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#1
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
I've had a lot of digital cameras out in pretty rough weather, and
it's never given me any trouble. It seems like now that megapixels are starting to level off a bit manufacturers are using more ruggedized bodies to differentiate their stuff. I'm curious, what kind of weather does it take to destroy a camera? A sand-storm in the desert? Now I wouldn't go tempting fate, dive with the camera and no housing, or anything like that. But I've stumbled over the leg of my tripod, and sent my D60 crashing down into wet grass in the middle of the night, and had my 5D out in snow storms, just covered in melting snow. Maybe I'm abusive, but some of my best landscapes have been on trips with questionable weather ... with some luck and a good vantage point, it adds a lot of drama. It also seems like the cameras are better at taking this kind of abuse than we tend to think. The worst that's ever happened was with an Olympus digital point and shoot, out in a blizzard, and the batteries went flat after about three exposures. Once they warmed up they could power the camera again. http://forrestcroce.com/Photos/StormNearTiogaPass.html http://forrestcroce.com/Photos/Snowf...almiePass.html In both of these, you can see snow melting on the lens. It was coming down too fast to keep the optics clean. So, I'm curious if other people have had the same experience, or if I'm just really lucky. And if anybody happens to know just where the line is between what you can get away with putting a d-SLR through and what not to risk, I'd love to hear it. |
#2
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
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#4
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
wrote:
I've had a lot of digital cameras out in pretty rough weather, and it's never given me any trouble. It seems like now that megapixels are starting to level off a bit manufacturers are using more ruggedized bodies to differentiate their stuff. I'm curious, what kind of weather does it take to destroy a camera? A sand-storm in the desert? Now I wouldn't go tempting fate, dive with the camera and no housing, or anything like that. But I've stumbled over the leg of my tripod, and sent my D60 crashing down into wet grass in the middle of the night, and had my 5D out in snow storms, just covered in melting snow. Maybe I'm abusive, but some of my best landscapes have been on trips with questionable weather ... with some luck and a good vantage point, it adds a lot of drama. It also seems like the cameras are better at taking this kind of abuse than we tend to think. The worst that's ever happened was with an Olympus digital point and shoot, out in a blizzard, and the batteries went flat after about three exposures. Once they warmed up they could power the camera again. http://forrestcroce.com/Photos/StormNearTiogaPass.html http://forrestcroce.com/Photos/Snowf...almiePass.html In both of these, you can see snow melting on the lens. It was coming down too fast to keep the optics clean. So, I'm curious if other people have had the same experience, or if I'm just really lucky. And if anybody happens to know just where the line is between what you can get away with putting a d-SLR through and what not to risk, I'd love to hear it. I can't speak to where the line is, and it probably depends a lot on the camera (amateur/advanced amateur/pro) body, and its history. I generally us tenba rain covers on my cameras and lenses in heavy rain, but in light rain I have never been concerned with getting a little water on my 1D Mark II and L lenses. I have worked in temperatures as low as about 5 degrees F with no problems. I also dropped the 1D II about a meter onto a rock in Australia, fortunately with no ill effects. Salt spray seems to be the worst for corroding parts and destroying optical coatings. I always use a UV filter on my lenses when working around salt spray near the ocean. But all the above experiences pale in comparison the beating gear takes on safari in Africa. A couple of weeks on dirt roads with your lens mounted on top the vehicle, feeling the pounding dirt road (when you have a road), or the pounding from driving through a forest off road (and I mean no road at all), or on the open Serengeti. Add in the dust factor and everything takes a beating. And I was lucky on the January trip: recent rains kept the dust factor down a little. I was constantly concerned with the pounding, but luckily no one in our group had permanent damage. We did have a few components stop working or sound strange (like the IS on a 500 mm lens) for short times. Roger http://www.clarkvision.com |
#5
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
On 2007-03-12 12:00:30 -0700, timeOday said:
C J Campbell wrote: On 2007-03-11 20:24:50 -0700, said: I've had a lot of digital cameras out in pretty rough weather, and it's never given me any trouble. It seems like now that megapixels are starting to level off a bit manufacturers are using more ruggedized bodies to differentiate their stuff. I'm curious, what kind of weather does it take to destroy a camera? A sand-storm in the desert? It depends. The Nikons in general can take a lot of abuse. However, they will eventually give up if you get them too wet or too hot or too dusty for too long. Lenses seem most sensitive to losing AF or VR when dropped; it takes a lot to knock a lens out of alignment, but it can be done. So, sandstorm in the desert might not be enough to knock it out. I have dropped my D70 off tables onto marble floors, dropped it on pavement from chest height, and used it outdoors during a category 4 typhoon. It has fallen forward on the tripod, smashing the front of the lens on a rock. It rolled with me when I fell into a construction trench. I carried it around for months on end unprotected in the trunk of my car in tropical heat. I took pictures with it on Hurricane Ridge during a snowstorm. I have had it hanging out the window of an airplane in the middle of winter. It survived. Crazy! My Canon AE-1 died with just the slightest bit of water 12 years ago, since then I'm very careful. I guess those old film cameras just weren't built to last like the new digital ones are :/ Well, it was a Canon, so who cares? :-) Seriously, some fantastic improvements have been made in sealing and ruggedness in the last five or six years, even in the film cameras. -- Waddling Eagle World Famous Flight Instructor |
