Destroyed Canon Camera Discovered Next to Famous Beauty Spot

Aug 23, 2024

Matt Growcoot

A muddy mirrorless camera and tripod lie in a wet, rocky landscape. The camera is covered with mud and debris. The scene includes a tranquil background with a lake reflecting the golden hues of a setting or rising sun, flanked by distant towering mountains. — The Canon R5 and 24-105 RF found in Milford Sound.

A photographer discovered a Canon R5 completely ruined in mud flats next to a beauty spot and is now hoping to track down the owner.

Chris Watson runs the Fiordland Camera Club and was at a photography workshop on July 20 hosted by Trey Ratcliff in Milford Sound, New Zealand when he stumbled across the broken equipment worth thousands of dollars.

“We had just come back from a cruise in Milford Sound,” Watson tells PetaPixel.

“[We] got off the boat and the sunset was about to go off so we were all rushing from the boat to a better location for a shoot.

“I snuck across the mud flats and was initially chasing a white heron to take a photo of but keeping an eye on the light for the sunset behind me.

“I dumped my gear to change lenses and turned around to see the tripod. Thinking I found a tripod I walked over to it to find the camera still attached as well!

“The tripod is working perfectly now too which is amazing considering the condition I found it in.”

A DSLR camera lens labeled "Canon 24-105" on a wooden surface with a melted and charred camera body. The damaged parts are scattered around, showing burnt and deformed plastic. Tools and debris are visible beside the camera, indicating severe damage.

Milford Sound is located in Fiordland National Park on New Zealand’s South Island and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country thanks to its beautiful landscape.

Given the terrible state of the camera — which is well beyond repair — Watson thinks the R5 may have been in the mud for “well over a year”.

As well as Canon’s flagship mirrorless R5 on the tripod, there was also a 24-105 RF lens attached. The total cost of which is estimated to be over $5,000.

A tranquil mountain landscape at sunset with dramatic clouds partially obscuring the peaks. The sky glows with shades of orange and yellow, reflecting perfectly in the still, mirror-like water below. The scene exudes a sense of peaceful solitude and natural beauty. — The stunning landscape of Milford Sound in New Zealand. | Chris Watson

“My theory is it was a nighttime star trail or timelapse photographer,” adds Watson. “The person had it set up and went for a coffee but came back to the camera surrounded by water. I would have swum out to get it!”

Trying to Track the Owner

Watson is keen to find the camera’s owner but the memory card inside isn’t working when inserted into a card reader.

A person is holding a TOPSSD 1TB CFexpress memory card. The card has a black and yellow label indicating read speeds of 2000MB/s and write speeds of 1600MB/s. The background is blurred. — The card, unsurprisingly, isn’t working.

He believes the TOPSSD one-terabyte card is a “military-grade Chinese brand” and has been in touch with a forensic data recovery specialist.

“They were keen to help me out; knowing the quite large costs to do this type of work I was glad,” explains Watson.

“They now have the card and have confirmed they can get the data off (with pretty good certainty) but need an equivalent card to do a transplant to make the old card work.

“The problem is that card costs 2,000 to 3,000 NZD [$1,230 to $1,850] so we’re currently at a standstill.

“I’m super keen to find out but not so keen to spend that kind of money on the story.”

A camera sits on a tripod, covered in seaweed and dirt, possibly due to a rugged outdoor setting by a lake or river with hills or mountains in the background during a sunset. One can see the reflective surface of the water, capturing the glow of the golden hour.