Quick question for those of you who live/shoot frequently on a beach (or any grainy environment) - do you worry about taking non-weather sealed lenses out onto a beach in normal (windy) weather? I am trying to switch to shooting primarily with 35L and 85L but have major reservations about using non-sealed gear on the beach with sand being kicked up in the wind frequently.
By experience, yes - I would be worried.
After a couple of desert trips I have had noticeable sand inside 2 of my lenses - you could feel the sand grinding when zooming/focusing. These were the 24-105L (being an extending lens I can see where the sand is coming in...), but also the 17-40L which is supposedly weather sealed with a filter, and has no moving external parts. Total bill for cleaning and changing a damaged part was in the range of 400 EUR...
In conclusion I'd recommend that you take all possible precautions (limit changing lenses, eventually put a plastic bag or similar over the camera and lens etc....). Having said all that I do believe that in general there is a lot less sand in the air on a beach than in a desert.
I worry as much or more about salt spray from the ocean when shooting at the beach. Based on experience with underwater cameras the problem isn't the seals not stopping the moisture but rather the dried salt spray and sand that would build up around the seals. So you might want to send the lenses in to Canon periodically for disassembly and cleaning.
Been there done that. If there is wind, then there is airborn sand. And that will stick to your lens and camera even if you can't see it. My camera was never really the problem, its the motion of the lens barrel that will cause sand to work its way in.
And salt spray will cover the front element so don't leave it on there for long.
kezeka wrote:
Quick question for those of you who live/shoot frequently on a beach (or any grainy environment) - do you worry about taking non-weather sealed lenses out onto a beach in normal (windy) weather? I am trying to switch to shooting primarily with 35L and 85L but have major reservations about using non-sealed gear on the beach with sand being kicked up in the wind frequently.
Living within an hour of the Pacific Coast, I shoot in such areas frequently. (I also photograph regularly in Death Valley, another place with sand and dust potential.) I do not use a sealed body and I never use protective filters. I so use reasonable care and caution, for example keeping the lens cap on when not shooting.
I use a t-shirt or a rag over the camera and lens whenever shooting on the beach if its windy. I wrap it a bit and put my hand over it. After use I air spray (gently) my gear and wipe it down if its necessary. If I have to change lenses I go away from immediate the coast and do it, preferable inside my car.
I avoid places with onshore winds and heavy surf, those conditions create a salt spray cloud that is terrible for any gear and even your vehicle.
I shoot on and near the beach everyday and none of my cameras have suffered serious problems. Just don't change lenses on the beach and, during big wave season, use a UV filter to protect the front element from salt spray. It's difficult to clean crystallized salt from the front element but easy to rinse and pat dry a filter. I also keep gear in the bag when not shooting and wipe off the salt spray with a damp cloth after the shoot. If I have to leave it on a tripod all day, I keep it covered with a white hand towel to keep it from baking in the tropical sun.
with the lens a uv filter will take care of the front. the other area is the gap between the edges of the focus ring. I made these wide fabric elastic bands that completely cover the rings and gaps. they're snug, but not so much that you can't easily turn the ring.
if you PM me your address I'll mail you like 12" of the stuff and you can try it
I don't go to the beach that much but being in Australia with some of the best beaches in the world, I can't help but go occasionally.
When I do go, I use a circular polariser filter instead of UV filter. I don't shoot sport so 1/250s speed that I get is more than enough. My old 450D (XSi) is still working fine, and so is the Tamron 17-50mm lens.
When it does get windy, I just use a clear ziplock bag, make a hole on one end and tie it up with rubber band over the lens.
I wipe the lens and camera when I get home and if I spot any sand, I just use a can of compressed air to blow it out. No worries aye.
So long as you don't do something stupid like burying it in the sand or dunking it in the ocean, you will be fine. Your camera is far more durable than you might think.
gdanmitchell wrote:
Living within an hour of the Pacific Coast, I shoot in such areas frequently. (I also photograph regularly in Death Valley, another place with sand and dust potential.) I do not use a sealed body and I never use protective filters. I so use reasonable care and caution, for example keeping the lens cap on when not shooting.
Dan
WoW Dan I agree with you.....100%.....and you said it in less then a page I live on a barrier island in the Atlantic. I pretty much shoot on the beach or near water almost daily......I don't worry about it much. Just use common sense.....I always have a clean lens cloth and a dry cotton cloth....old soft T-shirt works great...to wipe off any mist or salt dew. If the waves are big or it is stormy and I'm in close I do use a filter.....which means a lot of salt mist on the front element....a lot of wiping and I can just do it with old T-shirt and not worry about scratching.
But if you drop it in the water or roll it around in the sand you are going to have trouble sealed or not.......
