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#1
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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