Dropped a lens in a bait shop pond, the owner didn't blink

I went to pick up a used 50mm from a guy who runs a bait and tackle place outside Memphis. He said he tested it on his pond water setup, which I thought was a joke until he showed me a tank of bluegill he keeps by the counter. The lens slipped out of my hand and went straight in the tank, splash and all. He fished it out with a net, handed me a towel, and said 'that's the second one this month, the other guy didn't even come back for it.' I dried it off, checked the glass, and it was fine, no fog even. Weirdest part is the aperture ring still clicks smooth, like the fish blessed it. Anyone else ever dunked gear in something stranger than a sink or a puddle?

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keithbutler9d ago

Happened to me with a 24-70 f2.8 off a dock on Lake Chickamauga about six years ago. Thing went in mud first, not water, so I had to rinse it in the lake anyway. Straight up, the trick is to pull the battery and memory card out right away, then leave the lens cap off and set it face down on a towel in a warm, dry spot for like two days. Don't use a hair dryer or rice, that just pushes moisture deeper into the elements. The aperture blades are the last thing to corrode, so if yours still clicks clean, you got lucky and the seals held. That bait shop guy sounds like he knows exactly what he's doing, probably sees more gear than most camera stores out there.