5DMKIII Not too water resistant

MattD wrote in post #17079334
Went to the coast this morning - it rained, not a lot but my gear still got wet.

I got back to the car, camera was working fine. Once I got home the buttons on the back and the display all inactive - though I can still take shots, none of the buttons (iso, live view, menu etc) are working.

Ive taken the card out, battery out and opened all available flaps and doors and leaving it to dry out. Hopefully it will work again.

So, anyone had a similar problem?

Nope, in fact I shot with mine for about 4 hours one night in rain, sleet and snow (with a 24-105 mounted). The camera didnt miss a beat that night and still hasn't. The camera and lens were so wet that I had to leave them in a closed room with a dehumidifier running overnight to dry them. It's been very wet several times since, no issues. I hope yours comes back to life!

I have both a rain cover and garbage bag. The rain cover is to protect my Canon 5DIII if it rains. The garbage bag is for any Nikon cameras I come across. Easier to transport to the dump in a garbage bag.

Is there someplace "official", meaning a Canon site, that states anything about water "resistency" or water "proofness" of the 5DIII? When I do a search on a PDF of the manual, all I can come up with (using water as a search term) is on page 14 and reads...

So being water resistant isn't even mentioned and cautions are advised in instances of heavy water exposure. Last week someone posted here about accidently immersing a camera in salt water for a short period of time so he put it into a shower for a few minutes, then wondered why it wouldn't work. Are expectations being set too high for these cameras?

I've had my 5D2 in pouring rain multiple times and never (knock on wood) had an issue. I try to hold it up for pictures or keep it close to me where it won't get rained on too bad. I mostly worry about the glass in the eye cup. It gets smudges, but they clean easy with a Q-tip.

John from PA wrote in post #17080733
Is there someplace "official", meaning a Canon site, that states anything about water "resistency" or water "proofness" of the 5DIII? When I do a search on a PDF of the manual, all I can come up with (using water as a search term) is on page 14 and reads...

So being water resistant isn't even mentioned and cautions are advised in instances of heavy water exposure. Last week someone posted here about accidently immersing a camera in salt water for a short period of time so he put it into a shower for a few minutes, then wondered why it wouldn't work. Are expectations being set too high for these cameras?

My 5D III has been dripping with water and no problems. And I rinse my 1D X off in the sink with the faucet to wash off mud in the past. No problems with either.

Dan Marchant wrote in post #17080723
I have both a rain cover and garbage bag. The rain cover is to protect my Canon 5DIII if it rains. The garbage bag is for any Nikon cameras I come across. Easier to transport to the dump in a garbage bag.

Oh Dan...
Would be so much better to just send them to me
Gary

My 5DIII has gotten a bit goofy in high humidity twice. Not coming form cold to warm, not condensation. It takes a few hours at about 90 degrees and very high humidity but he rear lcd fades. I use a canon battery grip, I was thinking that is were the humidity gets in.

K Soze wrote in post #17080922
My 5DIII has gotten a bit goofy in high humidity twice. Not coming form cold to warm, not condensation. It takes a few hours at about 90 degrees and very high humidity but he rear lcd fades. I use a canon battery grip, I was thinking that is were the humidity gets in.

The grip keeps a good seal from water, but you raise a good point about the humidity being a culprit.

John from PA wrote in post #17080733
Is there someplace "official", meaning a Canon site, that states anything about water "resistency" or water "proofness" of the 5DIII? When I do a search on a PDF of the manual, all I can come up with (using water as a search term) is on page 14 and reads...

So being water resistant isn't even mentioned and cautions are advised in instances of heavy water exposure. Last week someone posted here about accidently immersing a camera in salt water for a short period of time so he put it into a shower for a few minutes, then wondered why it wouldn't work. Are expectations being set too high for these cameras?

Nope. What they do is provide additional layers of water "sealing" - rubber gaskets and such that are designed to help keep water out. This is different than having no seals at all, but nowhere near "waterproof". A lot of people gripe about this, but it's really no different than my convertible. I have gaskets around the doors, the trunk, and the tops has gaskets that go around the windows and across the top of the windshield. So there's all these seals, and they do a great job of keeping water, wind, snow, dust, etc out. But no one buys a convertible expecting that water will never get in it. You don't go through power car washes because water still can breach the seals. And sometimes a deal doesn't seat properly. Or it isn't right from the factory. If I put a bunch of electronics in the seats 24/7 there's a good chance they could get ruined even with the seals.

