I was recently using a Panasonic DVX100 to film a skiing video. I have done this several times in 0 degree F temps before with no trouble. However, the problem is, this time, I had turned off the camera to wait for someone to get ready. When I went to turn it on again, It would not turn on. Immediately I removed the battery and noticed a small amount of water bridging the contacts behind the battery. I left the battery out for a few hours and tried again. Still dead. I have let it set for a couple of days and still nothing. The predicament gets worse as this is not my own personal camera, but the schools camera that I go to.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there any hope in getting it to work, or am I better off taking it to a repair place? There is no physical damage to the camera. It simply does not turn on. It is dead.

Also, the tape is still stuck in the camera. Is there any no power release for the tape so I can recover the footage?

Any help is greatly appreciated!