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  #1  
Old July 20th 06, 05:34 AM posted to rec.photo.digital
RobJ
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Posts: 5
Default weather seals

I'm getting more and more into photography, especially nature and macro
stuff, and would like to start planning some camping/hiking trips where I
can take my gear (currently a 10D and a mixture of Canon and Tamron lenses).
I'm happy with the 10D, but have never tried to use it in bad weather. I
just avoid it.

How do other people with non-sealed DSLRs (and lenses) deal with bad weather
conditions, particularly rain and dust? Do you avoid it completely, or are
there ways to make it work without damaging anything? I can afford a 1D
series camera and L lenses if I have to, but I don't want to heft around
that extra weight and spend the extra cash unless it's going to make my life
a lot easier on the trail. Is the pro gear completely bullet-proof, or is
there really only a marginal difference between what the pro stuff can
handle vs. the 10D/20D/30D kind of gear under harsh conditions?

Thanks,
Rob


  #2  
Old July 20th 06, 01:08 PM posted to rec.photo.digital
m Ransley
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Posts: 121
Default weather seals

I didnt know the pro gear was bulletproof. To shoot in rain you need a
waterproof camera unless you dont care about possibly ruining it.

  #3  
Old July 20th 06, 04:07 PM posted to rec.photo.digital
Bill Hilton
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Posts: 244
Default weather seals

RobJ wrote:
How do other people with non-sealed DSLRs (and lenses) deal with bad
weather conditions, particularly rain and dust?


I used to hike a lot in the Grand Canyon with medium format gear and
used two "dry bags" to carry it. These are what we use on river
running trips, rubberized bags that seal up pretty well. They are not
totally waterproof if submerged for a long time but are very
water-resistant and kept out sweat, rain and dust on over 1,000 miles
of GC hikes. You can buy them at most sporting goods stores like REI
in various sizes, the ones that look like they hold a loaf of bread are
about right and go for maybe $10-12 each ... these are for carrying the
gear, you need something different for protecting gear if you're trying
to actually shoot in rain.

Is the pro gear (1D) completely bullet-proof, or is
there really only a marginal difference between what the pro stuff can
handle vs. the 10D/20D/30D kind of gear under harsh conditions?


If you're talking about shooting in light rain, you have the wrong
lenses for it. The more recent Canon L series lenses have gaskets over
switches and at the lens mount so if you use these with a 1D class body
(which also has gaskets) you can shoot in light rain for hours, though
I try to keep a cover over the gear as much as possible. One problem
with both rain and dust is changing lenses since moisture or dust can
get in then.

Here's a shot from Alaska of two bears rasslin' in the rain (note the
drops hitting the water) ...
http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/bear_D3037.jpg ... on a week-long
camping trip it rained some every day and for 4 days it rained like
this or much harder most of the time (the campground flooded). I was
shooting a 1Ds and a 1D M II and the guy I was with had two Nikon D2x's
and one of his D2x's died after three days, so he quit shooting in the
rain ... but all my lenses had gaskets too. I would prefer not to
shoot in rain or dust but sometimes you have no choice, especially with
rain in Alaska and dust in Africa. We had fearful dust in Tanzania in
January and appreciated the 1D bodies (though we did have one backup
10D on that trip and it didn't die ... didn't get used much, but it
didn't freeze up from the choking dust).

If I were you I'd keep what I had until you're able to upgrade the
lenses as well since you won't be able to shoot long stretches in the
rain without the lenses with gaskets, I feel.

Bill

  #4  
Old July 20th 06, 07:10 PM posted to rec.photo.digital
RobJ
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Posts: 5
Default weather seals

Thanks very much for the reply and the information. I do have one 'L' lens -
the 70-200 f/4. I'll build on that over time.

Rob


  #5  
Old July 20th 06, 07:14 PM posted to rec.photo.digital
Bill Hilton
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Posts: 244
Default weather seals

RobJ wrote:
Thanks very much for the reply and the information. I do have one 'L' lens -
the 70-200 f/4. I'll build on that over time.



I'm pretty sure the f/4 L doesn't have the sealing gaskets ... the
f/2.8 L doesn't either, but the newer f/2.8 L IS does, so it's a fairly
recent modification.

