Weather Sealing is a Gimmick.

dinoSnake wrote:

roadtrpr wrote:

mpgxsvcd wrote:

Weather sealing is simply a warranty. It simply says that if you are using a weather sealed camera with one of "their" weather sealed lenses then they will honor the warranty if it was being operated under a limited set of conditions.

Weather sealing doesn’t guarantee that it won’t break due to weather. It just simply guarantees that they will cover the repairs if it does break under certain conditions.

It is completely up to the manufacturer to determine whether it was being used properly or not. They can easily deny your warranty claim if they feel it was not being used in a “Properly Weather Sealed Configuration”.

Basically, weather sealing is an absolute gimmick. They determined how many people would actually send their cameras in for repair after weather damage. Then they calculated how much it would cost to fix those few cameras and jacked the price of the “Weather Sealed” cameras up by that amount plus a hefty profit.

I use my non weather sealed E-PM2 on my telescope during the winter. It is typically left out at sun down in very humid conditions. Then the temperature drops below freezing and all of the dew freezes on the camera and on the screen.

I come back out 8 hours later and it is still chugging away taking pictures even though it isn’t weather sealed. Even the “not weather sealed cameras” are more durable than you think. I abuse it like this at least once a month during the winter.

Also remember that the camera is only weather sealed with a weather sealed lens on it. All other lenses will not qualify for the weather sealed warranty if anything weather related happens while you are using them. They are going to want to see both the camera and the lens for the warranty repairs to find out what failed. They won't just take your word for it that you were using a weather sealed lens.

How many of you have ever sent a non-weather sealed camera in for weather related damage that would have been covered under warranty if it had been weather sealed? I am guessing that number is very, very small.

I am guessing that most of the cases involving weather related damage are probably of the “I dropped my camera in the lake” and not the “it was very humid or drizzling” kind. Dropping it in a lake will not be covered under warranty no matter what lens is on it and whether it is weather sealed or not.

Red indicates a weather seal.

Help me to understand what you mean. Are you saying all these weather seals are a gimmick?

He is saying that the claim of weather sealing is a "gimmick" and, in that, I must agree. What he is saying is that Olympus claims that the camera is "weather sealed" but, when push comes to shove and if the camera seals allow water to enter in for any reason, Olympus washes their hands of any and all warranty claims as per their legal disclaimer at

http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/oima_cckb/E-M1_Weather_Resistance_EN.pdf

“Service Advisory:

Product damage caused by sand or liquid contamination will void the original warranty and any extended warranties if applicable. In most cases Olympus service will not be able to repair the camera. In these situations, the camera would be deemed beyond reliable repair and returned without servicing.”

In other words, the camera is weather-sealed...until it isn't. And when that happens Olympus states no legal liability on their part to repair the camera due to "liquid contamination" - a leak by any other non-legalize term.

So "weather-sealed" is utterly and completely under your own discretion of use. If it holds up, you're golden, if it fails...you have lost the camera and all technical legal recourse to make a claim otherwise. Just bother to read the threads started by people with failed "weather-sealing" to see how they fared - sometimes by pushing Olympus they got warranty coverage, sometimes they were left out in the cold, completely random at the whim of the repair system and Olympus corporate. Water in the camera legally voids the warranty, even if the weather sealing should have kept it out in the first place - a wonderful and convenient loophole if I've ever seen one.

Sorry, I did not know this thread was only about the Olympus weather seal warranty.  The photo I posted is not an Olympus, so does not have the Olympus warrenty.