So I found a lot of references that the EOS Rp is "weather sealed to the same level as the 6D mk II". But what does this mean? Can I shoot in the Rain and/or snow with a weather sealed 24-105L? Or is it just for short term protection if I get caught out in a storm?
When I shot m4/3 they said weather sealed and showed marketing pictures of wet cameras. So I don't know what I can expect from the Rp.
To my knowledge, the RP has no real weather sealing of any kind. And since they also say that the R6 is sealed to the same as the 6D Mark II, I call a bit of BS on that claim. I own both cameras, and the R6 has visibly better sealing.
The RP's port doors on the left are rubber and will probably keep water out just fine, but the battery door has no sealing at all, and I don't believe they added any over any of the dials and buttons.
My R6, on the other hand: the battery door has a soft rubber gasket that goes around the whole of the non-raised portions, and the card slot door also has foam rubber gasketing all around it, in addition to the rubber port doors on the left. I believe the buttons and dials also have some sealing as well.
For ALL weathersealed cameras, though, they are more or less intended to provide moderate protection from occasional showers, and even the cameras like Olympus' E-M1 line or Canon's 1 series DSLRs really shouldn't be used in heavy rain for an extended period of time. They would likely survive, but it's still not a great idea. I feel comfortable with my cameras and lenses that are sealed when it's lightly raining or there's some mist or spray coming at the camera. I don't feel comfortable in a torrential downpour.
It is worth noting that even with the most robustly sealed cameras, not a single manufacturer will provide warranty service due to failure from moisture getting inside the camera.
Roger Cicala goes into some detail on the weather sealing protections he sees in his teardown of the EOS R. It seems it's somewhat decent, but not really rugged duty weather protection. The R can likely handle a little misting of water just fine. Any more amount of water it can maybe handle less fine. Certainly I wouldn't feel comfortable have it out on a rainy day. He doesn't do a teardown of the RP, but keep in mind that the RP weather sealing is even less robust than that of the R. It can maybe handle a light misting, but I wouldn't dare let it get more wet than that without worrying about it. I wouldn't expect it to have more than a few carefully placed pieces of foam and some overlapping bits of plastic to prevent water from running directly onto sensitive components. It certainly won't have much in the way of rubber gaskets or water-tight construction.
On the R5 teardown he goes into much more detail, giving much credit to the designers on the robust weather sealing of the R5.
Honestly, I've never taken my 5D out in the rain without some kind of protection, despite the weather sealing. What I do is cut a slit in a garbage bag, then gaffers tape it on to the lens hood. Then after that I pull the bag back over the camera. I can keep the camera fully covered when not in use, and use the bag as sort of a 'hood' when sticking my eye up to the lens. Works great. Just did this with a rented R6 this weekend.
The RP was the lowest priced FF mirrorless, weather sealing is likely one such way to cut costs, along with other things. That means maybe you are ok in a light sprinkle but nothing beyond that and not prolonged periods either.