  #6  
Old July 21st 06, 03:59 AM posted to rec.photo.digital
Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark)
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Posts: 1,818
Default weather seals

Bill Hilton wrote:
RobJ wrote:
How do other people with non-sealed DSLRs (and lenses) deal with bad
weather conditions, particularly rain and dust?



I used to hike a lot in the Grand Canyon with medium format gear and
used two "dry bags" to carry it. These are what we use on river
running trips, rubberized bags that seal up pretty well. They are not
totally waterproof if submerged for a long time but are very
water-resistant and kept out sweat, rain and dust on over 1,000 miles
of GC hikes. You can buy them at most sporting goods stores like REI
in various sizes, the ones that look like they hold a loaf of bread are
about right and go for maybe $10-12 each ... these are for carrying the
gear, you need something different for protecting gear if you're trying
to actually shoot in rain.


Is the pro gear (1D) completely bullet-proof, or is
there really only a marginal difference between what the pro stuff can
handle vs. the 10D/20D/30D kind of gear under harsh conditions?



If you're talking about shooting in light rain, you have the wrong
lenses for it. The more recent Canon L series lenses have gaskets over
switches and at the lens mount so if you use these with a 1D class body
(which also has gaskets) you can shoot in light rain for hours, though
I try to keep a cover over the gear as much as possible. One problem
with both rain and dust is changing lenses since moisture or dust can
get in then.

Here's a shot from Alaska of two bears rasslin' in the rain (note the
drops hitting the water) ...
http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/bear_D3037.jpg ... on a week-long
camping trip it rained some every day and for 4 days it rained like
this or much harder most of the time (the campground flooded). I was
shooting a 1Ds and a 1D M II and the guy I was with had two Nikon D2x's
and one of his D2x's died after three days, so he quit shooting in the
rain ... but all my lenses had gaskets too. I would prefer not to
shoot in rain or dust but sometimes you have no choice, especially with
rain in Alaska and dust in Africa. We had fearful dust in Tanzania in
January and appreciated the 1D bodies (though we did have one backup
10D on that trip and it didn't die ... didn't get used much, but it
didn't freeze up from the choking dust).

If I were you I'd keep what I had until you're able to upgrade the
lenses as well since you won't be able to shoot long stretches in the
rain without the lenses with gaskets, I feel.

Bill

Bill,
Great information, as usual. I'll add try getting
Tenba rain covers. Even though I have a 1D Mark II, and
L lenses, I'll still put on the tenba in the rain. It never
hurts to be doubly protected. The tenbas come in different
sizes, so you'll need to match it to your lens set.
I might try this in dusty environments too.

Bill, you have a 24-105 f/4 L IS, correct? Is that sealed?
After the rains here in Colorado while doing wildflower
photography, maybe I need to look into a sorter sealed
lens, than just my telephotos.

How do they seal the zoom function?

Roger
  #7  
Old July 21st 06, 03:39 PM posted to rec.photo.digital
Bill Hilton
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 244
Default weather seals

Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark) wrote:

Bill,
Great information, as usual. I'll add try getting
Tenba rain covers. Even though I have a 1D Mark II, and
L lenses, I'll still put on the tenba in the rain.


Hi Roger,

We have a Tenba and a Laird rain hood for the 500's but what worked
better was just a $12 rain poncho with bungee cords ... these hoods
keep slipping off and didn't cover as well when the wind was high, I
thought.

I might try this in dusty environments too.


The problem in Africa is you are driving around with the gear on top so
the wind keeps blowing covers off (or at least flapping loudly), even
with bungees ... we took duct tape last time, thinking we'd tape a
cover in place, but it wasn't dusty (rainy season) so we didn't try out
*that* theory yet. I think it will still be a problem with the
flapping.

Bill, you have a 24-105 f/4 L IS, correct? Is that sealed?


Yes, I got it for Africa and it has the gasket at the mount and
switches.

How do they seal the zoom function?


Good question, I dunno ... the rear element moves about 1 - 1.5" max
when you zoom so you know that's having a bellows effect on any dust in
the chamber. Didn't notice a problem with it but didn't use it that
much in Africa either.

After the rains here in Colorado while doing wildflower
photography, maybe I need to look into a shorter sealed
lens, than just my telephotos.


That one would do it I guess, though it's not a great lens optically
.... because the contrast is so low when it rains we almost never shoot
with a shorter lens ... at least with a longer lens you can get in
tight.

Bill

 




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