Hey, thanks for coming back and telling us the outcome. $466 eh, there's a lesson for all of us there. I'm pleased your camera's back up and running.

Thanks to everyone for the comments. After a $466 repair bill, my D7000 is up and running. Everything seem to be fine. The next time I shoot where water is a real risk, I plan to have a waterproof housing from EWA-Marine. http://www.ewa-marine.com/index.php?id=93

I was backpacking a number of years ago above the arctic circle--in July. Slipped on a rock crossing a stream, fell completely in, along with my D50, which was a week old at that time. Camera worked for a few shots once I got out of the stream, then quit working, period. But after three more days of hiking--and no photographs of spectacular scenery--it woke up and has worked just fine ever since.

Just a couple hours ago my D7000 with Meike grip fell into the lake. After 5 seconds I put it out and immediately removed the battery. In the evening I couldn't resist and put the battery back in. It still works, display work, but pop-up flash won't open. It still has some moisture in the viewfinder so it won't focus, but live view focusing works. Memory card died ?!?, but with the new one it still takes pictures :)
I took the insurance so I guess I'll have to use it :)
Sigma 10-20 the old one wasn't so lucky. Water came inside. Still thinking what to do with it. Bought it for 300EUR aftermarket. I guess it's better to throw it away, than to repair it...

i once dunked my old D40 years back in a park in Florida, pulled it out whipped out the battery removed lens and left to dry overnight,
a few black pictures later it burst into life and is still getting used today by my dad

@adamz: Good move on showering with the D3 after it got the high tide splash treatment. Having used fishing tackle and cameras around both fresh and salt water a lot.....salt is rough and not many things are designed to get salt corroded. I even wash down our salt tolerant fishing tackle and SCUBA and hookah gear. I do prefer to work in fresh water and do most of the time. I don't know anyone buying serious camera housings that are using the Ewa Marine. If it worked though........I would be using it. Actually there are guys making their own housings and the only reason to buy a manufactured one is that prototypes are expensive, and do not incorporate the level of testing and size reduction to get actually fairly big housings reduced in size. The Go Pro tiny video cameras by the way are fairly good for what thet cost.

msmoto said:
Looks like a discussion of how to keep them dry.... and as I looked at the cost of the underwater housings... I decided there must be a better way. indeed, Ewa-Marine U-B 100 Underwater Housing for SLRs w/ 82mm Filter Thread will fit a D4 and the previous iterations. Less than $400.00 and this is rather inexpensive insurance if one is going to the ocean. It is not the fully fitted case like the megabucks housings, but it will allow operation of camera and lens, while keeping it dry.

So does a plastic bag - I happen to have one that I can sell you for $300. LOL!

Looks like a discussion of how to keep them dry.... and as I looked at the cost of the underwater housings... I decided there must be a better way. indeed, Ewa-Marine U-B 100 Underwater Housing for SLRs w/ 82mm Filter Thread will fit a D4 and the previous iterations. Less than $400.00 and this is rather inexpensive insurance if one is going to the ocean. It is not the fully fitted case like the megabucks housings, but it will allow operation of camera and lens, while keeping it dry.

@DaveyJ - I was actually showering my d3s once, after I got surprised by quite high tide and all - the camera, tripod, me - were in salt water... and it works w/o any problems

@ Kyoshinikon: I have never owned a D3 Nikon. I would be very impressed at any DSLR that could survive a dunk. I use a D90 in a housing and have to regularly check to see if it is flooding. Of course I would try any scenario to fix one so drowned, but I think your kayak technique which I use with my sea-touring kayaks also is the best way to go. An ounce of prevention is worth is worth a pound of cure. Still one day maybe they will build a Nikon like a D7000 that can actually be submerged. I will be in the Happy Hunting Grounds by then and still making sure I don't tip my canoe! My thanks to epthomas for starting this valuable thread. I hope you all all lucky enough to NOT have this happen!

As an aquatic scientist for years and being into photography I drowned five cameras. I only drowned one Nikon as I had taken precautions against such events. I have had them ruined on a quick dunk, and the Nikon (D70) was retrieved after 33 days underwater. Some of these accidents happened when I was nearly broke in grad school. Today they would be equally deadly as I am retired with less to spend.

All of these cameras were totaled. I kept a few as reminders. Especially the D70. I use a TamRac Velocity 6X or 7X bag in the field with a couple of ziplock bags. These work quite well for a dunk even if I am wading all day.. I take out the camera when I am about to shoot and sometimes I can get ready to shoot pretty quickly. The only cameras I use for underwater photos have housings and all cost more than the camera

AdamZ's advice on salvage for parts may work well. I can say with considerable sadness a quick dunk is usually fatal. The D70 Image Capture card was fully intact and had some images on it I really treasure. Prevention I believe is the primary route here, and all measures after the fact (dunking the camera) are only feeble attempts. I use a Pelican waterproof case for our D7000s just to carry them in. In fact we own several pelican cases for various movie cameras, some we use with UW housings but the bare cameras are usually transported in these waterproof cases. But I find them OK for a boat. Wading in chest high waders, I switch to the TamRac velocity cases and the ziplock plastic bags. But once the camera is out of the case (say on a jet boat where our "best" D7000 and higher end lens is tonight) it is at risk. Rain...... a Nikon will tolerate quite well. Spray from a boat, is asking for trouble, but taking it for a "swim" is pretty much the end of that camera as you knew it. Even a repair will actually cost more than it is worth.

