Weather Sealing is a Gimmick.

SpinOne wrote:

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.

I think your last paragraph is really the key.  There have been several threads on this forum in the past, where Olympus owners stated that their warranty claims were denied for water intrusion even though they were not doing anything they weren't supposed to.  Conversely, there have been other threads where water related warranty claims have been approved.  So, "you pays your money and you takes your chances" (grammatical mistakes intentional).

Personally, I don't like standing in the rain anyway.  I get wet, and my glasses either fog up or are covered with water, making it difficult to see.  Therefore, I am not likely to ever put my E-M1 and its watersealed lenses to the test (at least I won't plan ahead on doing it).  It is vaguely reassuring to know that if I do get caught unawares by a sudden shower, take a splash of water from a hose or the spray kicked up from the bow of a boat etc. my camera will probably come out OK, but that's about it.  YMMV.