Weather Sealing is a Gimmick.

dinoSnake wrote:

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....

So you read a disclaimer and on that basis, you claim they won't warranty any weather-sealed camera that shows any signs of liquid contamination?

Really?

Weather sealing isn't designed so you can soak your camera in a bucket for a week. The repair techs will almost certainly be able to tell the difference between a seal that lets a little moisture in, and dropping your camera in a river.

In other words, the camera is weather-sealed...until it isn't.

No, it just means that if you take it to a desert and don't bother to get a CLA, or if you drop it in the tub, they're probably not going to give you a warranty replacement.

Just bother to read the threads started by people with failed "weather-sealing" to see how they fared....

Yes, let's.

We've got one guy whose camera apparently got water damage in Jamaica. Olympus Canada initially declined the warranty, and prodded them enough to get a warranty replacement. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3771548

Another example: AEL button stopped working in a snowstorm. Olympus replaced the body: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3628176#forum-post-53170382

There's one guy whose EM1 sat in a puddle of cocoa for half a day. Oly denied that warranty.

Wow. Huge numbers of denials. HUGE!

And the guy who posted this thread? He's got a Panasonic lens that he hasn't bothered to send in for warranty repairs. And he's bitching about it, because apparently he's unprepared to go without the lens for a few weeks.

Every manufacturer does the same thing. They did so long before they made any claims about weather sealing.

And as noted already: Yes, sometimes manufacturers improperly deny a warranty. People also expect warranty service when it isn't deserved. C'est la guerre.