How weather sealed is 'weather sealed'?

alli69 · Mar 22, 2017

Hi, I am just wondering how much rain a weather sealed camera and lens can take. I have the em5 mk2 and just bought the 7-14 pro lens, took it for a walk in the rain for about 30 min. Both camera and lens are okay but I am thinking how much can it take?

How ‘bold’ are you with weather sealed stuff?

Alli

Ps. Never thought I needed the external grip until I got the 7-14 lens. It really makes a different.

em5 mk2 with 7-14

Rainy day

Tommi K1 · Mar 22, 2017

So weather sealed that you don't like to be out in the weather. So you will give up before the camera does.

Just don't submerge the camera, don't pump zoom fast when in very heavy rain etc.

alli69 · Mar 22, 2017

I like 'bad' weather

Thanks for the zoom tip!

Giiba · Mar 22, 2017

Olympus claims hermetic sealing which is a pretty big claim. However I've never heard of a Pro lens failing due to environmental conditions, and there are stories of cameras and lenses being dropped in creeks to no ill effect.

In my experience with the 12-40 and 40-150 there are no conditions I'd expect problems.

From: http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/product/dslr/mlens/7-14_28pro/feature.html

Gary from Seattle · Mar 22, 2017

All of the seals have to be intact. I note on your image the hotshot cover is not there and electrical contacts are exposed. I don't know how important this cover is. I know for myself, I removed mine because I had already lost two of them.

zuikowesty · Mar 22, 2017

alli69 said:
Hi, I am just wondering how much rain a weather sealed camera and lens can take. I have the em5 mk2 and just bought the 7-14 pro lens, took it for a walk in the rain for about 30 min. Both camera and lens are okay but I am thinking how much can it take?

How ‘bold’ are you with weather sealed stuff?

Alli

Ps. Never thought I needed the external grip until I got the 7-14 lens. It really makes a different.

em5 mk2 with 7-14

Rainy day

I've been out with my E-M5 and both 12-40 and 7-14 in driving rain for hours without any concerns. I think the 7-14 in particular is very safe due to the internal zoom design. With the 12-40, there is a chance some moisture could work along the barrel if zooming a lot. Of course, the 7-14 is very difficult to keep dry in wet and windy conditions, which is the bigger problem.

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zuikowesty · Mar 22, 2017

Gary from Seattle said:
All of the seals have to be intact. I note on your image the hotshot cover is not there and electrical contacts are exposed. I don't know how important this cover is. I know for myself, I removed mine because I had already lost two of them.

Yes, good point. The E-M5ii has a few more controls and the E-M5 (although it gains the flash sync but loses the AP), and the flash sync port is one that needs to be covered I would guess (although the connector could be watertight). I don't think the hotshoe matters, since there is no sealing on the plastic cover itself. Some say that keep the cover on could trap moisture and cause corrosion. Definitely want to check that the HDMI/USB port cover is tight.

Ken Gosden · Mar 22, 2017

Gary from Seattle said:
All of the seals have to be intact. I note on your image the hotshot cover is not there and electrical contacts are exposed. I don't know how important this cover is. I know for myself, I removed mine because I had already lost two of them.

I believe I have read that the hotshoe cover is not needed to maintain weather sealing. If your camera has the accessory port just under the hotshoe that cover is required.

jkrumm · Mar 22, 2017

Likely the bigger problem in really wet conditions is sudden temperature changes so water vapor condenses on the lenses. It eventually dries, but it's a little freaky the first time it happens.

I also took a very, very wet and cold kayak trip in Alaska once and after several hours my gear fogged up and became unusable for a while.

Ken Gosden · Mar 22, 2017

Giiba said:
Olympus claims hermetic sealing which is a pretty big claim. However I've never heard of a Pro lens failing due to environmental conditions, and there are stories of cameras and lenses being dropped in creeks to no ill effect.