Good to hear from those of you who shoot in this a lot. Sounds like I am doing plenty just leaving my B+W MRC filters on the front of my lenses and avoiding any direct contact with sand/sea. I almost always clean the filters within a day or two with alcohol and a lens cloth as well as wiping down the lenses if I see anything or feel anything out of the usual.
Looking forward to seeing a picture of Goosemang's solution to sealing the zoom/focus rings too.
It tends to be a worse problem on the East Coast. In CA the air tends to not be all that laden with salt spray. You can walk around all day long and it you don't know you are even at the shore. Walk around the Jersey Shore and on many days, even walking well away from the ocean, it won't talk long before you start feeling even yourself getting coated with salt. On some days you park your car and come back and hour later and you can't even see out of the front windshield. Never had that happen out in CA. Mostly it all just wipes off, but even with L lenses that are sealed, sometimes it can work its way undernearth the focus or zoom rings and it might sound a bit grindy for the next month or two if you were out on some particularly bad days for an extended time.
If you shoot enough in these environments you'll get grit inside your camera and lenses. They will need to be sent to Canon for servicing. Using a protection filter will allow you to keep from having to continually clean the front element which will not only get a build up of fine spray, but also fine sand which will scratch the surface if you are not extremely careful.
Changing lenses in these environments should be rare and done with care using your body to block the spray and blowing sand.
I've had a 24-105 and a 24tse lens needing to be sent to Canon for a sand cleaning after a 3 week venture through Arizona where I encountered blowing sand just about every day.
gdanmitchell wrote:
You'll feel the salt build up on west coast beaches as well. I've shot on both coasts and in this regard it is difficult to generalize a difference.
Dan
I guess you can, but all I know is virtually every single time I go to the Jersey Shore I feel salt build up, hair gets all salt coated, etc. and on many days it takes as little as 35 minutes, that is average. Walking about SoCal it has not happened to me once that way, even running around beaches all day long. Once up farther north, near Heart Castle area, on a super windy day I had a bit of salt build-up but that was an extreme day.
Surf shooting last Sept in Jersey was pretty brutal, so windy, every lens acted like a soft focus lens after every ten minutes without cleaining. I turned my 300 away from the wind every chance I got.
skibum5 wrote:
I guess you can, but all I know is virtually every single time I go to the Jersey Shore I feel salt build up, hair gets all salt coated, etc. and on many days it takes as little as 35 minutes, that is average. Walking about SoCal it has not happened to me once that way, even running around beaches all day long. Once up farther north, near Heart Castle area, on a super windy day I had a bit of salt build-up but that was an extreme day.
Surf shooting last Sept in Jersey was pretty brutal, so windy, every lens acted like a soft focus lens after every ten minutes without cleaning. I turned my 300 away from the wind every chance I got. ...Show more →
That is why I use a filter when shooting around large surf ....a lot of mist and salt....Then I can just use the T-shirt wipe....and often...unless you really like that soft focus look. I guess that would be hard to do with a 300 though. But I know a guy around here that just does the T-shirt wipe on his 300 all the time. It doesn't look bad either. He says if it gets scratched he will just get the front element replaced.
The island I live on is 30 miles off the North Carolina mainland.......when it is stormy and the humidity is high salt is everywhere. Much worse then NJ......But I still say if you use common sense and always have clean dry things to wipe with....and do it....it really isn't a problem. I never even use a filter unless I am right in blowing sand and spray.
These things we talk about in this forum are all well made tools and most problems you see are from doing something dumb. So use common sense and go out on the beach and shoot. If you have a habit of doing dumb things get an insurance policy.....but get out and use your camers.....
Could well be a SoCal thing. I shoot down there much less often than along the Central and Northern California coast. Pointing the lens away from the spray is always a good idea, as is putting the lens cap back on.
Dan
skibum5 wrote:
I guess you can, but all I know is virtually every single time I go to the Jersey Shore I feel salt build up, hair gets all salt coated, etc. and on many days it takes as little as 35 minutes, that is average. Walking about SoCal it has not happened to me once that way, even running around beaches all day long. Once up farther north, near Heart Castle area, on a super windy day I had a bit of salt build-up but that was an extreme day.
Surf shooting last Sept in Jersey was pretty brutal, so windy, every lens acted like a soft focus lens after every ten minutes without cleaining. I turned my 300 away from the wind every chance I got. ...Show more →
I live on a barrier island in the Atlantic. I pretty much shoot on the beach or near water almost daily......I don't worry about it much. Just use common sense.....I always have a clean lens cloth and a dry cotton cloth....old soft T-shirt works great...to wipe off any mist or salt dew. If the waves are big or it is stormy and I'm in close I do use a filter.....which means a lot of salt mist on the front element....a lot of wiping and I can just do it with old T-shirt and not worry about scratching. 