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Question: is the Canon 30D splash-proof?

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I take mainly shots of yacht racing (sail boat racing) and always from another moving boat. I frequently get spray on the camera and even big drops of water. However, I've never had my camera get completely soaked from a wave (and never would).

Sean
--
Life's a Reach and then you Jibe!

 
Some cameras are splash resistant. I doubt the 30D is among them.

But it certainly is not splash-proof.
--
When I ask which Canon lenses are best,
people tell me to 'go to L.'
 
The 30D doesn't have any rubber sealed in the gaps between any parts. I have asked this question before and another thing to be concerned is the lens and lens mount. I think only "L" lens has seals but not sure how good they are.

Nikon D200 is cheapest DSLR with rubber sealed I think.

I don't think Canon 30D warrantee covers the damage from water as well.
 
I've shot with my A75 and G6 in the rain and gotten them quite wet before, and they both function great after 2 years. If these little cheap bodies can handle a little water, then I'd bet your 30D sure can too.
--
Daily Photos of China ---> http://www.xanga.com/jessewarren
 
All the non-1-series bodies except the Rebel XT seem to have Labrynth seals around most everything. While this is not remotely immersion proof, it does provide a very effective seal against rain, splashing, and spray.

The biggest hole is the lens mount. The weather-resistant L lenses have a rubber seal that sits between the lens and the mount to seal this out. The non-sealed lenses would leak pretty severly here but could resist a bit of a splash.

The D200 does not have seals everywhere it would need to have seals in order to be 1-series water resistent (short-term immersion resistant with appropriate lenses, aka a short dunk). It's probably about the same as the 5D/30D/20D/10D - it can resist rain and such for quite a while but would eventually let some water in if left in harsh conditions.

I don't feel any need to worry about using my 20D or 5D in light rain. In a driving rain storm, I wouldn't be using a non-1-series camera (or a D200) without a rain cover. I wouldn't use a Rebel XT in even light rain.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
It is exactly built like the 20D, get it out of the rain right away!

Last sunday I was shooting a race and it was barely raining...just
drizzling...the camera got wet and all the images now have vertical black lines
eveny spaced; a bunch of them.

The body is going to go to Canon tomorrow for an estimate, if it's the sensor...
bye bye...It's not even worth fixing it.

--
Alfonso Bresciani
P_o_m_p_o M_u_l_t_i_m_e_d_i_a
==============================
You will know fear...Then you will know pain.
Then you will use a Mac.

http://www.pompo.com/neworleans.html
http://www.pompo.com/NoLaSkyline/
 
My friend got theirs soaked with sea water about 6 months ago, it worked again after it got dried out, but stopped working a little while ago...due to the erosion I would assume.
 
You could try sealing it yourself: remove body panels and install rubber caskets on switches and doors. A bead of silicone on all body seams would make it fearless. I installed seals on an old Nikon FM and it was great in the rain and wind.
--
I don't want a pickle. Jus' wanta ride ma motorcycle...
http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/
 
Thank you all for your feedback and advise, I really appreciate it.

Greetings from a finally rainy Belgium. (I love rain when I have to write, but not when taking photos...)
 
There are no seals on it anywhere, I wouldn't purposely take it anywhere it is likely to get splashed.

Mark
 
Henry Richardson said:
ljfinger said:
I wouldn't use a Rebel XT in even light rain.
Click to expand...
I used to have a DRebel and used it many times in light rain. I
used it in fairly heavy rain a few times and tried to take
reasonable care it didn't get overly wet but it still got fairly
wet. Never any problems.
Click to expand...
I don't know about the older Rebel. I have a Rebel XT at work and it doesn't have the same seals as my 10D, 20D and 5D.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
Back in May I was photographer for the Faversham Classic Car Show. The weather was terrible.

Stupidly, I was out with my new 30D for about 3 hours - it got drenched. The water was pouring off it. Guess what - no problems whatsoever.

I wouldn't recommend going out and deliberately getting it wet - but I don't think they're quite so fragile as they're made out.
 
I've mentioned this before, but I carried my d-reb for a 6 month thru-hike of the appalachian trail, including an all day battle with the remnants of hurricane katrina in the whites. The camera was in a neoprene case and repeatedly became wet to the touch and sometimes water even dripped off/out of it. It still works fine.

My 30D was recently the victim of a pretty serious splash from an ocean wave, it still works fine.

I wouldn't go completely immersing the thing in water, but I would say that it's pretty splash-resistant.
 
ljfinger said:
I don't know about the older Rebel. I have a Rebel XT at work and
it doesn't have the same seals as my 10D, 20D and 5D.
Click to expand...
The older DRebel (300D) did not have any special sealing either.

I have used many cameras (DSLR and 35mm film SLRs), over many years that were not weather sealed, in the rain, using reasonable care with never even a single problem. The bodies and lenses have gotten wet for short periods (1-2 hours) even though I tried to keep them dry. Not that I recommend doing it, but when I travel there is not much point in taking a camera if I am not going to use it. The rain does not deter me. Some very interesting photo opportunities appear in the rain.

On a little uninhabited island called Pulau Aibai (circumference of about 1.5 km) off the north coast of New Guinea in 1995 I waded out into the surf with my Minolta 700si (35mm film SLR). I was trying to get as low as possible to the water's surface without getting the camera dunked. I was also trying to time the waves but I misjudged and got surprised by a big wave coming in behind me. The camera was completely submerged in the ocean water for a second or two (as was I). Thought for sure it was toast. It was evening and sure enough the camera wouldn't work after that. Next morning I turned it on again and it worked fine. To this day it and the lens still work fine. :-)

Two things kept me from having a panic attack:

1. It was the last night of a trekking trip to Irian Jaya/West Papua New Guinea so if the camera had really died it wouldn't have been a catastrophe since I was going home to California the next day.

2. Although I hadn't brought another body (because of weight) I did still have my little Olympus Stylus (35mm fixed focal length p&s).
By the way, here is my trip report and photos from that trip:

http://www.geocities.com/hr1975/ij-report.htm

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.hrich.com
http://www.printroom.com/pro/intrepid
 
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