How important is weather sealing?

woof woof

woof woof

I like a nice Chianti
Suspended / Banned
Messages
43,206
Name
Alan
Edit My Images
No
After reading comments in another thread I was tempted to ask this but thought that a separate thread would be more appropriate.

I've always bought consumer/mid range kit and as far as I know none of it has ever been weather sealed or even weather resistant. I've used my kit in all weathers through the humid summers, rain and wet snowy winters of the UK, Europe and the Mediterranean and the dryer but much colder winters and much hotter summers of central Asia and in all locations from sandy beaches, motor boats, industrial locations and town and countryside in winter and summer and I've never had an equipment failure that I can put down to weather. In fact the only equipment failure I've ever had is sticking aperture blades, dying batteries and flap/door catches that needed care.

I suppose that the worst conditions I've ever shot in were with my 20D in the snow covered hills of the UK. The snow was deep and I ended up falling camera in hand into a dip and at that point I decided it was too dangerous to carry on as I couldn't see any paths or dips any more and therefore headed back to civilisation. My camera and lens were white and my clothing froze on me but the next day everything worked perfectly. I think this was probably a bigger test than the much colder but dryer cold of central Asia.

All I've ever taken is what I could term normal and sensible precautions and care. Of course I could have just been lucky :D

So, has the weather ever been an issue for you and is this something you have to take into account?
 
woof woof said:
After reading comments in another thread I was tempted to ask this but thought that a separate thread would be more appropriate.

I've always bought consumer/mid range kit and as far as I know none of it has ever been weather sealed or even weather resistant. I've used my kit in all weathers through the humid summers, rain and wet snowy winters of the UK, Europe and the Mediterranean and the dryer but much colder winters and much hotter summers of central Asia and in all locations from sandy beaches, motor boats, industrial locations and town and countryside in winter and summer and I've never had an equipment failure that I can put down to weather. In fact the only equipment failure I've ever had is sticking aperture blades, dying batteries and flap/door catches that needed care.

I suppose that the worst conditions I've ever shot in were with my 20D in the snow covered hills of the UK. The snow was deep and I ended up falling camera in hand into a dip and at that point I decided it was too dangerous to carry on as I couldn't see any paths or dips any more and therefore headed back to civilisation. My camera and lens were white and my clothing froze on me but the next day everything worked perfectly. I think this was probably a bigger test than the much colder but dryer cold of central Asia.

All I've ever taken is what I could term normal and sensible precautions and care. Of course I could have just been lucky :D

So, has the weather ever been an issue for you and is this something you have to take into account?
Click to expand...
No.
 
:D

I'm sure that it is an issue for some but I'm just interested in how much weight ordinary people (if we are ordinary...) give to weather sealing/resistance when thinking about the kit they buy.

I just don't worry about it but like I said, maybe I've just been lucky
 
Never thought about prior to getting a camera with it. Just always took care not to get my camera wet. However, accidents can happen and it is nice to know that the odd splash will not get to anywhere sensitive in the body.
Some photographers have to shoot in conditions where they cannot protect against the weather so a sealed camera is highly desirable.
All down to what you are going to do.
 
If it's miserable enough outside for weather sealing to be necessary, chances are that I'll be in as warm and dry a place as possible, so WS on camera kit hasn't come into my needs list apart from when I was after a waterproof camera for snorkelling, where simple WS wouldn't be enough anyway! As it happens, some of my kit is WS but that's a result of the spec of the kit rather than having been my requirement.
 
Of course, like most people I'm always aware when the weather goes bad, but I have full faith in my kit to work in pretty much any conditions. One reason I had two D2x bodies was for the weathersealing and when I switched to a pair of D7000s I was worried.... I needn't have been,as they've proven to be equal to the D2x in every respect.
 
Although not really a consideration when I bought my Pentax kit I would rather it was there than not.

If the weather looks iffy it's the K-5II that goes along and the 7D stays home though. (even though I believe the Canon is also pretty good in the rain)
 
Last edited:
I'm with Nod in this, I think I need weather sealing more than my camera. If there's a hint of moisture in the sky then I prefer to be well inside the warm and dry. I think both times I've been out shooting and it's started raining the camera has been inside my coat and I've been heading home. I really dislike the feeling of getting my hands and arms getting rained on, it makes me feel sick for some reason, I'm fine in the shower, bath or swimming etc, I just don't like the rain.
 
I think i would rather worry about the lenses, some sports photographers wrap their lenses in bin bags to keep water out while their top of the range bodies are left to the elements, your 5D should be ok.
 
I slipped & fell over dropping my canon 1D mkiv 600mm f4 L is usm in a lake.
I got it out very quickly (obviously)
Wiped it over with a cloth at my car cleaned the front element & carried on shooting.
I expected it to shut down at some point but it just kept on grafting.
Well done canon.
 
daugirdas said:
Heavy unexpected rain, a bit of action near the water (not in!), sea spray and you would much rather you had it.
Click to expand...

Unlikely to be so unexpected that it's too long to get the kit back in the bag. I stay far enough back from the water to avoid wetting spray and can crop in if I need to - a slight loss of pixels is less of a sacrifice than a lens/body! (Although my body is weather sealed anyway!)
 
To be fair, sea spray is relentless and really doesn't care how far away you are...
 
Personally I'll avoid going out with the camera if it's raining, or even if it's just light drizzle, unless the weather forecast is for clear skies later. I've been caught in drizzle a few times, and rain once, but I've never had any problems.

That being said, now after many years I've got virtually all L lenses, I'm really paranoid as only the 100L I have claims to be weather sealed!
 
specialman said:
To be fair, sea spray is relentless and really doesn't care how far away you are...
Click to expand...

