1D mk3 weather sealing - slight condensation spotted under top LCD cover...

Spent a very-wet weekend photographic local hillclimb motorsport in the rain last week - mainly using my 300mm f/2.8 (until it got to the point where I couldn't clean the front element any more due to a soggy microfibre cloth...)

Anyway, the kit got rained on pretty comprehensively. I only changed lenses once (and didn't let anything other than moist air into the body). Towards the end of the afternoon, I noticed a small haze of condensation under the top LCD-cover.

I always dry my kit out (with all doors etc. open) overnight - and the condensation has gone - but I was a bit surprised to see it in the first place.

Was it just the moist air during the (single) lens-change, do you reckon?


ps - ISO1600 and 3200 shots in the wooded section of the course were extremely impressive. AF-performance wasn't - but these were extremely-tricky conditions - trying to get the camera to change from pre-focus to a 70-mph vehicle 30 yards away in low light was always likely to cause problems.

Did you have anything covering the kit or was the rain hitting it directly?

The camera had partial-benefit from a small umbrella and from trees most of the time - it was not possible to shield it properly though and it certainly wasn't dry.

The lens (300mm f/2.8) got much less protection - and front-element dampness aside, it was fine.

Is there an official specification as to how much weather (esp. rain) this camera can take?

SirBrontes wrote in post #3980092
Is there an official specification as to how much weather (esp. rain) this camera can take?

I doubt it. Canon doesn't warranty any water damage. If there were a spec, they'd have to warranty some water damage.

Can I make any assumptions as to when I shouldn't consider using this camera under the rain?

Imaginos wrote in post #3980136
I doubt it. Canon doesn't warranty any water damage. If there were a spec, they'd have to warranty some water damage.