Weather sealing - why bother?

KIPAX said:
I have pro cameras.. canon 1dx and a canon mkIV .

The two cameras with a canon 70-200 mkII 2.8 and 400m 2.8 prime total cost to me around 15 thousand pounds (plus)

for my job I have to sit in pouring rain for 2 hrs at a time with both cameras and lens..or maybe just showers..


Guess what? ..thats +15k of equipment.. not only am I not going to rely on weather seal.. I am also not going to rely on a plastic bag either.. when it rains I put thinktank rain covers on.. I wear wet gear.. after 2 hrs of bad weather I go back to my car.. I am bone dry and so is my equipment..

Wether seal for me is backup....

Can anyone tell me one good reason why you wouldnt just use a rain cover when it rains?
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Can't think of one,also if your working you just can't say sorry no photos it was raining.
To me it's seem a big thing,maybe it's alway been,that people buy their gear then are afraid to use it,I know I have been their myself.
Been so much more carful with my stuff now that when I was a pro.

:)
 
W44NNE said:
Most people wear a waterproof watch, even if it's just splashproof. However, most people don't get their watch wet every single day. I don't see how anyone could actually complain about weather sealing like the OP is... I suppose he must drive a convertible with no roof at all too?

I would think weather sealing is a major benefit... especially if the weather is as it as whilst typing this!! :D
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Perhaps the OP isn't complaining about weather sealing at all, but discussing the need for it. All lower end cameras and plenty of mid-range models don't have it, and since there has not been a public outcry about the cameras failing en masse at the first sign of moisture one might assume it to be non-essential in many circumstances. Of course it's a benefit, but how much of one is what we're trying to discuss. :shrug:
 
ancient_mariner said:
Perhaps the OP isn't complaining about weather sealing at all, but discussing the need for it. All lower end cameras and plenty of mid-range models don't have it, and since there has not been a public outcry about the cameras failing en masse at the first sign of moisture one might assume it to be non-essential in many circumstances. Of course it's a benefit, but how much of one is what we're trying to discuss. :shrug:
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....That's how I interpret the OP too.

I think it's safe to say that all cameras are weather RESISTANT and that the professional ones are weather SEALED where 'sealed' results in being waterproof but probably not if taken actually underwater.

Don't forget that manufacturers have to include the CYA factor - Cover Your Arse, or rather Cover Their Arses, and consequently choose their words carefully to meet legal trade description requirements.

It's a bit like some ceramic plant pots being labelled as truly Frostproof or merely Frost Resistant depending on the strength of the frost they are subjected to. Same with watches regarding water.

We all want reliable weatherproof camera gear but it costs more to build to that standard.

Whether we are professionals or amateurs, we should all have respect for and consequently take a degree of care to protect our cameras - They are precison instruments.
 
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I was thinking about this while driving back from work, and remembering that when I started very, very few cameras had any kind of weather sealing: the Canon T90 and the Minolta 9000 are the 2 I remember, possibly the Nikon FE2 and FM2 as well. I suspect there are a lot of still functioning 35mm cameras around that have been taken out on damp days.

So essential kit if you're a pro, but just desirable if you're not.
 
When you make a living from the camera sometimes you just have to get the shots and getting out of the rain isn't an option

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what you also have to remember is depending where you stay you may see more rain than some parts of the uk like us scots we see a lot of rain and a lot of times cant avoid getting our camera gear wet, so its better to have some form of protection than none at all
 
^^^^
Those are great shots, dod :thumbs:

I have spent many hours with horses.
 
RedRobin said:
I think it's safe to say that all cameras are weather RESISTANT and that the professional ones are weather SEALED where 'sealed' results in being waterproof but probably not if taken actually underwater.
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I must admit to being quite impressed by this demo of the weather seals on the Olympus OM-D E-M1 (at 5:10 in the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=N9Omqui0SoI#t=311

That's far more of a dunking than I would ever dare with any of my current kit. :D
 
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I've seen video demo's of Canon L lenses being subjected to a hosepipe water jet.
 
I'd put weather sealing near the top of my list of wants every time.

Thankfully, I've had few camera faiures over the years; the old D60/10D/20D/30D/40D bodies I used to us were certainly not pro spec and I doubt the whether canon actually included it in those bodies. But they lasted in all temperatures and all conditions. A few suffered faults that *could* have been associated with weather damage (shutter mechanism failure, LCD ingress) but on the whole, the seemed to last.

I moved to Nikon and have had weathersealing on all the bodies I owned to some degree or other. The D2x bodies I had would handle anything, absolutely anything that was thrown at them and to be honest, with my D7000s, I've never felt at risk. In a general consumer camera, that is one hell of an enviable feature, a feature that I'd happily trade off 1fps or a few 'techy' features for.

There's the weak link of the lens mounts when not always using sealed lenses (if in fact the seals actually do improve the weatherselaing) but that aside, I've never once felt when using Nikon, that the body has been at immenent risk. That is reassurance that is priceless
 
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In the next few weeks I'll be getting a Canon 70D with a Canon L (weather sealed) lens. The 70D isn't weather sealed like Canon's 'pro' bodies but it offers all the features I want and so I'll just have to take care and suffer the consequences.

Provision of some kind of waterproof cover should suffice.
 
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