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Just posted: Survival of the fittest - weatherproof, splashproof, etc.

Sep 2, 2011 at 22:59:22 GMT

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Weatherproof, splashproof, waterproof - these are popular terms in the camera manufacturers' marketing material but what do they actually mean? Rob Spray takes a closer look at environmental protection standards and explains them in this article. We've also included the IP (Ingress Protection) ratings for the cameras in our recent 'Compact Waterproof' group test.

Click here to read the article.

Comments

Total comments: 16

Great article.

1 upvote

Took my Olympus E-1 into the surf, and still do my E-3, No dunking but splashed extensively. Snow, too though falling snow fools the AF ...

The only thing that has ever 'failed' was the onlooker's ability to understand :)

Photos of friends in the surf are SO much better than taken from the beach.

0 upvotes

Good article. But here's what we want to know about, "The big boys are much more coy about their gear".

0 upvotes

Robert Spray?! It is a pun or just coincidence?

0 upvotes

Good job guys!!

Now I would really love to see a "survival of the fittest" for DSLR's that claim weatherproofing.

0 upvotes

E-3 is 'compact'??? hahaha, u guys r funny.

0 upvotes

"We've also included the IP (Ingress Protection) ratings for the cameras in our ""recent"" 'Compact Waterproof' group test."

"RECENT"

try reading it first

u r funny

0 upvotes

Nobody said the E-3 was a compact, and there is nothing saying the "Survival" article is only about compact cameras .. so what is your comment about?

0 upvotes

How appropriate - Rob *Spray* doing the testing! :)

0 upvotes

nice choice of real waterproof all weather camera. I simply love my Olympus E3.

0 upvotes

thanks for sharing Oly always had the most durable cameras IMHO and pentax as a close 2nd

0 upvotes

I just lost my one month old K5 because of a canoe capsize accident. It got submerged. Splash proof, not water proof! Pentax service found it to be beyond repair and are sending it back. What to do with all those limited lenses....

0 upvotes

Interesting choice of photo. I shoot FF Nikon these days. I miss my Oly gear. It was half the weight and I could trust it in the wet. Only now that it has, to all intents and purposes, gone, do I find people appreciate the virtues. At the time it was all "This stuff is junk, if you shoot a black cat in a coal cellar there is more noise". Still makes me cross.

1 upvote

Hey Louis, I loved your OLY pics! Did you ever shoot an E-5?

0 upvotes

If you go to the main page under news, you get a completly different set of comments on the same artical.

This was written by an independant author of DPR.
"The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions held by dpreview.com or any affiliated companies."
Still a very well written, and informative article.

0 upvotes

Totally agree, Louis. I am finding paying less importance to high ISO and magapixels because frankly any halfway decent sensor of 10-12 MP is entirely adequate for the magazines I publish with. The stress for me is now on issues like size, sealing, handling.
In the last 5-6 years I have destroyed 4-5 powershots, one Olympus E-1 and a Pentax K-7 through water related incidents.
The K-7 stood up to one total immersion of over 5 seconds when I slipped during a river crossing. It survived many fishing trips being splashed with saltwater and fish slime. But by the end of a year the seals were all being to fail in the lens and arounf the body. I think that is the biggest issue that isn't emphasised by camera makers - unlike normal cameras, WR equipment must be constantly monitored for seal integrity and seals replaced at first sign of failure. For DSLRs I near saltwater I'd not trust the camera body or lens sealing that much, better to work on some sort of cover/housing.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 16


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