Just wondering if anyone can point me to published (in print or on the web) weather sealing specs for the 5DmkII.
No, I didn't break mine! But, winter is coming, and we had two days of light rain, wind, and fog here in Texas in the past week and I'd like to get over the feeling that I can't go outside with my 5D2 when this is occurring.
It's the ONLY thing I miss with regards to my previous Nikon D700...I wasn't as gun-shy about taking it out in inclement weather (no pouring rain showers...just non-"sunny-16" days).
I don't have any document to help you, but I'll say this.. I've shot in rain, snow, sleet, etc.. with my 5D2 for over 2 years now.. never had any issues.
Don't be stupid with it, but don't worry about basic rain water, etc.. your camera won't melt.
Thanks for the reply Todd. Pretty basic common sense, I guess.
During my Google search, I came across an over-two year old thread at DP Review about 5DmkII failures in Antarctica. I'm trying to read between the lines (there is a lot of emotion on that particular thread). I won't be trampling through the rain forests of Borneo, but I see a variety of conditions. In fact, later this summer here in Texas I worried about the mkII in the 109F heat (the black body got very hot while shooting outdoors). Nothing bad happened, but it didn't stop me from worrying. I won't even mention the dust involved.
Soon it will be sleet/ice pellet/snow season in North Texas, and that stuff melts into water immediately after landing on the camera. Trying to be prepared...the idea of a fair-weather camera is a total waste...
I hate to say it, but last winter I did exactly the same kind of shooting I anticipate this winter with a D700, and I didn't do anything different procedurally...no problems at all.
Maybe I'm just looking for a boogeyman that doesn't exist. Like anything, you've got to test your equipment to trust it...that's hard to swallow with a big-ticket item though.
I came into little rain some dozend - in stronger ones a couple of times the last 2,5 years.
Never any problem occured with my 5D II. I shot with Ls. The camera gets along with more then people might guess because of all this "not sealed body" discussions.
Of course there is nothing garantied. Toitoitoi for the future.
David_Manning wrote:
Thanks for the reply Todd. Pretty basic common sense, I guess.
During my Google search, I came across an over-two year old thread at DP Review about 5DmkII failures in Antarctica. I'm trying to read between the lines (there is a lot of emotion on that particular thread). I won't be trampling through the rain forests of Borneo, but I see a variety of conditions. In fact, later this summer here in Texas I worried about the mkII in the 109F heat (the black body got very hot while shooting outdoors). Nothing bad happened, but it didn't stop me from worrying. I won't even mention the dust involved.
Soon it will be sleet/ice pellet/snow season in North Texas, and that stuff melts into water immediately after landing on the camera. Trying to be prepared...the idea of a fair-weather camera is a total waste......Show more →
Dude. Just shoot.
I've shot every camera I owned (including a 5D2) in just about every condition. I've shot many weddings here in Arizona summers - 115 degree heat for 8 hours - sometimes even doing video. I've also shot POURING rain, the kind where you walk inside and it looks like you just jumped in the pool. I've even sent one rolling down a snowy mountain, non-intentionally of course.
Now I would never recommend you actually do any of these things, but my point is that I have and I've never had an issue.
Just so you know, I am in Dallas, TX... so I can relate to your harsh conditions. As I said, I've shot here in TX in extreme heat(all summer long!) super cold, sleet storm last year, thunderstorms etc.. in fact, I often chase thunderstorms for shots, so I'm in it a lot.
As someone suggested though, it's good to know how to minimize condensation when going from hot to cold and vice versa. That IS something you need to concern with.
I brought my 5D MKII to Disney Paris in April and on one of the evenings we got soaked to the skin, I had my camera with a 24-105 over my back for approx 20 mins in the heavy rain, when I put the camera down after we reached shelter it dripped water but didn't skip a beat. It's by no means the only time it's gotten wet but probably the worst drowning it's got.
Philip
You like those anecdotes? Here is another one:
I forgot my EOS D60 overnight on a desk next to a fireplace we left at 3 o clock in the morning because it started to rain. I woke up at 7 in the morning thinking about I had forgotten something ...
When I ran out and put the camera it was completly wet from in and outside. There was water in the lens! I opened everything put the grip off and let it dry for 48 hours.
The Camera worked for another 8 month before the shutter broke after 110.000 releases (the D60 was made vor 60.000 as far I remember).
When in doubt, just use a rain cover. Or even a plastic bag. It doesn't take much to stop your gear from getting wet. It's not like you're submerging it.
I've used my 7D in rainy weather @5C, and my 5D2 in Vic falls with a slight rain cover. Both performed admirably.
I think their weather sealing is more similar than it is different, and the only thing I wouldn't do is put the grip on for inclement shooting.
I took apart a BG-E6 and it has no sealing that I could see, and the grip connectors protrude into the battery compartment and make the camera more vulnerable to water ingress, imho.
The 5D2s that failed in Antarctica were all gripped. I just leafed through Sebastian Copeland's book "Antarctica: The Global Warning" and he used a 5D2. His comment was that it worked spectacularly well.
Just remember regardless of weather sealing or not, always dry your camera when possible, don't expose it to salt water or salt spray for minutes on end, and never let a cold camera condense water in a warm room.
Soon after I got mine I was out in the rain shooting a bike race, along with my 5D, which isn't sealed but I have had in horrible condition of rain and dust and it has done fine. On that day the 5DII fogged up and the LCD went out. The 5D, which received identical treatment was totally fine. I sent the 5DII in and told them what had happened and that it seemed the II had no weather sealing at all. The camera was repaired, the LCD replaced but I don't trust the camera like I thought I could. I just spent over a year in the second wettest place on earth and it did ok, though I did have to send it in once but it came back and this time, it seems to have weathered everything fine.
So there you go. In my experience, the 5D is as good as the 5DII in sealing, even though the 5D isn't weather sealed. The 7D also got a lot of rain in Micronesia and did just fine.
It is essentially unsealed. A look at the CF compartment is all you need to look at to determine this. There is porous foam rubber that is suppose to protect that large body opening --- hardly a seal. Treat it like a laptop with a lens mount.
Wow, Ben...that was the answer I was hoping NOT to see.
I shoot a Fuji X100 as a compact street camera, and I treat IT like it was a laptop. I was hoping not to have to treat a 5D2 quite like that. After all, it's built with outdoor usage in mind.
