20ddissection Photo Gallery by PeeBaseGuy at pbase.com

I was on honeymoon in HI a few weeks back (09/2006). While walking along the shore, I slipped on some algae/seaweed covered rocks and fell. My arm (holding the camera) bore the brunt of the fall, but the right hand (holding the camera) hit a shallow tidal puddle. Only a bit of the camera got wet in the ocean salt water. Mostly on the rear, near the battery cover (the water didn't even reach the bottom of the LCD on the rear of the body). This killed the camera immediately. I took it back to my hotel and let it dry out (a huge mistake). It never worked again. When I got home, I sent it to Canon to see if they could repair it. They totaled it and sent it back un-repaired. When I received it, I decided it would be cool to take it apart and document what I found.

Luckily, the camera was insured, so I upgraded to a 30D when I returned home. I used the new 30D to take the photos of the dead 20D.

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Area around viewfinder (with wires).	Area around viewfinder (without wires).	Closeup of little round glass thingy (was just under a sensor).	Area just above viewfinder. Small rectangular mirror-looking thing in the center.
Close-up of small rectangular mirror looking thing.	Sensor 1 (for lack of a better name). Was clipped in place on top of the viewfinder.	Sensor 1 again.	Another sensor 1.
Sensor 2. This one clipped in to the left of the viewfinder.	Sensor 2 again.	More sensor 2.	The view through the prism

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comment |

Maarten Muller from Holland		27-Sep-2008 20:19
Hi, Is it possible, y'ould think, to replace the sutter button en mount the camera again, and it's still working fine. mine is hazitating so nou and than. I no somting a bout small electronics. Thanks... sorry for my wrong englis.

Guest		09-Dec-2006 17:58
hi again GMR, have you ever had the chance to see what it would take to cause any damage to the AA filter for cleaning purposes?

Guest		09-Dec-2006 17:57
when taking things apart, it's wise to have a video cam going to let you go back to see what you did in the first place.

Dan		08-Dec-2006 02:27
Thanks, Was looking for exploded view of 20D to learn how to put focus lens back in the correct order. Took it apart trying to clean off some lent and cant remember how it went back together. Your pictures did not show it but this is still great. Anyone have picts of how this goes back together?

Dan		08-Dec-2006 02:25
Thanks, Was looking for exploded view of 20D to learn how to put focus lens back in the correct order. Took it apart trying to clean off some lent and cant remember how it went back together. Your pictures did not show it but this is still great. Anyone have picts of how this goes back together?

Sam		01-Dec-2006 20:28
No. Switch it off first to stop power getting to damp/wet circuitry.

Pucco		01-Dec-2006 15:46
The first thing to do when getting electronics wet is to REMOVE BATTERY imediately.

Chris_Phils		01-Dec-2006 06:07
Olympus E1, though an old-timer, with Weather-sealed Zuiko Digital glasses are water resilient that some owner even dunked it in their tubs or shoot in heavy rainpours to test it's almost-waterproof sealing. :-)

dhphoto		14-Nov-2006 06:27
An awful lot of technology for the money really. Interesting pictures. David

GdL		13-Nov-2006 21:53
Yikes! Lucky you had insurance on it. I may need to go do the same now... I'm amazed at how you have meticulously taken it apart!

PeeBaseGuy		11-Nov-2006 14:30
Hey e-tan. Sensor 1 is most likely the autoexposure sensor. It's segmented into 35 little squares, and our metering system is a 35 zone system, so it seems to fit. I'm not sure what Sensor 2 is. There has been some discussion on pbase about it, but I don't think anybody knows for sure yet. As for the autofocus sensor...I just got that part of the camera pulled apart last night. I'll have photos of it posted in a day or two.

e-tan		11-Nov-2006 07:28
i am totally impressed... now one question. Where are the sensors for autofocus and exposure. Is it one of the sensor1 and sensor2 that you pulled out from around viewfinder. Thank you.

PeeBaseGuy		11-Nov-2006 04:22
It's an add-on policy to my renter's insurance. My company calls it either a "Personal Article Floater" or a "Valuable Personal Property" policy. I think it cost $30/year or so.

Russ		10-Nov-2006 19:10
What kind of insurance did you have that covered this? Regular homeowners or gear specific?

PeeBaseGuy		10-Nov-2006 15:51
With salt water, the comments I've seen say to wash the whole camera with distilled (even tap) water. Anything to get the salt out, since salt is the main killer. After you rinse it, people say either to rinse/submerge it in rubbing alcohol, then let it dry, or seal it up and send it to Canon ASAP so they can evaluate and/or fix it.