#6
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
On 2007-03-13 07:40:50 -0700, Doug McDonald
said: Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark) wrote: But all the above experiences pale in comparison the beating gear takes on safari in Africa. Like having an elephant **** on your camera. I actually had this happen to my old Speed Graphic 4x5. It's better than sitting on it, I guess. Doug McDonald Man! That is adding insult to injury! -- Waddling Eagle World Famous Flight Instructor |
#7
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
On 2007-03-12 19:31:57 -0700, "Roger N. Clark (change username to
rnclark)" said: wrote: I've had a lot of digital cameras out in pretty rough weather, and it's never given me any trouble. It seems like now that megapixels are starting to level off a bit manufacturers are using more ruggedized bodies to differentiate their stuff. I'm curious, what kind of weather does it take to destroy a camera? A sand-storm in the desert? Now I wouldn't go tempting fate, dive with the camera and no housing, or anything like that. But I've stumbled over the leg of my tripod, and sent my D60 crashing down into wet grass in the middle of the night, and had my 5D out in snow storms, just covered in melting snow. Maybe I'm abusive, but some of my best landscapes have been on trips with questionable weather ... with some luck and a good vantage point, it adds a lot of drama. It also seems like the cameras are better at taking this kind of abuse than we tend to think. The worst that's ever happened was with an Olympus digital point and shoot, out in a blizzard, and the batteries went flat after about three exposures. Once they warmed up they could power the camera again. http://forrestcroce.com/Photos/StormNearTiogaPass.html http://forrestcroce.com/Photos/Snowf...almiePass.html In both of these, you can see snow melting on the lens. It was coming down too fast to keep the optics clean. So, I'm curious if other people have had the same experience, or if I'm just really lucky. And if anybody happens to know just where the line is between what you can get away with putting a d-SLR through and what not to risk, I'd love to hear it. I can't speak to where the line is, and it probably depends a lot on the camera (amateur/advanced amateur/pro) body, and its history. I generally us tenba rain covers on my cameras and lenses in heavy rain, but in light rain I have never been concerned with getting a little water on my 1D Mark II and L lenses. I have worked in temperatures as low as about 5 degrees F with no problems. I also dropped the 1D II about a meter onto a rock in Australia, fortunately with no ill effects. Salt spray seems to be the worst for corroding parts and destroying optical coatings. I always use a UV filter on my lenses when working around salt spray near the ocean. But all the above experiences pale in comparison the beating gear takes on safari in Africa. A couple of weeks on dirt roads with your lens mounted on top the vehicle, feeling the pounding dirt road (when you have a road), or the pounding from driving through a forest off road (and I mean no road at all), or on the open Serengeti. Add in the dust factor and everything takes a beating. And I was lucky on the January trip: recent rains kept the dust factor down a little. I was constantly concerned with the pounding, but luckily no one in our group had permanent damage. We did have a few components stop working or sound strange (like the IS on a 500 mm lens) for short times. Roger http://www.clarkvision.com Salt spray, fine sand, and dust seem to do the most damage, that's for sure. I was out taking pictures of blowing sand streams on a beach during a typhoon in Aparri, Philippines, and despite all kinds of care to keep the camera protected I still got sticky sand all over it. Took me hours to gently clean it off. But to me, the camera is a tool for taking pictures. While not exactly disposable, I would be willing to sacrifice it for a single great shot. -- Waddling Eagle World Famous Flight Instructor |
#8
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark) wrote:
But all the above experiences pale in comparison the beating gear takes on safari in Africa. Like having an elephant **** on your camera. I actually had this happen to my old Speed Graphic 4x5. It's better than sitting on it, I guess. Doug McDonald |
#9
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
Il 13/03/2007 15:40, Doug McDonald dixit:
Like having an elephant **** on your camera. I actually had this happen to my old Speed Graphic 4x5. It's better than sitting on it, I guess. This is one of the most amazing stories I ever heard about photography! It seems a lost Hemingway's page... Please, can you tell us more? Cyrus (the /curious/ virus) |
#10
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Snow/rain on the lens and weather sealing
"C J Campbell" wrote in message
news:2007031307033482327-christophercampbell@hotmailcom... On 2007-03-12 12:00:30 -0700, timeOday said: [SNIP] My Canon AE-1 died with just the slightest bit of water 12 years ago, since then I'm very careful. I guess those old film cameras just weren't built to last like the new digital ones are :/ Well, it was a Canon, so who cares? :-) Seriously, some fantastic improvements have been made in sealing and ruggedness in the last five or six years, even in the film cameras. Not just the last five or six years. Think of the sealing on the Pentax LX body. Mine have endured some very heavy rain on occasion and no problems at all. Come to that, so has a current MZ-s, and years ago my ancient Pentax Spotmatics coped surprisingly well with sandstorms. The reason the Canon AE1 gave out is probably not because film cameras of that age couldn't be sealed as well as current digital bodies, and certainly not because they are more susceptible to damage once water gets in - the reverse is the case - but because the AE1 was only ever an amateur body and moisture seals just didn't fit within the target price range. Peter |
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