Maybe that's a good example. Maybe it's not. But it's the best I can come up with. The weather sealing is better to have than no weather sealing. But it's not something you should count on to do the work of protecting the electronics inside. If you're going to be around water, you should still take your own steps to protect the camera.

kfreels wrote in post #17081052
Nope. What they do is provide additional layers of water "sealing" - rubber gaskets and such that are designed to help keep water out. This is different than having no seals at all, but nowhere near "waterproof".

I think this is the very terminology that every product and brand has to endure. There's only a few specialty items that are truly "waterproof"...if an item has electronics, it's not going to be "waterproof". Even the best sealed cameras and submarines for deep water will eventually start cracking and taking on water at certain depths.

Canon stays pretty conservative with their marketing of water sealing just to be sure there's no issues of their fine print disclaimers about not being responsible for any signs of water damage. The higher end models are supposed to have more seals around buttons and LCD screens, but it's still just a shoot of the dice as to if and when water can get in. Submerge your camera in water, certainly a great odd. But even a bead of sweat could settle in that one area that can diffuse into the camera. Condensation and humidity, yet more variables. The latest generations of particular models have advertised better weather sealing...so chances are they can withstand some more water "resistance", but no camera is going to be waterproof.

davesrose wrote in post #17081159
I think this is the very terminology that every product and brand has to endure. There's only a few specialty items that are truly "waterproof"...if an item has electronics, it's not going to be "waterproof". Even the best sealed cameras and submarines for deep water will eventually start cracking and taking on water at certain depths.

Canon stays pretty conservative with their marketing of water sealing just to be sure there's no issues of their fine print disclaimers about not being responsible for any signs of water damage. The higher end models are supposed to have more seals around buttons and LCD screens, but it's still just a shoot of the dice as to if and when water can get in. Submerge your camera in water, certainly a great odd. But even a bead of sweat could settle in that one area that can diffuse into the camera. Condensation and humidity, yet more variables. The latest generations of particular models have advertised better weather sealing...so chances are they can withstand some more water "resistance", but no camera is going to be waterproof.

Exactly. Although there is a point where we we're generally willing to call something waterproof. My Galaxy S4 Active for instance was set in a 5 quart pan of water the first day I got it just to put it to the test. Never had a problem with it. I've since then dropped it in the deep end of our pool a couple times and still not lost it. But it's only rated at 3 feet. I'm sure if I left it at the bottom for any significant amount of time it would have been ruined. But it's enough for me to be comfortable calling it waterproof.
It really would be nice to have a DSLR that was like this. Unfortunately there's just too many moving parts. Lenses have to have venting for air to move so the elements can move around as well. But going forward I think we're on the edge of a revolution in protecting electronics from water. I think we'll start seeing stuff like Liquipel applied to electronics regularly in the near future. You can already get a waterproof (loosely used word here) Kindle and a few phones. I expect that in 10 years we'll look back and remark about how silly it was to have spent so much on electronics that were so easily destroyed by a spilled drink.

kfreels wrote in post #17081341
I think we'll start seeing stuff like Liquipel applied to electronics regularly in the near future.

The concept is called conformal coating, and has been used for a good many years on electronics, to protect it from moisture and dirty environments. It's used as an alternative to potting the electronics by embedding the electronics in polyurethane or similar (a quite common concept for car electronics).

The conformal coating is normally a thin layer (a number of atom layers thick) of teflon. But it costs a bit of money because you need to tape all electrical connectors, or the gold-plated connectors will still give zero connection

And since the conformal coating is put on as a vapor, it gets into any tiny hole.

But while conformal coating can protect electronics, it doesn't do well to protect electromechanical parts and a number of types of sensors. So it isn't a general solution that will magically solve all problems with water or condensation.

MattD wrote in post #17079431
cheers all - Ive left it in a box, filled with rice sitting on top of my PC (which is on to generate some light heat) in a small room that normally gets nice and toasty.

Ill see what its like when I get home, might give it a blast with a hair dryer too

Fingers and toes crossed !!!!

You might want to buy some actual desiccant. Who knows how much moisture the rice might have picked up from the environment through the package (especially if you live where there is high humidity).

Sell it and get one of these https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=oSpgAOShnZY

Water, heat, dust, electronics...not a good mix.