The Hiking Camera Conundrum

This post largely boils down to two questions:

1. Just how weather resistant is the X100V really?
2. Is there a way to carry an X-E body and lens such that is accessible (which likely means attached to the chest via rucksack straps) and well-protected from torrential rain?

Currently my main hiking setup is the X-T2 and 16-80, which broadly speaking suits me fine: the range goes just about wide enough and just about long enough, and image quality is just about good enough. I have decent faith in the weather sealing of the X-T2 and it means not having to change lenses.

Thing is, that kit represents not only a large chunk of financial value but the T2 is also my most advanced body in terms of sensor and imaging capability. Which again is fine, except that most of the time I’m not hiking, and if I’m not hiking then I’m likely to be using either an X-E body or my X100T (I prefer the rangefinder ergonomics, especially as I’m a left eye shooter). Pretty much the only time I use the X-T2 other than hiking is for street photography in the rain.

So it makes sense to put the greatest image quality into a body I’ll use a lot, which probably means the X100V.

Now, I’m comfortable with that being adequately rainproof for urban use, but the hills are different: once you’re out, there’s no shelter when the weather hits hard. But if I change my kit then it’s either a case of taking the X100V or packing an X-E into an absolutely watertight bag. And given experience of one day this year (persistent 50mph+ wind and rain that killed two iPhones and penetrated supposed dry bags within my rucksack) I’m dubious about the latter.

There is always the option of keeping my 27mm WR and picking up a cheap X-T1, but that adds expense. Another option is the X-Pro3 instead of the X100V, but that works out more expensive and leaves me with the 27 as my street setup rather than the more compact and nicer-rendering X100 lens. In any case, I still need to test drive both, as I couldn’t get on with the X-Pro2’s viewfinder (I wear glasses) and I’m not sure I’ll like the X100V’s button positions (being left-eyed).

So: a truly weatherproof setup is needed; is the X100V up to the job? If not, what ideas have I missed?

Cheers 🙂

X100V needs front filter to achieve "somewhat weatherproofing", but that's not the whole story. It is lacking rubber seals, especially in the battery door compartment.

There was a guy here that took their x100v to niagra falls and the camera died.

Fuji weatherproofing is not up to Pentax level, well, maybe only the X-H1 is, but the other cameras definitely not. And i own X-T4 and X-Pro3 and i have used them in rain and snow, but in not that kind of weather you are describing, i wouldn't take the camera out of the bag.

So whatever camera you pick, you would need a waterproof holster/bag/pouch for it, to keep it in while not shooting.

Also you talked about how harsh weather penetrated your "waterproof" bag and now your dubious of waterproof bags. Just use a plastic bag, tie a knot on top, boom, now you have a fully waterproof bag that wont let water in. Of course it isn't that simple, but you get the point. if you have a decent plastic bag it is waterproof.

Yes, I saw the Niagara Falls thread and in particular the mention of a lack of seal on the battery door, which is a large part of why I’m sceptical of the X100V’s sealing.

As for dry bags, they come in varying degrees of quality. The ones that failed for me were some small and lightweight ones, and this was the first time I’d used them. I’ve got other, more sturdy ones, and they work, but there are few if any dry bags that give good accessibility and good stability for a largIsh body and lens. The Matador Base Layer 2.0 looks interesting, except it has only one attachment point, which isn’t enough. I’ve seen few rainproof alternatives; I have a couple of LowePro AW bands but they’re showerproof at best, no use in driving rain.

I used to use a Pentax K10D but I’m no longer a fan of DSLRs. It seems there’s very little choice in terms of largish-sensor rugged cameras. I have an Olympus Tough which is properly waterproof, but of course the image quality is hardly a match for the X-T2. I’d love Fujifilm to take the XF10 and seal it to IP7 level, with a proper fixed glass element in front of the lens, like the Tough. I’d certainly hand over some cash for that.

Jeff Biscuits wrote:

This post largely boils down to two questions:

1. Just how weather resistant is the X100V really?

Hi,

Considering the fact that it does not have an IP rating, it's hard to tell. It's likely it can withstand light rain/snow and some dust for a couple minutes at a time with the front filter attached.

1. Is there a way to carry an X-E body and lens such that is accessible (which likely means attached to the chest via rucksack straps) and well-protected from torrential rain?

You could get a soft underwater housing. That's probably your best option if you intend to shoot under the rain. You can also get a "proper" (hard) underwater housing/case for it, but it will add substantial weight to your kit.

Currently my main hiking setup is the X-T2 and 16-80, which broadly speaking suits me fine: the range goes just about wide enough and just about long enough, and image quality is just about good enough. I have decent faith in the weather sealing of the X-T2 and it means not having to change lenses.