It is but even my MFT regularly survives this place...

_1110287_zpsf99da4a0.jpg


That's a daylight shot :D Sand, sea spray, rain, it's got it all.

I know that the odds are that I'll eventually suffer a failure but so far with just normal care I've been ok.
 
Last edited:
Generally comes pretty high on my list as my better half and I do a reasonable amount of walking / trekking in all weathers.
 
I have to be careful if I have the canon 100-400 attached regardless of what body I take out.

We get our fair share of miserable weather up here and the 1d3 17-40 (with filter) combo gives me confidence when I'm out on a hike.
 
specialman said:
To be fair, sea spray is relentless and really doesn't care how far away you are...
Click to expand...

If there's that much spray around, the camera will stay in the boot!
 
No pampering for my gear, if it's inclement when the gear is out the bag it stays out and gets a nice wet & windy work out :)
 
Depends on the camera, but getting it a bit damp I couldn't give a monkeys about, weather sealed or not. If I'm knowingly going somewhere damp and miserable I'll try and use one of my weather sealed cameras for peace of mind, but I won't cry if a drip of rain lands on any of my others. The only time I get annoyed over rain is when it's landed on the front element and rendered an unnoticed blurry blob on the resulting image!
 
drexyl said:
I slipped & fell over dropping my canon 1D mkiv 600mm f4 L is usm in a lake.
I got it out very quickly (obviously)
Wiped it over with a cloth at my car cleaned the front element & carried on shooting.
I expected it to shut down at some point but it just kept on grafting.
Well done canon.
Click to expand...

Take a look at this poor guy:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Canon-1d-mk-iii-Canon-EF-600mm-f4-Water-Damaged-/281070574386?pt=AU_Digital_Cameras&hash=item41711c9b32&_uhb=1#ht_500wt_1414
 
Not that important to me, as some of my kit that does not have weather sealing/moisture/dust resistance etc and still survived the odd weather change. My livelihood does not depend on my camera, nor do I have to push to environmental extremes to take the shot. Having said that, I have just applied some common sense when the weather turned such as using my bag rain cover to shield the body and lens but never dared to use my camera on the beach - drying out moisture is a lot simpler than to shake sand out!
 
interesting discussion.

I'd only use my 2 weather sealed L lenses when there's rain, but no pampering. Used them in heavy rain, on the beach and not had any problem, even changed lenses on the beach.

End of the day, if you would use your non-weather sealed mobile phone on the beach, why worried to use your weather sealed camera?
 
i use my kit in heavy rain, snow, sand anything really, the weather sealing is key and gives me the confidence to know i can carry on standing out in the rain still shooting, usually the only thing to stop me is myself once i get fed up being wet! when shooting sport though ill put a rain cover over the 400 2.8 and 1dmkiv, mail to save me drying it later :)
 
tamphotography said:
i use my kit in heavy rain, snow, sand anything really,...
Click to expand...

Same for me. I stop when I'm uncomfortable or when the - rain / snow / whatever - stops me from shooting because it's on the front of the lens and obvious in the image. And all with no weather sealing :D
 
wuyanxu said:
End of the day, if you would use your non-weather sealed mobile phone on the beach,...
Click to expand...

Good point :thumbs:

I've seen people worry because their camera bag s getting wet.
 
woof woof said:
It is but even my MFT regularly survives this place...

_1110287_zpsf99da4a0.jpg


That's a daylight shot :D Sand, sea spray, rain, it's got it all.

I know that the odds are that I'll eventually suffer a failure but so far with just normal care I've been ok.
Click to expand...

when you have to wipe your lens every minute that counts as a real sea spray :lol:
 
You might be lucky to date, but eventually enough splashes may just get under the skin of your gear. My old D90 was out in some nice downpours, hail, rain, snow - it is Ireland after all! Over time the green display inside the viewfinder died, and some of the rubber grips started to give way - can only put that down to moisture getting in under - but otherwise all still worked well. I'd just rather know it's there now, weather sealing.
 
Cagey75 said:
You might be lucky to date, but eventually enough splashes may just get under the skin of your gear..
Click to expand...

Yup, but after shooting with compacts for about 10 years and then with SLR's and now DSLR's for something like 30 years, so that's over 40 years in total, I've yet to have a weather related failure. I suppose the last (thinks a bit...) 10 years or so are the most relevant as digital will I suppose be more susceptible to moisture and the like than the rather less electronic content 35mm cameras.

Like I said at the beginning, maybe I've just been lucky :D
 
Took less than 2 years of weather beating to mess with my D90. Shows how harsh the Irish rain can be maybe? :D

Last time I was out shooting, my bag took a right soaking, I stupidly forgot the rain cover, and rain soaked right through [tough think tank bag] - dried everything soon as I got home, but I was glad the body and the lenses I had at time were all sealed.
 
I dunno about other manufacturers, but none of Canon's bodies or lenses are waterproof or weatherproof. They may have seals, they may be descibed as drip-proof, but try to claim on the warranty for any water damage and there's a good chance you'll be shown the door. The 7D manual specifically says that it's not waterproof.
 
Sealed, yes. I wouldn't recommend actually immersing any camera body outside of housed or actual waterproof to 'x' amount of meters, in any liquid
 
hollis_f said:
I dunno about other manufacturers, but none of Canon's bodies or lenses are waterproof or weatherproof. They may have seals, they may be descibed as drip-proof, but try to claim on the warranty for any water damage and there's a good chance you'll be shown the door. The 7D manual specifically says that it's not waterproof.
Click to expand...

The 1-series is about the most waterproofed dSLR camera on the market. If it needs to take a long dive there are these aquatic housings...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top