DIY Rain Sleeve

Lol the orange one looks like a garbage bag!

Joshua Bowden wrote in post #7968208
Lol the orange one looks like a garbage bag!

Sh!t, I'd better patent my design before anyone else copies it

tdodd wrote in post #7967861
My business advisor, a Mr. Fong, believes there is a market for a rain cover that protects the photographer as well as the camera and, based on my early prototype below, he feels that $300-$400 would not be unreasonable for such a device. With health and safety in mind here is a design to make sure you do not go unnoticed....

(I'm also considering a version in black, for stealthy night photography, for only a little extra money, and a version in green for the wildlife photographer.)

Don't forget the snorkel attachment so that the photographer's breath doesn't make the bag a sweat box. For the hi-vis version, the snorkel could have a blinking light on the top.

Great ideas for rain covers and they look like they work well when the camera is tripod mounted. I'm having trouble coming up with something that works when wearing the camera around my neck on a strap. I'm going to be hiking through jungles/rainforest so the back of the camera will be poiting straight up most of the time. I also imagine water will run right down the straps and through whatever cover I make.

Pilot Dane wrote in post #7970281
Great ideas for rain covers and they look like they work well when the camera is tripod mounted. I'm having trouble coming up with something that works when wearing the camera around my neck on a strap. I'm going to be hiking through jungles/rainforest so the back of the camera will be poiting straight up most of the time. I also imagine water will run right down the straps and through whatever cover I make.

It's really not so bad. If it's down pouring that's a different story.

I am sure it will be pouring and I might be in it for a long time. Obviously I will not be doing much photography when it is cats & dogs but it will be raining often enough that puting the camera into a bag and waiting for it to stop is not an option. I have read the blogs of other photographers and 1Ds and L lenses fail if not protected.

Get a bag big enough to slip the whole camera/raincoat in without undoing the strap. If you take teh weight off the camera strap you shouldn't have a problem. Or get something like the Kata E702 and keep your hands in the sleeves. There really isn't a solution for leaving a camera out of use and out of a waterproof (sealed) storage container.

Basically I'm asking for the impossible. I want to wear the camera on a strap and be ready to take a shot on short notice in some really wet weather.

Protecting a camera on a tripod is easy with some kind of bag over the top. Walking around with it dangling from my neck I am learning is a totally different problem. Water will seep down the straps where they penetrate the cover and the camera will be in one orientation when dangling from the straps and another when shooting. I fear this is a problem best solved with a 1D and a cover. Oh, why won't Canon make a weather resistant crop body for me.

Walking around with the camera isn't a problem, as long as you're holding the camera. If it's hanging from the neckstraps, yes, it'll get wet with the DIY solutions.

If you're going to be out in the rain forests then get the Kata Jon suggested. Or a 1D series.

dan

Yeah, I think we all need to realize that this was my temporary solution because the documentary that I was doing was date specific and I didn't want to risk having to postpone if a body went down. Since I didn't know about the rain until Sunday the day before, going to the store and picking up a real rain sleeve was not a option. Normally I John Wayne it and shoot in the rain. For those who just had a heart attack, don't worry. I've been in rain, sleet, snow, (I can add hale to my list now) and I have not had a problem with either body. You just have to be cautious of where the water is going on the body. Insurance + CPS helps too if something does go wrong though

Just remembered. I had a friend that said I was nuts for shooting in the weather conditions I was in this past January. All I can say is that 2 of the photos from the event are up for the cover of a magazine and several of the photos are going in for stories. Hey, I got the shots, he didn't.

I doesn't seem any of the cheap solutions are ideal for walking around. They all have the same flaw if you're using the neckstrap.

dan

I was wondering if anyone had any shots taken while raining. What do you do about lighting? Also, is there a solution for taking pictures high up without having water touch the lens/hood or blur the image?

Proacura wrote in post #8011592
I was wondering if anyone had any shots taken while raining. What do you do about lighting? Also, is there a solution for taking pictures high up without having water touch the lens/hood or blur the image?

Below is a shot I took when I was out in the rain. I took this shot just to capture the rain in the lights from the truck. As far as rain getting on the lens, I generally try to avoid it. It depends upon the size of the hood I'm using, how hard its raining and how much its blowing. But if I get some rain on the front element, its no big deal.

As far as lighting goes, I haven't done anything. Normally if I'm out I have two bodies and if its night, the body with the 24-70 has a flash on it. When its raining, I go down to one body and I haven't worked out yet how to mount a flash for the rain. Just fast glass.

When its raining, I wind up holding the camera the whole time so its not hanging from the straps. That allows the StormJacket to do its job. Someone else on here has suggested (and I've yet to try it) using a poncho. The idea is that when the camera is hanging from the straps it is protected by the poncho. When you take it out from under the poncho to shoot, whatever rain protection you have works cause the straps aren't acting as a rain guide.

Pilot Dane wrote in post #7972096
Basically I'm asking for the impossible. I want to wear the camera on a strap and be ready to take a shot on short notice in some really wet weather.

Rain poncho, camera under the poncho

Thanks spkerer