Thing is, that kit represents not only a large chunk of financial value but the T2 is also my most advanced body in terms of sensor and imaging capability. Which again is fine, except that most of the time I’m not hiking, and if I’m not hiking then I’m likely to be using either an X-E body or my X100T (I prefer the rangefinder ergonomics, especially as I’m a left eye shooter). Pretty much the only time I use the X-T2 other than hiking is for street photography in the rain.

So it makes sense to put the greatest image quality into a body I’ll use a lot, which probably means the X100V.

Now, I’m comfortable with that being adequately rainproof for urban use, but the hills are different: once you’re out, there’s no shelter when the weather hits hard. But if I change my kit then it’s either a case of taking the X100V or packing an X-E into an absolutely watertight bag. And given experience of one day this year (persistent 50mph+ wind and rain that killed two iPhones and penetrated supposed dry bags within my rucksack) I’m dubious about the latter.

There is always the option of keeping my 27mm WR and picking up a cheap X-T1, but that adds expense.

So keeping your X-T2 and using it with the 27mm WR kit would not suit you?

Another option is the X-Pro3 instead of the X100V, but that works out more expensive and leaves me with the 27 as my street setup rather than the more compact and nicer-rendering X100 lens. In any case, I still need to test drive both, as I couldn’t get on with the X-Pro2’s viewfinder (I wear glasses) and I’m not sure I’ll like the X100V’s button positions (being left-eyed).

The bottom line is that Fuji should build a rugged and waterproof camera based on the X100V. Would be the ultimate travel camera.

So: a truly weatherproof setup is needed; is the X100V up to the job? If not, what ideas have I missed?

I really believe a quality underwater housing (such as those from EWA marine) is the only solution to reliably protect the X100V/X-E4 (or at least significantly lowering the risks associated with photography in extreme weather). Good luck!

Cheers 🙂

OrigamiCactus wrote:

X100V needs front filter to achieve "somewhat weatherproofing", but that's not the whole story. It is lacking rubber seals, especially in the battery door compartment.

There was a guy here that took their x100v to niagra falls and the camera died.

Fuji weatherproofing is not up to Pentax level, well, maybe only the X-H1 is, but the other cameras definitely not. And i own X-T4 and X-Pro3 and i have used them in rain and snow, but in not that kind of weather you are describing, i wouldn't take the camera out of the bag.

So whatever camera you pick, you would need a waterproof holster/bag/pouch for it, to keep it in while not shooting.

Also you talked about how harsh weather penetrated your "waterproof" bag and now your dubious of waterproof bags. Just use a plastic bag, tie a knot on top, boom, now you have a fully waterproof bag that wont let water in. Of course it isn't that simple, but you get the point. if you have a decent plastic bag it is waterproof.

I hope the guy did better than his camera when he went over the falls

Morris

A binocular harness or camera harness will be very conferrable

Morris

yayatosorus wrote:

So keeping your X-T2 and using it with the 27mm WR kit would not suit you?

Not that it doesn’t suit me; just that it (rather, the X-T2 plus 16-80) is storing a bunch of value that might be better invested in a different body/camera which gets used more often.

As it happens, just after posting the thread I went out with that exact pairing (plus the 16/2.8).

I found an Alpkit Airlok Xtra 3L bag and carried it in that—though the rain we’d had all day somehow stopped just as we left the house). It’s a decent quality dry bag with three attachment points (four if you count the one on the roll-top). Turns out the bag is also just large enough to fit the X-T2 plus 16-80 (with hood).

So it seems I probably already had a carrying solution provided the camera is not too big—though it seems to swallow an X-E2 and the 50-230 easily, provided the hood is removed. Which means perhaps the X100V is quite viable after all.

Jeff Biscuits wrote:

So: a truly weatherproof setup is needed; is the X100V up to the job? If not, what ideas have I missed?

Cheers 🙂

Friend if you need a "truly weatherproof" setup you need to look elsewhere.  Fuji does not have any.  WR is not waterproof.

Jeff Biscuits wrote:

This post largely boils down to two questions:

1. Just how weather resistant is the X100V really?
2. Is there a way to carry an X-E body and lens such that is accessible (which likely means attached to the chest via rucksack straps) and well-protected from torrential rain?

Currently my main hiking setup is the X-T2 and 16-80, which broadly speaking suits me fine: the range goes just about wide enough and just about long enough, and image quality is just about good enough. I have decent faith in the weather sealing of the X-T2 and it means not having to change lenses.

Thing is, that kit represents not only a large chunk of financial value but the T2 is also my most advanced body in terms of sensor and imaging capability. Which again is fine, except that most of the time I’m not hiking, and if I’m not hiking then I’m likely to be using either an X-E body or my X100T (I prefer the rangefinder ergonomics, especially as I’m a left eye shooter). Pretty much the only time I use the X-T2 other than hiking is for street photography in the rain.

