DSLR weatherproofing for shooting at the beach, any suggestions?

Hello all,
I went this weekend with my friend to the beach, I was going to take some pictures of her while she was surfing. I know that beach weather is brutal for cameras and lenses under regular circumstances, add surfing conditions and it makes it worse for your equipment.
So I improvised and used a transparent bag to cover the body and close the top at the front of the lens, it seem to work although I had to clean the filter every once in a while. I was using a 100-300mm because I was afraid to take my 70-200mm 2.8.
Although this cheap option worked I was wondering if any one had any other ideas on how to weather proof the camera and the lens for a windy and wet day at the beach.
I know there some options out there, some of them as expensive as $200 and others as cheap as a regular transparent bag. I am just trying to find out if anyone has explored other alternatives. I decided to buy a cheap filter for my 70-200mm and try to see what happens.

Op/Tech makes several inexpensive options that are pretty tried and true. Do a search for their gear on B&H or Google.

I just came back from a seven day trip to Hawaii. Got a number of brief showers throughout the day and the wind could pick up, blowing stuff around a little.

I definitely recommend using a UV filter on your lens. You don't want rain or salt water landing on your front element if you can help it.

Refrain from swapping lens anywhere near the beach --- sand you can't see blowing around could be a problem.

There's been some threads about people who managed to get sand caught underneat the zoom and focus rings of their 24-105 lens. I doubt that would be as big a problem with the 70-200.

In any event, I really do like the cheap rain bags from Op/Tech USA. Not as easy to use the zoom ring through the plastic, but, when you want that protection, the bags really help and they are so small and light. I didn't bother using mine during my trip.

Don't forget to bring stuff to clean out your camera gear. I carried good rocket blowers, several brushes, solutions, cleaning cloths/tissues, etc.

If you look around, you'll see that there are plastic bags out there designed to help you swap lens at the beach. I didn't bother with that. It was easier walking back to the car and changing lens in the car or in the trunk as appropriate.

I guess it depends on what camera body you use? I don't worry about going to the beach to take pictures of the waves, not even if it rains. If I know its going the rain is going to dump I bring a small hand towel and drape it over my lens. Other then that, nothing to worry about.

Take Care,
Cheers, Patrick

Hi, thank you for the input, I have a Canon 40D, during surfing conditions the salt water drops from the waves gets pushed to the beach and straight at the camera, I bought a cheap UV filter to protect the lens and I am looking at the alternatives. I checked the Op/tech, I am not sure how durable is the plastic though, I've seen reviews that is it like a one time use, I guess I need to check the material, is it the cheap plastic of the $1 dollar poncho or is it the heavy plastic from more expensive weather proof covers.
The plastic that I used was from a transparent bag that had cables in it, it seem thick plastic, no like supermarket bags or anything, it worked a lot better than I thought although size wise it was too small.

I don't worry about going to the beach to take pictures of the waves, not even if it rains.

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Put a clear filter on the 70-200 and everything will be fine. When you get inside later give the body and lens a good cleaning.

The OpTech plastic covers will work several times before you have to toss them. They are the perfect solution, as others made of stronger materials are very expensive and would have to be cleaned up after salt exposure.

Check with ben_r( post #2 above), who sells plastic covers for tripod legs, very heavy duty and reusable, very inexpensive. It saves you from having to clean the leg joints of sand and water.

tvphotog wrote in post #14288541
Check with ben_r( post #2 above), who sells plastic covers for tripod legs, very heavy duty and reusable, very inexpensive. It saves you from having to clean the leg joints of sand and water.

Thanks so much for mentioning those - just ordered a set!

I have taken mine in the rain at the beach as others have said your camera is actually tougher then you think. People shoot in the rain and at the beach every day of the week without special protection. Plus the 70-200 is sealed so toss a filter on the front and have at it. Putting your camera in a raincoat for a day at the beach is like putting a wind breaker on your car before driving imho.

I've used a rain cover from http://fotosharp.com along with a UV filter a couple times in Baja shooting from small boats. Camera and lens were adequately protected from salt spray and Gray Whale breath. The Fotosharp covers are similar in concept to one from Op/Tech but made of a lightweight silicone impregnated nylon ripstop material (aka "silnylon") so they hold up well to repeated use. A pretty good compromise in price and durability.

For most of us, we aren't going to the beach or be out in the pooring rain so often that we would care about how many times you can use the Op/Tech bags.

The Op/Tech has one advantage over a simple plastic bag in that it is pre-cut and has a draw string at one end so that it can quickly be attached to the end of a len's hood. The part that's going to break is where you attach it to the eye piece --- there's a small pre-cut hole. You are supposed to remove the eyepiece cup, put the hole in the plastic at the eyepiece, and then re-attach the eyepiece cup. If you are careful, it'll last a few times. Otherwise, you can do stuff like use tape to strenthen that part.

I like the size/thickness of the Op/Tech solution because it is thin enough that I stuff it in one of the inner pockets of my camera bag, so I always have it available.
You get two of these bags per package from Op/Tech. I recommend buying one for yourself and see exactly how it works/don't work for you.