very few 720SW and 1030SW's on sites like eBay in any condition. Those which do appear sell very quickly and for good money, even when broken.

If you have any further questions about what I've written or if you think I've missed something, then please let me know via a comment. Otherwise, please take a moment to rate my answer.

The SnapSights SS03 is a non waterproof camera supplied with 200 ISO film so you clearly have the SS01 model for 800 ISO. Both cameras have fixed aperture and shutter speed and rely on the wide exposure latitude of print film. 100 ISO is ideal if you have a camera with a wider aperture than yours, but if you use it then photos will be three stops underexposed; you'd possibly get away with this on land but underwater shots typically have more shadows than highlights and you'd lose a lot of photographic detail. By using 800 ISO the camera will produce photos which are noticeably grainy and with high contrast demonstrated by less detail in shadow areas and overexposed highlights, but for most purposes the photos will be acceptable and far better than none at all.

Colour negative film has a wide exposure latitude so you may wish to experiment with using 400 ISO or even 200 ISO. 400 will be one stop underexposed, but the printing stage can compensate to produce shots which are less grainy with better shadow details but which will lack some highlight detail. This can be partially compensated for if you tell the processing lab to "push process" your film at 800 ISO, but this will usually cost extra and for just one stop under I wouldn't bother, 200 ISO is really stretching it though and you may find that results are unacceptable unless you push process. Ultimately, it all depends upon how dark and how deep you go, but at much below 1,5m everything gets a strong blue colour cast anyway unless you use a powerful underwater strobe light mounted away from the lens axis.

Basically your camera is designed just to give you a taste of underwater photography and is very limited in what it can achieve. Even with a good specialist 35mm underwater camera such as the Sea & Sea MotorMarine II I usually find that I only have one or two usable shots on a 36 exposure roll, so if you do get the underwater photography bug then invest in a decent quality underwater digital model which accepts a proper external strobe lamp. The ratio of failed photos is similar, but at least you can review and delete them immediately without expense.

Good lord! That's a NICE underwater system you've got. What type of help are you asking for? Just from your equipment list, if everything is in good condition, you've got at least 1500.00 worth of stuff! A new 15mm sells for $2,240, the camera, new, $750.00, eiklite flash system is up there, the extra close up gear ain't cheap either! And a pelican case--well, if yer gonna go snorkeling or scuba, you're all set! The 28mm can be used for land lubbing or underwater. To properly prepare the camera, the most important thing is to check the condition of the o-ring around the film door. If any doubt, replace it!! The same applies with any other o-ring seal. *Properly* greased, an O-ring in good condition simply looks wet. Use a good quality, pure, silicone grease all over the ring and don't blob it on--It can be purchased just about anywhere. Check the o-rings on all the other equipment--same rule applies. Salt water damage is u-g-l-y. Before opening up the camera after being in salt water, rinse all equipment in fresh water and dry completely. Don't detach any cords or lenses until all are rinsed and dry! (When cameras and salt water come together improperly, think horror movie acid bath results--and you won't be far off) I used 36-picture rolls of film so I wouldn't have to open the cam as much. Heh, in the excitement of photoing fish, yer gonna burn some film.Hope I assisted you!---Rick

I suspect that water has damaged the electronics board in the camera. Unfortunately this is not a waterproof camera. Water will corrode the electronic components and eventually ruin the whole camera,
My suggestion is to claim it on insurance as they wilol repair or replace it on Home insurance. No one puts a camera in water intentionally unless its an underwater camea, so its considered an accident

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You are not doing anything wrong with your white balance, white balance is very difficult under water, and you should be careful, because your mask might be tinted a certain color, I reccommend leving you white balance normal, then adjusting in photoshop, take a white object down there and hold it over a non important part of the picture, to help with adjusting in photoshop, then crop the object out of the final image. Focusing underwater is difficut as well, as dater distorts light, there is nothing that you can do to keep the water from distorting the light, but if you go to apeture priorities, you can increase your apeture to between f7.2 and f11 to reduce blur (to keep the picture from being too dark and the shutter from being too slow, you can increade your ISO)

Sadly that symptom indicates that the camera is broken.

The device's seal protects both from the condition that you are seeing, but also protects the internal circuits from moisture.

If water has gotten inside the camera, I would pursue returning it and getting a replacement from the company.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_servicerepair.asp