Weather sealing - quality?

I'm curious to know just how weather sealed my 1D III is when coupled to my 70-200 2.8 IS.

I shoot UK motorsport and so put up with dust, rain, cold, mud and snow in equal quantities, I usually use a rain cover when it gets above a drizzle but listening to people here - do I not need to bother - are we saying the rig mentioned above should be quite happy even in a downpour?

I can't speak for the 70-200 but earlier this week I had my III and 24-105 in a torrential downpour and it was fine.

Rob Stewart wrote in post #8671665
I'm curious to know just how weather sealed my 1D III is when coupled to my 70-200 2.8 IS.

I shoot UK motorsport and so put up with dust, rain, cold, mud and snow in equal quantities, I usually use a rain cover when it gets above a drizzle but listening to people here - do I not need to bother - are we saying the rig mentioned above should be quite happy even in a downpour?

If you are using factory batteries and your seals are good you should be fine. I have heard (but never saw firsthand) that some of the cheaper aftermarket batteries don't have seals. I have no idea if that is really true.

Hm, interesting. They didnt seal the non-IS? Thats a jip!

I had seen the 30D pics in the snow, although it didnt seem like it had been in a flurry. I guess ill have to keep it on the cautious side. Thanks guys.

Id get a 1D if I could. What about the 5d/mkII? Theyre rather high end pieces of equpment, Id expect them to be sealed no question.

fr0natz wrote in post #8671919
What about the 5d/mkII? Theyre rather high end pieces of equpment, Id expect them to be sealed no question.

Nope.

Rob Stewart wrote in post #8671665
I'm curious to know just how weather sealed my 1D III is when coupled to my 70-200 2.8 IS.

I shoot UK motorsport and so put up with dust, rain, cold, mud and snow in equal quantities, I usually use a rain cover when it gets above a drizzle but listening to people here - do I not need to bother - are we saying the rig mentioned above should be quite happy even in a downpour?

I've taken a 1.5L bottle of water and poured about 2/3 of it all over my gear to wash all the dust off it after an event. There was a guy with a 100-400 that came down next to me when it was all over giving me crap about how stupid I was for standing there. I just stood there letting him go on and on, when I started to douse it he started wigging out. I tell ya, it made the whole day worthwhile watching him come unhinged like he did. A friend of mine was shooting from another angle and told me afterwards he thought I was going to blast him in the teeth for trying to belittle me like that in front of about 200 people waiting to leave. When he saw me grab the water he figured out what I was up to.

aroundlsu wrote in post #8671746
If you are using factory batteries and your seals are good you should be fine. I have heard (but never saw firsthand) that some of the cheaper aftermarket batteries don't have seals. I have no idea if that is really true.

I was using a Lenmar when I did the above. I'm not advocating everyone do the same, but I've grown to have enough faith in them.

I also got dinged by a stray wave after this set.

20DNewbie wrote in post #8670867
I really do enjoy the reaction of others when I give my 1's a bath.

Maybe my sister has been right about me being evil all along.

Please define "bath" in this context, grin.

tfd888 wrote in post #8669801
70-200 f4 non IS is not weather sealed (only the IS versions of the 70-200 are weather sealed) so I am not so sure how comfortable I would be shooting a 40D and that lens in light or heavy rain but I wouldn't run from a few little sprinkles or a very light snow as long as you just keep blowing the flakes off before they melt.

If you are looking for weather sealing, look at the 1D-series of cameras. They are the ones that will withstand the harsher elements as long as you pair them with weather resistant lenses. Even when the 1D-series are paired with weather resistant lenses, they still aren't going to be water proof where you can submerge them or just pour a bucket of water over them. That's where rain sleeves come into play .

Actually, you can, and they just keep on trucking. You can also wash them off in the kitchen sink or with a garden hose so long as the pressure from the hose isn't too high. And yes, I'm being serious. Just make sure you have a sealed lens attached and you're good to go.

fire-eyes wrote in post #8672251
Please define "bath" in this context, grin.

After getting hit by the wave I poured just over a half gallon of water mainly over the back of the camera, it got it the worst. Thankfully I hadn't taken the water out of the car from a ride a few days earlier that week.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the 100-400 L is not weather-proof because of the push-pull zoom. True statement?

[QUOTE=Volatile;867275​1]I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the 100-400 L is not weather-proof because of the push-pull zoom. True statement?[/quote]

yes.

ed rader

Volatile wrote in post #8672751
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the 100-400 L is not weather-proof because of the push-pull zoom. True statement?

Oddly, the 28-300 is also a push pull but is weather sealed like the best of them. Canon really just needs to update the 100-400.

It would be nice for them to update the 1-4.

Thalagyrt wrote in post #8672861
Oddly, the 28-300 is also a push pull but is weather sealed like the best of them.

It is sealed when new but most of my photographer friends are photojournalists and they say the sealing lasts about 6 months before you start getting rain in it.