K-3 will not turn off.

Hi, looking for some advice:
I was out shooting in dense fog this morning at the sea shore here in Mexico. I was shooting into the wave, and did get a splash on my camera, which was equipped with 18-135 lens.
I took several photo after the splash, all seemed well. Walking back to my apartment, I was focusing on a tree in the fog, when the shutter, made a unusually noice and looking through my view finder the photo appeared to have darken, and the shutter would not release.
At the moment, I turned my camera off. It would not shut off. It showed me the battery power which is 3/4 good, and had a number 389 at the place where on might read the ISO.
The camera has become non functional.
Anyone have any advice...or has anyone encountered this problemm.

A Very Sad JA .............and worried

I would suggest removing the battery and if possible let the camera dry out. Hopefully in a few days it will have dried out and be working again.

As Spinno said, remove battery. You might find that replacing the battery after 20 minutes or so that all is well once more. However, place the camera in a warm environment and allow time to fully dry.

Best wishes and don't worry.

Two other things worth thinking about:

1. sounds like salt water... Keep an eye on this, for any signs of corrosion or salt deposits (inside with the lens off).
2. depends a little on just where the water may have entered the camera? Clearly it did, and perhaps in more than one location. Have a careful look inside with the lens removed, with a light. Also, have a look at the lens mount at the lens end...

I was trusting that the camera being weather sealed gave me a bit of wriggle room to play by the water.
As I have gone and cleaned everything....not a drop of water inside anywhere shows.

I am thinking it might be unrelated, because a few days ago, it was double clicking when taking a single shot. I am thinking I might have a real computer problem. I am in a remote area in Mexico...so I can't reach out professionally anywhere .

Here is the very last imagine I got....... Hope this is not a death for my K-3

Aha! That's a clue then: No water ingress visible, and a history of misbehaviour pre-incident.

Some aerosol electrical contact cleaner won't hurt then, especially in and around the shutter button assembly. Applied in sufficient quantity, it should penetrate deep enough to flush out any muck that may be playing havoc with electrical contacts inside. And - it evaporates totally, leaving no trace.

If that won't work, repair or replace. KP or K1 coming up!

I have just done a trip around parts of Australia, and my K3 does much the same thing. I pull the battery out, give it 30 seconds or so, put the battery back in, turn it on again, and all is fine. This happens with a Pentax battery in place, and it does not matter which lens I am using. I just checked to find that my firmware is way out of date on the camera. I am about to update this, hopefully that will sort the problem out.

Gary

Thank you everyone...... I have removed the battery giving it a fresh full charge.
I have wiped it all down....did a mirror up, gave it a clean. I see no sign of water anywhere or salt.
I have replaced the batter and it did seem to be working, sort of. It will not shut off on its own, but it will function. I too need to update it, but I did not bring my cord with me. I will not be returning home for another seven weeks..... so until then, I will do what I can.

Thanks so much for all the "try this advice" seemed to have helped!

A little bit happier then before: JA

That is a nice image..

Sounds like it is gradually getting better, perhaps drying out in the parts you cannot see. If possible take out the battery and card and leave all ports open, wrap in a microfibre cloth and keep somewhere warm and dry for a while. The earlier issue sounds like a sticking aperture mechanism, try flicking the lever on the mount a few times, it should snap back to full aperture immediately.

Ps, worst case scenario, if it doesn’t recover have you any insurance that would cover it? If not camera insurance then maybe you household insurance.

There's one more thing you could try - in the event that it may be a connection issue between battery and camera, use a gray-lead (ordinary) pencil and 'colour-in' all the contacts on both. It will apply a tiny amount of graphite to the metal contacts, and scrape them clean in the process. I've done that to non-camera contacts (along with a scotch-brite scourer pad in one case), and the problem resolved. It will be a bit tricky doing that in the bottom of the battery compartment of the camera, but should be do-able with patience.

Given the dense fog, it could be the humidity of that which affected the camera. High humidity can cause electronics to fail. Fingers crossed, once it's dried out it should be well again. The only proviso, how splashed by the sea water did it get as sea water can cause corrosion quite quickly?

Dear JAK

I was trying to catch the underside of small incoming wave, it splashed over my lens.

However the camera has improved, and I am taking photos again. Sometimes it shuts off when I turn it off.....so, it is better then it was.

I am back home in Northren Canada mid March..... at that time I will look into sending it away for repairs. If it can just see me through this travel.....that would so great!

JA

Just a thought, could the damp be in the lens or does changing lenses make no difference (if you happen to have several to try with you?)
Anyhow pleased it's improving, I reckon it's best to keep the lens and camera apart to help it continue to dry out.

First.thing I tried was a different lens. I bought a few with me.