Up until recently I have had a 5D and 20D, and when it started to rain I would immediately put the camera away for fear of damaging it.
I now have a 1D Mark II and know it is supposed to be weather sealed. I would really like to shoot a couple of sporting events in the rain for practice but am still conditioned not to get the camera wet.
Do I need to cover the 1D Mark II in the rain? I will be using a 70-200 2.8IS attached to it, so I think I will have weather sealing on everything I am using. Since I live near Seattle I think I need to know about shooting in damp conditions :-).
Any advice or suggestions on how to protect my gear in bad weather would be appreciated.
I would always cover my equipment, taking unnecessary chances can lead to destruction. That said if you are caught out in the rain wipe your stuff down as soon as possible. That combo should be fine, some may say that is not necessary but, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Some say that's what insurance is for YMMV
I found myself in a similar position as you! I previously had a 5D and 20D, but recently got an EOS 3 (which is weather sealed). I took it out to Yosemite for a bit of winter shooting and despite the heavy snow, I still found myself covering the camera whenever I could.
Jarvis' advice is sound! I would do all that I can to treat my equipment well. If you find yourself in a sudden down pour and can't cover your equipment, it still is reassuring that your body and lenses are weather-sealed (keyword: NOT weather-PROOF! )
I've rinsed sand out of my 1d III in the shower and she still works great. I've also taken my 20d and 5d into light rain with zero problems. Yeah it may be risky, but I bought my gear to use it, not so it can sit inside.
Back when I was using a 10D and my 70-200 F/4 I had it out in light rain with no problems...i think all canon cameras are more durable than we think...
Assuming your lens has the rubber weather gasket and you're not soaking the 1D in a downpour, then you should be OK. However, it would be prudent to protect your gear from inclement weather just for the potential of any of your camera's seals failing at some point. More importantly is to avoid condensation from going into a cold room from a hot and humid environment; internal moisture can kill a camera in short order.
I've seen pros cover their gear with whatever supermarket plastic bag they have around in a downpour. Of course, that may prove more tricky now so many cities are banning them.
You can also get little camera umbrellas if you're gonna be using a tripod.
Watching the pros at a football (soccer) game during particularly heavy downpour I noticed that most of em covered their body and the rear part of the lens with a towel but carried on shooting.
It was really bucketing down though so those towels weren't gonna keep the cameras totally dry. I guess they keep the worst out though and the rest is down to the weather sealing.
Having just come home from shooting a triathlon in the rain I would say the MKII is pretty well weather sealed. I had mine out with the 70-700 attached for about 15 mins in heavyish rain (enough to make me damp but not soaked through) I then out it into a garbage bag.
When using my 17-40mm I have a coat I made myself. Have been in pissing down rain shooting from the back of a motor bike and all was dry at the end of the day.
)