Oops, I bought a 40-150 f2.8 + TC

Paul De Bra wrote:

A weather sealed lens means that the chance the lens breaks when there is a bit of moisture is lower than with a non-sealed lens. But if it breaks, don't count on any weather sealing warranty! They will always say the wetness was excessive. I have read this many times here and elsewhere.

I would be terrified going out in a kayak with any expensive gear, weather sealed or not. If the kayak tips over, good luck!

The 40-150 f/2.8 is an excellent lens and the TC is great too. I'm very happy with them but I would never ever take them for a spin in any environment where there is a risk of them getting really wet.

The reason they do not warranty water damage is it would be a hassle to determine if the camera was totally submerged or if it was a seal problem.  Over the years tho, I have learned to trust Olympus weather sealing.  As a wildlife and sports photographer you kind of have to trust in your gears ability to handle the elements. Manufactures make this gear to withstand a lot because the professionals require this kind of protection.  I have had my EM1 and 50-200 SWD or 150/2 in some really nasty rain without a single problem.  I also crawl thru the swamps of east Texas photographing gators and it's nice knowing that my gear can survive the wet nasty environment. Sure something could happen, when it does I will let my insurance replace it for me. A full replacement rider on your homeowners/renters insurance is actually really cheap and a great way to protect all your toys (I have a separate rider to cover my camera gear, bicycles, kayaks, fishing gear, and camping gear).

Modern day kayaks designed for recreation and fishing (not talking about the sea kayaks or river kayaks also known as Sinks or sit inside which are designed to roll over and if you know what you are doing comeback up right side up) are really hard to turn over, it really does take a lot to roll one over. I use a ThinkTank Digital Holster for my camera and lens (the V50 will fit the 50-200 SWD or 150/2 with lens hood on) inside a dry bag for the times I know I could roll, mostly when entering or exiting and in areas with lots of submerged stuff that overcompensating for a tilt could roll me.  There is also a lot to be said about photography from a kayak.  You can get views that are not available any other way.  You can get a lot closer to wildlife and find wildlife that would be really hard to observe from the ground.

One of the reasons I switched to Olympus was because of the line of Pro lenses that at the time were announced but had yet to be released (I think the 12-40 was out when I switched) and I knew that would provide me the system that not only had great IQ but was light enough to lug around deep into the swamps and had the weather sealing to survive the places I go.