My OMD EM1 mk1 fell 3 feet, bounced off a rock and landed about 6-8 inches under water in a creek. Came out and worked just fine. I will tell you that the 7-14 while internal zoom and focus does pump air through the lens. If you hold the lens with the rear element near your face you can feel it. The ridges on the lens hood tend to trap water droplets and moisture can get sucked in. So be careful in that respect.

Giiba said:
In my experience with the 12-40 and 40-150 there are no conditions I'd expect problems.

From: http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/product/dslr/mlens/7-14_28pro/feature.html

Ken Gosden · Mar 22, 2017

jkrumm said:
Likely the bigger problem in really wet conditions is sudden temperature changes so water vapor condenses on the lenses. It eventually dries, but it's a little freaky the first time it happens.

I also took a very, very wet and cold kayak trip in Alaska once and after several hours my gear fogged up and became unusable for a while.

If that happens, don't make the mistake of changing a lens as you will find the sensor and rear element are still dry until they get exposed. Then you have fog on the inside!

Member said:
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hindesite · Mar 22, 2017

alli69 said:
Hi, I am just wondering how much rain a weather sealed camera and lens can take. I have the em5 mk2 and just bought the 7-14 pro lens, took it for a walk in the rain for about 30 min. Both camera and lens are okay but I am thinking how much can it take?

Sigma are on record as saying in a recent interview that their "weather sealed" lens have a O-ring seal on the mount. And that's it.

doug wever · Mar 22, 2017

Airmel · Mar 22, 2017

alli69 said:
Hi, I am just wondering how much rain a weather sealed camera and lens can take. I have the em5 mk2 and just bought the 7-14 pro lens, took it for a walk in the rain for about 30 min. Both camera and lens are okay but I am thinking how much can it take?

How ‘bold’ are you with weather sealed stuff?

Alli

Ps. Never thought I needed the external grip until I got the 7-14 lens. It really makes a different.

I have shot numerous outdoor motocross races in rain and mud. One of the worst events of this type was the Indianapolis MX in 2015. By mid morning, both of my E-M1's were literally covered with mud (both "peanut butter" and "running liquid" varieties).

At the end of the day, l carefully washed each camera under running water in my hotel bathroom sink, toweled them off and then let dry the rest of the way on their own.

Never had a problem with either E-M1 body, the 12-40mm Pro or the 40-150mm Pro lenses since.

--
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Those that know binary and those that don't.

Okapi001 · Mar 22, 2017

Airmel said:
Never had a problem with either E-M1 body, the 12-40mm Pro or the 40-150mm Pro lenses since.

The problem here is that there is no guarantee by the manufacturer the camera will actually survive hard rain or cleaning under running water. And in case it doesn't survive, tha warranty is not valid.

Another problem is that all those o-rings and gaskets are not forever. So even if the camera is completely rain-proof at the beginning, it may not be any more after 3 or 4 years.

And to make things worse, there is no easy way to safely test how weather sealed the camera actually is (as you can easily test water resistant watch, for example).

So it's a gamble. My friend has one of the Canon pro bodies which, after a couple of hours of rain, started to malfunction. It recovers after drying, but the confindence in its weather resistance is gone.

zuikowesty · Mar 22, 2017

Okapi001 said:
Airmel said:

Never had a problem with either E-M1 body, the 12-40mm Pro or the 40-150mm Pro lenses since.

Click to expand...

The problem here is that there is no guarantee by the manufacturer the camera will actually survive hard rain or cleaning under running water. And in case it doesn't survive, tha warranty is not valid.

Another problem is that all those o-rings and gaskets are not forever. So even if the camera is completely rain-proof at the beginning, it may not be any more after 3 or 4 years.

And to make things worse, there is no easy way to safely test how weather sealed the camera actually is (as you can easily test water resistant watch, for example).

So it's a gamble. My friend has one of the Canon pro bodies which, after a couple of hours of rain, started to malfunction. It recovers after drying, but the confindence in its weather resistance is gone.