Guest		10-Nov-2006 14:12
So if letting it dry out was a huge mistake - what should you have done??

Guest		10-Nov-2006 07:30
i want to see you put it all back together!!

Dennis Steinauer		10-Nov-2006 05:07
OK, now let's see you put it back together -- without any leftover parts! :-)

xavier		10-Nov-2006 04:51
Thanks for sharing! Great documentation work! Now I will look at my 10D with even more respect!

PeeBaseGuy		10-Nov-2006 00:19
Gus R: the salt from the ocean water did most (if not all) of the damage to my camera. I wouldn't sweat shooting in a light rain. Tho, for peace of mind, I might buy one of those $100 rain hoods...just in case!

PeeBaseGuy		10-Nov-2006 00:17
summerwind4: I haven't tried anything with the sensor/cover yet. I may go at it with a Q-tip(tm) and see what kind of damage I can cause. I'll definitely post the photos when I do!

silvano		09-Nov-2006 16:02
many thanks for this reportage ...

Guest		09-Nov-2006 05:16
another question comes to mind. since you've gone this far, how durable is the coating on the sensor filter? considering many of us do wet cleaning, it'd be great info to know just how much the surface can handle in terms of pressure when being cleaned with a swab.

bm		09-Nov-2006 03:28
Very interesting to see how a 20D is put together. Thanks for you time taking and posting these.

Charles Lasnier		09-Nov-2006 02:28
It doesn't look so bad at first, but then... the close-ups tell the story!

Gus Rosenfeld		08-Nov-2006 20:39
Thanks! All good-stuff to know. Just a little too delicate to justify the $ difference from its consumer siblings, unless you had to have the higher frame rate. Now I'm scared from my last shoot in the rain ;-/ g

Azlin Ahmad		07-Nov-2006 07:35
The death of your 20D sends chills down my spine, as it's the same camera I use! My condolences, but hope you have masses of fun with your 30D. Regards Azlin

Chekawa		06-Nov-2006 16:21
Thank goodness for insurance. Thanks for the view of your 20D. Be well and worry free! Chekawa

Guest		05-Nov-2006 17:37
incredible !

Guest		05-Nov-2006 14:04
There's a sinister quality to these shots, reminds me of The Terminator.

Guest		05-Nov-2006 13:57
Just imagine the assembly process it takes to put those together.

Nelson Chen Photography		04-Nov-2006 21:06
I just voted your gallery. This has to be one of most well documented 20D internals. You have turned a tragic event into an excellent educational and entertainment vehicle. Well done!

Gerry Winterbourne		04-Nov-2006 19:42
Frightening! I hope you didn't lose too many images. When you tried to put your story in the Description field, did you remember to click the Update Gallery icon at the bootom of that section? I often forget and have to type things in again....Gerry

PeeBaseGuy		04-Nov-2006 19:36
The sensor is bonded with a black epoxy to the small frame seen here http://www.pbase.com/gmr2048/image/69559262 That little frame is then screwed onto the main camera body/frame.

Guest		04-Nov-2006 14:27
another question, is the sensor sealed against the frame just behind the shutter?

Guest		04-Nov-2006 13:39
this is awesome.......now, i want to see you put it all back together........LOL thx for posting this.

PeeBaseGuy		04-Nov-2006 07:02
I'm lame and can't figure out where to add this info to the gallery (I tried the "description" field, but that didn't seem to do much). Anyway, here's the short version of what happened to get the camera to this point in it's too-short life: I was on honeymoon in HI a few weeks back. While walking along the shore, I slipped on some algae/seaweed covered rocks and fell. My arm (holding the camera) bore the brunt of the fall, but the right hand (holding the camera) hit a shallow tidal puddle. Only a bit of the camera got wet in the ocean salt water. Mostly on the rear, near the battery cover (the water didn't even reach the bottom of the LCD on the rear of the body). This killed the camera immediately. I took it back to my hotel and let it dry out (a huge mistake). It never worked again. When I got home, I sent it to Canon to see if they could repair it. They totaled it and sent it back un-repaired. When I received it, I decided it would be cool to take it apart and document what I found. Luckily, the camera was insured, so I upgraded to a 30D when I returned home. I used the new 30D to take the photos of the dead 20D.

Guest		04-Nov-2006 06:55
This is just amazing to see the insides of this camera mmmm you must have a bit of money for sure!

Me_XMan		04-Nov-2006 03:00
Thousands and thousands of hours in engineering...wow!

Rasta		04-Nov-2006 02:53
Some of those pics remnd me of C-3PO from Episode 1....

Guest		03-Nov-2006 21:32
Ouch!!!! Thanks for posting these photos, but I think I shall have nightmares...

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