40D Weather Sealing

I understand the 40D has a small amount of weather sealing however significatly more then the 400D. I was wondering how far my 40D will go with the lenses listed in my Gear List (Ok, Not the 50mm 1.8 - Its 100% Plastic!) But how much rain-water or smoke will it allow/take with no hassles??

Thanks.

Well none of your lenses are weathersealed, but how do you expect us to quantify amounts of rain/water, or smoke?

I just got the 40d. I like it. That said, I wouldn't trust the "weather sealing" in any way. I'm glad that it is there, and think it should do a little to help keep dirt out, but I don't think it will do much to keep rain out. I've shot my old 10d in some sprinkles and carried it in some amazingly dusty places, and I think the 40d would fair a little better, but again, I wouldn't think it was a whole lot of protection.

Think of it as minimal effort for maximum marketing buzz.

There is no weather/dust sealing on the 40D. Well not unless you count a piece of felt around the battery/CF door weather sealing.

The 40D has a sponge like strip of material on the CF card door and the battery door. That's it. I really don't consider it weather sealed as the buttons and the pop up flash door isn't sealed and that's where I'd expect the water to hit first (pop up flash).

The 400D has no seals of any kind.

I personally would not take either one in any serious rain as the water will probably get in through the flash door, lens mount, and buttons. If you get water into the camera, generally it's gone so I'd not risk it.

And yes, as mentioned above, none of the lenses in your list is weather sealed either, so even if the body was sealed as in the 1D series, water would come in from the lens mount as that is sealed by the rubber strip on the lens.

A light drizzle will be okay for the 40D but any type of serious downpour will probably cause some serious hassle. Looking at your gear list, I think the same conditions will apply with your lenses.
As for dust, I think the same idea applies.

So a light drizzle or rain for a few mins while i get out of it is ok but not for long periods?

If there's even a drizzle, protect your gear. Don't bank on marketiong hype. If you have an underwater camera, sure, use the capability, but dSLRs are not underwater cameras.

On a side note, my grandson once dropped a 70-300 lens of mine in a tide pool by accident. It took about two days of very gentle heating to get the moisture out. But, amazingly, it eventually dried out! Lenses, though, are not cameras...I don't know what approach I would take if one of my cameras fell into a pool of water!

Tony

Tony Long Photos on PBase

NSWESP wrote in post #4016810
So a light drizzle or rain for a few mins while i get out of it is ok but not for long periods?

I won't even take mine out if it's a light drizzle. Don't care what the hype says

Pat

Thanks, I always cover it in the wet just want the peice of mind of worst case scenario.

the weather sealing that it's got is to stop the dust etc from entering thru the battery and CF areas. that's it. everything else is the same.

I would have hoped that Canon would implement the same degree of sealing in the 40D that Nikon did with their DXXX series, but that was just hoping in vain. Obviously the decision to do so was intentional, perhaps to put a gap in between different 'levels' of camera they produce.

It wouldn't be surprising if the new 5D had the same half-a$$ed attempt at weather-sealing. At that stage it'd be clear that it was intentional. And we'd all be sorely disappointed.

NSWESP wrote in post #4016810
So a light drizzle or rain for a few mins while i get out of it is ok but not for long periods?

To be entirely honest, is it worth the risk? Have a water resistant bag at hand if you're shooting outdoors - just in case. Do you really want to break your camera? I have a 1 series body, which has much more serious weather sealing than your 40D and I draw the limit at light drizzle, and that's if I don't have any water resistant bags to cover up with (or cover for that matter).

The old saying, "it's better to be safe than sorry" comes to mind here.

Dave

fWord wrote in post #4017327
I would have hoped that Canon would implement the same degree of sealing in the 40D that Nikon did with their DXXX series, but that was just hoping in vain. Obviously the decision to do so was intentional, perhaps to put a gap in between different 'levels' of camera they produce.

It wouldn't be surprising if the new 5D had the same half-a$$ed attempt at weather-sealing. At that stage it'd be clear that it was intentional. And we'd all be sorely disappointed.

Agreed.

Dave

PS I just realised you were an Aussie lol!!!