So it makes sense to put the greatest image quality into a body I’ll use a lot, which probably means the X100V.

Now, I’m comfortable with that being adequately rainproof for urban use, but the hills are different: once you’re out, there’s no shelter when the weather hits hard. But if I change my kit then it’s either a case of taking the X100V or packing an X-E into an absolutely watertight bag. And given experience of one day this year (persistent 50mph+ wind and rain that killed two iPhones and penetrated supposed dry bags within my rucksack) I’m dubious about the latter.

There is always the option of keeping my 27mm WR and picking up a cheap X-T1, but that adds expense. Another option is the X-Pro3 instead of the X100V, but that works out more expensive and leaves me with the 27 as my street setup rather than the more compact and nicer-rendering X100 lens. In any case, I still need to test drive both, as I couldn’t get on with the X-Pro2’s viewfinder (I wear glasses) and I’m not sure I’ll like the X100V’s button positions (being left-eyed).

So: a truly weatherproof setup is needed; is the X100V up to the job? If not, what ideas have I missed?

Cheers 🙂

You're not getting a camera that's weatherproof unless you grab something like the TG-6 from Olympus regardless of what the rating of a WR designated lens/camera is.

That said, I take my X-E4 with me on 100% of my hikes/backpacking trips regardless of weather and while I don't have to worry about rain much because I live in southern CA, I do have to worry about dust which IMO is just as harmful to a camera as water. Now because of the dust issues I'm constantly dealing with the PD Clip was a non-starter, and not just because it left my camera exposed but also because once I started wearing it for more than a few hours at a time it was pretty uncomfortable. The solution I found was this:

https://www.lowepro.com/global/dashpoint-30-slate-grey-lp36444-0ww/

This case not only secures very well to the shoulder straps of both my day pack (Osprey Stratos 24) and my backpack (Gregory Optic 58) for easy access but also fully enclose my camera until I want to use it, and then it's simply a matter of unzipping, taking it out, and taking the shot. Not only that, I've not had any of the comfort issues I had with the PD Clip in addition to the bag being just large enough to use with either the 14/2.8 or 60/2.4 mounted on the X-E4 which have been two of my favorite trail lenses of all time. Oh, and once you strip it of the shoulder strap and shoulder strap loops it weighs 71g which is less than the PD Clip and Plate attachment was for me.

Also, in case of rain I carry my electronics in a DCF drybag that's a bit oversized for my phone, charger, and cables, but just big enough to carry all of that plus my camera bag which I can remove from my bag in case of a sudden change in the weather.

Truman Prevatt wrote:

WR is not waterproof.

Yeah, I know, that’s why I’ve got an Olympus Tough. But as long as it can survive being used in moderate rain and then being stored slightly wet in a bag then that’s weatherproof enough. The X-T2 has coped fine with that sort of thing. The lack of battery door seal makes me cautious about the X100V and I’m not sure whether there are other similar aspects.

Well if you had an XT4 you could get one of these:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1652704-REG/aquatech_10330_edge_water_housing_base.html

or if that is too speedy there is this:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/818021-REG/DiCAPac_WP_S5_WP_S5_Waterproof_Case_for.html

I am being a bit tongue in cheek here but do you actually need to use the camera in the harsh conditions or just protect it. If the former then my suggestions may not be so out of line. If the latter then some reasonable plastic bags should do the trick as some have suggested.

Peter Foiles wrote:

I am being a bit tongue in cheek here but do you actually need to use the camera in the harsh conditions or just protect it.

🙂

As above, there are two halves to it. I want to be able to use it in light and moderate rain (and so far my X-T2 has been fine for this). I’m happy to keep it stowed for the worst weather (and to use the Olympus at that point), but it needs to be safe when stowed having just been used in rain, ie it needs to cope with having some surface water on it while inside a waterproof bag.

Hi,

As a keen fellow hiker, and someone who has lost two cameras to water ingress - I share your conundrum. However, mine is not with the X100v which I don't own and doubt I ever will - I'm strictly an interchangeable lens photographer. So for me currently it's the XT4.

On the question of waterproofing, I definitely think sealing is worth having (as much for dust as for water) but if you're talking serious wind-driven rain without protection, for potentially hours on end, then I think you're grossly over-estimating the level of protection that Fuji cameras provide. Look at sealing as an extra bit of assurance, not as foolproof rain protection. The internet is littered with examples of people who made warranty claims for water ingress and came away with nothing.