Since you have already been told that two of your boards need to be replaced you might want to try this first in conjunction with the drying the camera body as discussed above.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/how-to-clean-up-water-damaged-electronics/

I know a few photogs who have dunked their D3's and they still work... As to a D7000 I dunno. Was it on. Iv'e dunked my d90. Immediately pulled the battery and later tossed it into a bag of condenser rocks. Pulled it out after about a week and it worked fine...

Flipped a canoe eh? When I kayack (ocean) I always put my goodies in a baggie and only pull em out when safe to do so... Or keep one in a cheap water proof camera housing (pvc). Also I always attach the housing to the boat because if a camera goes overboard the trip to the bottom is farther than the trip back...

might have a slight chance of it ruviving if the battery was taken out before the dip. anyone wanna try?

adamz said:
@skintbrit - it's not a pro body so thinks like this can happen, though I'm also a little bit surprised as I know what I was doing with my d90 and it survived even in very heavy rain w/o any cover

D90 can survive in Rain,but getting a camera submerged in water is a different thing altogether .Not even a D4 can survive a swim without a casing .

@OP: Keeping the Camera wrapped in container filled with rice for a few days might be of some help .

The refrigerator pulls out moisture also. Toss it in there for a few days.

SkintBrit said:
If a 7D can survive this:
http://www.digitalrev.com/article/canon-7d-hardcore-durability-test/MjA0MjMyMTE_A
a D7000 aught to be able to take a quick dunk.

The battery was probably taken out before being submerged, and was left till it was fully dry before putting the battery back in and setting it on fire.

Juergen said:
If you want to avoid the condensation in the bag, add some char coal into the plastic bag.
Jürgen

Actually, the condensation in the bag lets one know if any more moisture is coming out of the camera, or so I have been told. So the cycle continues until the moisture stops accumulating. But, it is good to place whatever is in the bag on a small pedestal so as to not have it sitting in the pool of moisture.

If a 7D can survive this:
http://www.digitalrev.com/article/canon-7d-hardcore-durability-test/MjA0MjMyMTE_A
a D7000 aught to be able to take a quick dunk.

@skintbrit - it's not a pro body so thinks like this can happen, though I'm also a little bit surprised as I know what I was doing with my d90 and it survived even in very heavy rain w/o any cover

msmoto said:
As I do not know exactly how long ago the camera was submerged, here is a wild trial. If, by chance, you immediately removed the battery from the camera, give this a try. With the battery still out, place the camera into a sealed plastic bag and place the bag w/ camera in the sun allowing it to get fairly warm. The bag should have condensation on the inside. Remove the camera, dry the bag and repeat. When the camera in the bag, no longer gives off any evidence of moisture, do it another two cycles, then place the fully charged battery back into the camera.

The odds are very small, but a cell phone which was dropped into a swimming pool and remained for about 30 seconds, was able to survive and be functional after this. It could be the "fried" boards are simply shorted with moisture, and the technique above will get this out. What do you have to lose?

If you want to avoid the condensation in the bag, add some char coal into the plastic bag.
Jürgen

Looking at mine, I reckon it's the lens joint, battery cover, flash latch and connection covers that let the water in Skinty. Proper protection against ingress is dealt with by doing tests on the item and giving them an International protection rating. "Weather proof" could easily be as low as IP51 whereas it would have to be IP67 to resist immersion of up to a metre. The words 'weather protected' are weasel words in reality.

Great suggestion about the gentle dry heat of the airing cupboard BTW.

I know there's a big difference between 'weather proof' & 'water proof', but am I the only one who finds it surprising that a D7000 submerged for just a few seconds, should have been damaged so badly? Presumably it didn't feel the effect of external pressure bearing down on it, by sinking to the bottom? I'm just surprised that a well made camera like a D7000 would not be able to stand up to a very quick dunk.

I was going to suggest a similar course of action to msmoto, namely leave it in your airing cupboard (is that a British term?) on a towel for a few weeks and see what happens.

As I do not know exactly how long ago the camera was submerged, here is a wild trial. If, by chance, you immediately removed the battery from the camera, give this a try. With the battery still out, place the camera into a sealed plastic bag and place the bag w/ camera in the sun allowing it to get fairly warm. The bag should have condensation on the inside. Remove the camera, dry the bag and repeat. When the camera in the bag, no longer gives off any evidence of moisture, do it another two cycles, then place the fully charged battery back into the camera.

The odds are very small, but a cell phone which was dropped into a swimming pool and remained for about 30 seconds, was able to survive and be functional after this. It could be the "fried" boards are simply shorted with moisture, and the technique above will get this out. What do you have to lose?

A bad day for D7000, I`m also with D7000 but even if I had a waterproof body would be careful not expose in it on water or move under a umbrella.