These epic white-out conditions we're having here in Ontario have got me thinking. I'd like to hear about the craziest weather your various canon bodies and lenses have endured and lived to tell about it... or any tragic scenarios you lost a beloved piece of gear.
Please include:
1) camera and lens used
2) the type and severity of the weather (extreme cold / precipitation / heat / whatever)
3) did the equipment perform beyond manufacturer specifications or did it fail from getting sneezed on?
I once had a 20d fail during a really hot wedding shoot, I think my super sweaty forehead may have soaked into the power switch and caused it to behave erratically. It started working again at the air conditioned reception.
That same 20d went out in some crazy wind/rainstorms on the west coast in bc. I did use a garbage bag for protection but the camera and my 70-200 f4 L series lens still got pretty wet. I never had any problems that day.
I've never even batted an eye bringing any 1 series out in the snow / rain. Anyone have any issues? I'd love to hear some stories about the various 5d cameras as well... what they survived or what did them in. Hopefully through this discussion we can all get a better idea of what to reasonably expect from our gear.
Two years ago at the 24 Hours of Daytona, my friend and I were there shooting as usual, and right before the race it started TROPICAL DOWNPOURING and it continued for 3 hours. It rained so hard the race started under yellow and stayed that way for a few hours.
He was shooting with a rented 1D Mark 4 and 1D Mark II, and I was shooting with a 1D Mark III. He had a 24-105 and I mostly was using a 70-200 2.8 IS. We didn't have any rain gear and just hoped that everything was going to be ok, and it all was. We were shooting in the rain the WHOLE time.
I'm In western New York and have the whiteout conditions like you. I just went out for an hour with a 7D, and an 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS II. Was windy cleaned my gear for 20 mins when I got home because of the blowing snow. I would have used my 70-200 f/4 but I needed wide angle. Worked fine. Took it out to some train tracks and it survived the wind and snow blast of being 3 feet away from a freight train. I wasn't concerned about the 7D it was more the lens, since it's not weather sealed.
lucas lumiere wrote:
Wow that's one frosty looking camera! Was it still operational (if you could get the button pressed?)
Yes, it was completely operational. 1DII and (unsealed) Mamiya A 200/.2.8 APO lens. In fact, soon after taking that photo with an equally frosty 5D +135L, the 5D froze up (not a firmware issue) and the 1DII kept on working.
lucas lumiere wrote:
What kind of situation led to the 5d and 24-105 condensation failure?
I changed lenses in a very humid and warmish environment, at Calf Creek Falls, UT. Then we walked out (and down) as a thunderstorm rolled in. Long story short, the temperature dropped and the warm and humid air inside the camera and lens turned into fog.
I'm sensing a theme here. With 1 series you get what you pay for!
jcolwell,
Thanks for contributing your experiences.
I've never seen one of those mamiya 200s before. I glanced at it and thought it looked a bit like a 400DO. But upon closer inspection I noticed it said 200. Looks like some nice alt glass.
jcolwell wrote:
1. fresh water freezing spray, Dartmouth NS (first two photos);
That picture of ice encased camera/lens still gives me chills although I had seen it before. Jim, my good man, what pleasure could you possibly derive from taking pictures in such foul weather ?
One fail to date, summer of 77, I was 20 with a Yashica rangefinder and a pocket full of Kodachrome and Ilford PanF. The location was the Mojave Desert area, event a 14-day survival training 'vacation'.
The film did not like the extreme temps, nor did I, I'm here typing the film was less then correctly exposed; we had no moisture of any sorts but in our canteens, however the film canisters did, needles to say images; other then in my mind, did not develop well, actually all was a bit foggy...
As for the adventure, this SoCal native luved the heat, the nights were damn cold, the stars were absolutely beautiful and hornny toads, bugs and snakes do not taste of chicken
StillFingerz wrote:
One fail to date, summer of 77, I was 20 with a Yashica rangefinder and a pocket full of Kodachrome and Ilford PanF. The location was the Mojave Desert area, event a 14-day survival training 'vacation'.
The film did not like the extreme temps, nor did I, I'm here typing the film was less then correctly exposed; we had no moisture of any sorts but in our canteens, however the film canisters did, needles to say images; other then in my mind, did not develop well, actually all was a bit foggy...
As for the adventure, this SoCal native luved the heat, the nights were damn cold, the stars were absolutely beautiful and hornny toads, bugs and snakes do not taste of chicken ...Show more →
It's all in the receipe used.......when prepared by a skilled cook, even an old saddlebag can taste like chicken.
It's all in the receipe used.......when prepared by a skilled cook, even an old saddlebag can taste like chicken.
The cook was/is quite skilled, it was the lack of a decent, proper, set of spices that just ruined our meals.
In reality cooking by sterno while watching out for four legged critters with sharp teeth and an appetite for slow moving two legged beasties, turned the delicate tasty morsels rather tough, the jerky was more pallet pleasing. Except for the grubs, they were quite moist, a bit bitter...at first
Your gear was "naked" right? Great to hear the 18-55 held up okay. I hope you got some nice photos while you were out!
The gear was completely 'naked'. The 18-55 is an amazing lens especially for it's price. I ended up screwing up an .45X wide angle converter onto it to get some wider shots from it. Decreased the IQ but I got a bit wider view. Here's the 2 pictures I got from being 3 feet away from a freight train.
I was going for a bit more motion blur, but I like it. Going out again tomorrow. I tried to have the broom on the opposite post of me come out, but it didn't work out like I thought it would. You can see the blast of snow from the train I was about to get too, bit of unplanned. Hopefully tomorrow will be better at mid day. It was closer to dusk here.
jcolwell wrote:
1. fresh water freezing spray, Dartmouth NS (first two photos);
PetKal wrote:
That picture of ice encased camera/lens still gives me chills although I had seen it before. Jim, my good man, what pleasure could you possibly derive from taking pictures in such foul weather ?
