How weatherproof are your camera and lenses?

Categories: Tips and Advice - Tags: Camera, Flash, Lens

It’s only a drop of rain

Canon has made statements in it’s press releases about weatherproof seals on many of the mid-range cameras such as the EOS 7D and EOS 5D Mark II. For a long time the gold standard for weatherproofing has been the EOS-1D series models that are designed to stand the rigours of working professionals who can’t go home because of a bit of inclement weather. Have you ever wondered about where the weak points are in your camera?

Just yesterday I was shooting at the start of the Gumball 3000 rally in central London. Grey skies and a lack of sunshine were the order of the morning, but as the start time of twelve noon approached the heavens opened and even the celebrities like David Hasselhoff had to just brave the weather. For photographers in the press pen the same story. Due to the nature of the Gumball 3000 rally, many people were shooting video clips using EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D cameras alongside EOS-1D Mark III/IV bodies. Whilst it might not have ‘Hassled the Hoff’ the pictures show it was raining pretty hard. Worse for the photographers was that the rain kept on getting heavier then easing, then sunny, then heavy rain again. Continual repeated drenching of kit is a recipe for problems. Photographers also complain of repeated drenchings too.

EOS 7D and EOS 5D Mark II

EOS 7D bodies held up well, though on checking later there had been some water ingress around the battery door on the battery grip. Also the top of the battery grip and the base of the camera were wet, capilliary action obviously drawing the water between the two. But that was it. The camera still worked fine and with a clean of the LCD and eyepeice is ready to go again.

A lens hood also keeps the rain drops off the front element of your lenses

Pro-grade L-series lenses have had weather seals for some time, and again the regular collection of EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM and EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM all just kept on working fine. Water was running off the ends of the lens hoods in a stream, as if I had put the camera under a tap. Even the Speedlite 580EX II with a CP-E4 battery pack didn’t get fried or electrocute a photographer. In fact the only lens that stopped working was an EF 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro lens, it wouldn’t AF, you couldn’t change the aperture and the camera kept showing lens communication errors. A night of drying out and the lens is fine and working again.

So I would suggest that the cameras like the EOS 7D and EOS 5D Mark II are indeed very resilient to water, but you might want to consider the lenses you are using. Certainly inexpensive kit lenses like the EF-S 18-55mm won’t like rain, but professional L series models and Speedlite 580EX II flashes just keep on working.

EOS-1D series

Oh the 1-series bodies, no problems whatsoever. In fact in the past I’ve washed a mud covered EOS-1D Mark III off with a bottle of mineral water. It was in a rally stage and a passing car threw a whole cloud of mud and stones over me and the camera. I used the camera all day for the rest of the day in the rain with no troubles or water ingress.

Got a story about your kit working in poor weather, share it in the comments