Tony Northrup has mentioned several times a trip where they lost two Canon bodies due to rain. Not too impressive for a "pro" body, imho. Even my old E-410 survived some pretty wet conditions, and it wasn't weather proof at all, but I was careful. With my E-M5, and now E-M5ii, I just don't worry about it, and both (as of today) have now seen heavy rain and winds on the beach without issues. I spent a few hours on the beach (Copalis Beach, Wa) this morning, and returned into high winds, blowing sand* and rain. Both bodies are currently resting in beside me in front of the fireplace...

*it was quite interesting to watch the wet sand blow down the beach as the rain started - although the sand was very wet from overnight rains, the water drops hitting the beach caused the sand to splash up and get carried along in the high winds. The sand caked on my pants is evidence of this...

Here is an example of the blowing sand (not much of a shot though):

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bobn2 · Mar 22, 2017

Giiba said:
Olympus claims hermetic sealing which is a pretty big claim.

What they say is 'The entire camera features high-level hermetic and weather-resistant sealing for excellent dustproof and splashproof performance so you can shoot in difficult weather such as rain or snow and even outdoors during the winter.'

OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1 Mark II, a flagship model that offers a maximum 18 fps high-speed sequential shooting in AF/AE tracking : News : OLYMPUS

www.olympus-global.com

If they meant that the whole camera is hermetically sealed, it's nonsense. If a camera was really airtight, the gas pressure inside it would change as the temperature changed and all that precious precise optical alignment would go to pot. They have to 'breath'.

If they just mean that some components within the camera are hermetically sealed, well it's true, but it applies to every single camera you can buy.

Don't be fooled by advertising.

troiks · Mar 22, 2017

I have used an EM5 & EM5ii for extended in heavy rain on Hawaii Island with no issues. Due to the high humidity (I think) the viewfinder fogged up on the EM5 but it did not affect the camera's performance.

I was worried about the lens (12 - 40 2.8) taking in water when zooming however it handled the conditions well. The Oly 7-14 also performed well in the wet.

I would have no issue exposing weather sealed Oly bodies to rain

--
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Tom Caldwell · Mar 22, 2017

Giiba said:
Olympus claims hermetic sealing which is a pretty big claim. However I've never heard of a Pro lens failing due to environmental conditions, and there are stories of cameras and lenses being dropped in creeks to no ill effect.

In my experience with the 12-40 and 40-150 there are no conditions I'd expect problems.

From: http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/product/dslr/mlens/7-14_28pro/feature.html

I am not a lawyer, but my understanding of the English language is reasonably good.

"Hermetic" is a strong word. "Splashproof" is not a high degree of weather selaing.

However "powerfully protects against" is more an assertion than a guarantee. And "water droplets" is useful attribute but hardly "seriously wet" or immersion.

Yes it is re-assuring and certainly much much better than no specific sealing at all.

But there are other such issues such as the possibility of internal condensation due to cold wet outside versus hot dry inside storage conditions. And of course the longer term exterior effects of becoming seriously wet regularly.

In other words "weather sealing" is an excellent attribute but any gear is better kept dry if at all possible.

On the other side of the coin - way back in the early days of the GM1 someone lost his camera in a snow drift which was only found when the snow had melted. It still worked!

--
Tom Caldwell

Tom Caldwell · Mar 22, 2017

Airmel said:
alli69 said:

Hi, I am just wondering how much rain a weather sealed camera and lens can take. I have the em5 mk2 and just bought the 7-14 pro lens, took it for a walk in the rain for about 30 min. Both camera and lens are okay but I am thinking how much can it take?

How ‘bold’ are you with weather sealed stuff?

Alli

Ps. Never thought I needed the external grip until I got the 7-14 lens. It really makes a different.

Click to expand...

I have shot numerous outdoor motocross races in rain and mud. One of the worst events of this type was the Indianapolis MX in 2015. By mid morning, both of my E-M1's were literally covered with mud (both "peanut butter" and "running liquid" varieties).

At the end of the day, l carefully washed each camera under running water in my hotel bathroom sink, toweled them off and then let dry the rest of the way on their own.

Never had a problem with either E-M1 body, the 12-40mm Pro or the 40-150mm Pro lenses since.

How weather sealed is 'weather sealed'?

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