I would suggest a camera 'rain jacket', or a small hard case. If you want a small hard case that is relatively light, has the lid hinged at the top, and the straps attached at the top so you can carry it like a shoulder bag, look no further than an Underwater Kinetics Model 609 Dry Box. Most of the brief case styled hard cases have to be put down to be opened. The 609 doesn't - you can open and use gear from it as you carry it. Fit it out with foam or use epoxy resin to glue in your own dividers. Works a treat. I've hiked and kayaked in many wet places with one.  Far tougher than any soft case and very waterproof.

Here's a post a few years back with photo....

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53619768

Cheers, Rod

Jeff Biscuits wrote:

This post largely boils down to two questions:

1. Just how weather resistant is the X100V really?
2. Is there a way to carry an X-E body and lens such that is accessible (which likely means attached to the chest via rucksack straps) and well-protected from torrential rain?

The X100V will most likely survive some light rain, but not torrential rain. No camera will survive torrential rain. Best option is some sort of underwater case.

Currently my main hiking setup is the X-T2 and 16-80, which broadly speaking suits me fine: the range goes just about wide enough and just about long enough, and image quality is just about good enough. I have decent faith in the weather sealing of the X-T2 and it means not having to change lenses.

Thing is, that kit represents not only a large chunk of financial value but the T2 is also my most advanced body in terms of sensor and imaging capability. Which again is fine, except that most of the time I’m not hiking, and if I’m not hiking then I’m likely to be using either an X-E body or my X100T (I prefer the rangefinder ergonomics, especially as I’m a left eye shooter). Pretty much the only time I use the X-T2 other than hiking is for street photography in the rain.

So it makes sense to put the greatest image quality into a body I’ll use a lot, which probably means the X100V.

Now, I’m comfortable with that being adequately rainproof for urban use, but the hills are different: once you’re out, there’s no shelter when the weather hits hard. But if I change my kit then it’s either a case of taking the X100V or packing an X-E into an absolutely watertight bag. And given experience of one day this year (persistent 50mph+ wind and rain that killed two iPhones and penetrated supposed dry bags within my rucksack) I’m dubious about the latter.

You need to pick a camera that has an underwater accessory case available? Not even pro cameras survive heavy rain for long.

There is always the option of keeping my 27mm WR and picking up a cheap X-T1, but that adds expense. Another option is the X-Pro3 instead of the X100V, but that works out more expensive and leaves me with the 27 as my street setup rather than the more compact and nicer-rendering X100 lens. In any case, I still need to test drive both, as I couldn’t get on with the X-Pro2’s viewfinder (I wear glasses) and I’m not sure I’ll like the X100V’s button positions (being left-eyed).

So: a truly weatherproof setup is needed; is the X100V up to the job?

Without adequate protection, no.

If not, what ideas have I missed?

Cheers 🙂

Rod McD wrote:

On the question of waterproofing, I definitely think sealing is worth having (as much for dust as for water) but if you're talking serious wind-driven rain without protection, for potentially hours on end, then I think you're grossly over-estimating the level of protection that Fuji cameras provide.

Yeah—sorry, I must have been unclear in the original post, as it seems I’ve given the impression that I’m expecting waterproofing, and I’m not.

I need it to survive torrential rain when stored. What that means is that it needs (a) to be able to put it into a dry bag or similar with some water on its outer surfaces, having used it in relatively light rain, and (b) to be able to survive if for some reason the bag is not perfectly impermeable and a small amount of moisture appears.

I certainly don’t expect the sort of resistance that the Olympus Tough or any IP-rated camera gives, nor do I expect to be able to claim under warranty for water ingress. (That said, I do have a good insurance policy which would likely cover it if necessary.)

I don’t intend to actually use the camera in driving rain. Again, that’s a job for the Olympus. I just need some confidence (not certainty) that it is sealed enough to be able to make it worthwhile accompanying me year-round in the UK without having to baby it too much.

A dry bag of some sort is a given—I know an “open carry” will most likely kill all of these cameras in the worst of our weather. The issue is that if it can be used in light rain (and if it can’t then there’s no point in paying extra for WR kit) then it will never be completely dry even inside a dry bag. Hence the question is really about surviving light rain and damp storage. I have faith in the X-Ts and probably the X-Pros, with the Fujicrons fitted; the X100V not so much.

bartjeej wrote:

I'm sure you and I wouldn't be the only ones facing this problem.

Indeed… it seems a little frustrating, assuming that there must be a latent market for that sort of thing.

As for ILC's, I'd trust the sealed Olympus and Nikon Z models above all Fujifilm ILC's, including X-H1 and the GFX models.

Interesting. I’m completely out of touch with M43 having sold all my old gear. Any tips for an Olympus body and lens that offers good bang for little buck on the secondhand market?