A reminder, never leave batteries in your photo gear.

January 7, 2025January 7, 2025Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Here is a new flash in its original box, Canon Speedlite 244T, that I received from a recent purchase on eBay. The seller has since refunded me, but this serves as a reminder to never leave batteries, especially AA batteries, in your cameras and other accessories. This “new” flash had these Philips batteries installed at some point, but the owner forgot about them. What a shame that an otherwise neat collectible is now ruined.

I’ve seen worse corrosion before, but this is right up there with the worst.

AA batteries in a flash unit can corrode in as little as a few months! These, however, have been left for decades.

Thanks for stopping by, and after reading this, please check your cameras. – Chris

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Corrosive Batteries – check your gear now!

December 18, 2020December 18, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

These have been in a camera for at least 22 years!

Here’s just a bit of the damage they caused. Most of this can be removed with a soak in vinegar and some aggressive cleaning with a cotton swab dipped in vinegar.

It takes a lot of cleaning to reverse the damage caused when batteries leak. I was able to clean 90% of the corroded contacts but normally only about half of the gear becomes operational again. This one has yet to be tested.

Batteries, especially AA batteries can “leak” corrosive acid onto sensitive electrical contacts in as little as a few months! Remember to remove any battery from your cameras as soon as you are done with them. It’s easy to forget but the damage is often fatal.

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

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Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Described as “New, never used. Got as a gift”. Update 1…

December 19, 2017December 25, 2017Chris and Carol 2 Comments

I just received this camera from an online purchase –

“New, never used. Got as a gift”. Well OK then. Whatever you say.

New Olympus camera. That’s what the seller said.

A science experiment?

Never used but the Olympus factory always ships their cameras with an exposed roll of Fujifilm.

Per eBay’s definition of “new”… New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable). Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packagings, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag.

Let’s see what happens with my claim. eBay has been very good with refunds when items have been grossly misrepresented. No complaints here.

Update 1: I sent the request for a full refund at 3:58 PM and had a full refund by 4:25 PM. Thanks to the seller for accepting responsibility for his error and quickly refunding my original purchase price including shipping.

Remember to always remove batteries when your camera is not in use… especially after a decade or more!

Chris

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