Rain cover for camera

photographyman

photographyman

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Hello,

What recommendations have you all got to keep my camera dry at the weekend.
I have a nikon d7000 and was toyin with the idea of just simply using plastic bags to cover the camera or should i buy a proper rain cover?????

I will be photographing possibly cricket on saturday and motocross on sunday.

Thanks in advance..
 
Op-tech rainsleeve from Amazon - cheap as chips and come in packs of two
 
very good raincover here.
from an ebay seller, (not me btw) check out: rainydays2008
they can tailor to suit your lens/ camera size.
I've had two covers from them.
 
fidofoto said:
very good raincover here.
from an ebay seller, (not me btw) check out: rainydays2008
they can tailor to suit your lens/ camera size.
I've had two covers from them.
Click to expand...

I got one of those and used it with my 550D with 70-300 for 2 years in some awful weather works a treat and cheap :thumbs:
 
Another for the Optech Rainsleeve. I Was at the Mcrae last year and it absolutely poured all day! and my gear was fine. Always keep a filter on as well as your lens-hood when it rains though... ( in my opinion )
 
I've always been torn about bothering with rain covers. I worked 3 years as a sports tog without ever using one on the 40d or 1dmk3 without a single issue. However after i watched lots of friends 50d's die at BTCC/Brands in 2011 i always used an Optech sleeve (kindly donated by Steve) without issue. However at Thruxton a few months back, my 7d wore an optech sleeve all weekend and just died. I think condensation inside the cover played a large part. I've decided to get a JJC cover specifically for the 70-200/300f4 and with an eye piece fitment and clear window. (these are the same ones you see Canon branded used by togs at the olympics etc..) It cost £18 and its very compact. I will see how i go with that and then decide what cover to get for the other camera. It won't be an optech however.
 
Thanks for the replies people. I did end up using a trusty asda bag, put a hole in the end for the lens and just wrapped the bag around the camera. There was enough air flowing through to hopefully stop condensation and minimal raindrops touched the camera...
 
Some things regarding the OpTech sleeves in case people find this thread in the future:
1) If you have your hand inside it the level of condensation that forms on the inside of the cover can be worse than the actual rainfall because they're not breathable like fabric waterproof stuff.
2) The viewfinder area isn't sealed and this seems to be the location of a sizeable gap in body of the Canon EOS 40D and possibly other cameras. I had a camera start playing up and I think this is where the water got in, I let it dry out for a few days and it's been okay since.
3) You can't really use your strap with them because it will lift the cover off the camera body and possibly rip the cover or pop the viewfinder eye cap off. If you let the strap hang instead it will soak water up and it'll make its way up the strap and inside the cover.
4) Seeing the screen is awkward at first and then becomes a nightmare as the plastic will cloud with repeat use.
5) Keeping the drawstring section in place can be awkward. For something with a big hood and no extending parts like a 70-200mm L it's fine (though I add elastic bands to be 100% sure it stays put) but when you're using a lens with a narrow hood and extending parts it can easily slide forwards and into shot or backwards and uncover the lens. And if you've got a really short lens there's a lot of plastic to bunch up.

On the plus side they're 100% waterproof because they're made of plastic (fabric ones might be "waterproof" by the standardised definition of waterproof but that doesn't mean they won't get totally soaked through), they're really cheap and they fold down really small/flat so you can keep them in your bag and forget they're there until you need them (there are four in my bag, two standard and two with the flash cover bit on top, but they take up pretty much no room at all).

Keep your hands on the outside and keep the viewfinder covered when you don't have the camera up to your eye and they should be fine in seriously heavy rain.
 
I bought a Think Tank Photo cover and it works extremely well. If its sunny it rolls up an ties on the lens hood but if it starts raining its very simple to undo and cover the whole outfit. It is made of a lightweight material but is pretty strong. It isn't the cheapest more middle of the range. It works for me at Phillip Island shooting the WSB and MotoGP. Aquatech is more expensive but the quality great the problem is you have to decide if you need it on before it rains because it is awkward to get on and you need put the cover over the lens and take the body off and connect it to the lens once this is covered. Check out the Hydrophobia at Think Tank Photo.
 
was using the rain sleeve for a while, but didnt really get on with it..
Got told that its better to just cover it in a chamois, so i did this weekend and it was much better.. also means you got something at hand to keep the glass clean too.
 
I bought a couple of the custom ones from here for my 7D / 150-500, 70-200. Kept everything dry so far :thumbs:
 
Also made my own, out of a UV filter, and a pair of waterproof trousers....worked a treat, until it got knicked along with the rest of my gear! Beware if you make your own, that you probably want it to go to the full extension of your lens - especially if you have a push pull zoom like I did on the 100-400! (you only make this mistake once, but it's blooming annoying!!
 
dunganick said:
I've decided to get a JJC cover specifically for the 70-200/300f4 and with an eye piece fitment and clear window. (these are the same ones you see Canon branded used by togs at the olympics etc..) It cost £18 and its very compact. I will see how i go with that and then decide what cover to get for the other camera. It won't be an optech however.
Click to expand...

I got the JJC cover after reading this and it seems a really good job so far!
 
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