Don’t trust your R in the rain :o|

Dec 13, 2010
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Hi guys!

I’m a sad panda now...

Was out in a light drizzle today. I had my arm covering the camera most of the time and wiping it off. I know it’s nowhere near the level of weather sealing the 1dx2 has, but it was such a light rain I figured it would be a non issue , it wasn’t ... Drying it off in rice now, after drying it a bit with a hairdryer hopefully it’s not a write off, but I’m not that hopeful...

*edit* read that it should be in a sealed plastic bag, so did that after these shots.
 

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Hi guys!

I’m a sad panda now...

Was out in a light drizzle today. I had my arm covering the camera most of the time and wiping it off. I know it’s nowhere near the level of weather sealing the 1dx2 has, but it was such a light rain I figured it would be a non issue , it wasn’t ... Drying it off in rice now, after drying it a bit with a hairdryer hopefully it’s not a write off, but I’m not that hopeful...

*edit* read that it should be in a sealed plastic bag, so did that after these shots.
Good luck! Hope it sorts itself out. Resist the urge to power it on for as long as you can stand it.
 
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StoicalEtcher

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Jan 3, 2018
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Viggo, sorry to hear/see of your problems.

Out of interest, did you notice the issue whilst shooting, or only later once back indoors?

I ask, as in the past I have found the dampness inside a camera bag, from the camera, lens, etc seems to have been more pervasive than the rain drops themselves - as though sitting in the moist bag for a few hours after a shoot was what defeated the (limited) weather sealing, rather than the drops at the time of being out in poor weather.
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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Viggo, sorry to hear/see of your problems.

Out of interest, did you notice the issue whilst shooting, or only later once back indoors?

I ask, as in the past I have found the dampness inside a camera bag, from the camera, lens, etc seems to have been more pervasive than the rain drops themselves - as though sitting in the moist bag for a few hours after a shoot was what defeated the (limited) weather sealing, rather than the drops at the time of being out in poor weather.
Thanks (y)

I noticed it at first as I was taking my camera off and placing it in my car, so it had only been outside .
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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This is what lensrentals wrote about the EOS R on their tear down:

"Speaking of the Sony A7RIII, it’s taken a bit of internet trashing for its lack of weather sealing. Throw no stones from your glass house, oh Canon shooters. The Canon EOS-R is just about the same; well-sealed buttons and dials, not much else. That means, I think, that it will be fine in a misty rain for a while, but don’t get it saturated and don’t set it somewhere wet."

And the naysayers are already attacking the ruggedness of the 90D before it has even been tested!
 
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YuengLinger

Print the ones you love.
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Dec 20, 2012
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So sorry, Vigo, to hear about your camera, and I hope it will be fine.

I just couldn't pull the trigger for the R--even with the current $400 off (including the free basic adaptor) here in the USA. I kept asking myself, "Why am I buying a body just to use that one lens, the 50mm 1.2?"

Let Canon show its commitment by releasing a 5D type of mirrorless, weather-sealing and all.

Now I'm willing to wait.

Thank you for sharing your experience here so quickly. And, again, fingers crossed for your R!

Oh--btw, what lens was attached at the time? How is it?
 
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I’ve used my R (since launched) in the rain a fair bit, sometimes with sometimes without an umbrella. Haven’t had that problem, or any problem really. Your experience scares me a little. So far I have figured if I am diligent about drying it off periodically I should be ok... Did it get stored/put in a bag wet? I’m guessing no...
 
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digigal

Traveling the world one step at a time.
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I have the tins of Hydrosorbent silica gel beads that I can put in a bag with my gear that will remove the moisture. When the beads absorb water they turn from orange to clear and that is a sign that it should be placed in a 300 degree oven for 3 hours to reactivate. They can be reactivated indefinitely. We take them with us on all our trips. It seems like every couple of years either me or my husband will have a lens or camera that will need to emergency treatment somewhere in the world and this has really rescued us (in the Falklands and Antarctica most notably). They are about the size of a tin of Altoids so they are easy to carry in your gadget bag when traveling.
Catherine
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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Thanks for all the helpful tips and tricks!

The camera was left in pretty warm room in a sealed bag with rice overnight for 12 hours since it wasn’t really wet wet. It works just fine now and had cleared all up before I went to bed, but left it in there overnight.

I’m very happy it works of course, but I still can’t really believe that small amount of weather nearly took it out.. we have a lot of weather here and I’ve always found it exciting to shoot in the rain and snow, but with the R I can’t, the snow should be fine, but in the words of Blind Melon, no rain.

Yes, the lens was attached and it was absolutely no issue and none of the lids or battery and SD door or mount had any moisture. It was just the EVF.
 
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SteveC

R5
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Sep 3, 2019
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This is a known (at least for me) problem since the end of 2018. I found out about it by watching this video published on YouTube on December 11, 2018:


The title sounded a bit negative, but he actually raves about the camera throughout that review. Apparently, "Big Mistake?" No.
 
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Thanks for all the helpful tips and tricks!

The camera was left in pretty warm room in a sealed bag with rice overnight for 12 hours since it wasn’t really wet wet. It works just fine now and had cleared all up before I went to bed, but left it in there overnight.

I’m very happy it works of course, but I still can’t really believe that small amount of weather nearly took it out.. we have a lot of weather here and I’ve always found it exciting to shoot in the rain and snow, but with the R I can’t, the snow should be fine, but in the words of Blind Melon, no rain.

Yes, the lens was attached and it was absolutely no issue and none of the lids or battery and SD door or mount had any moisture. It was just the EVF.

It's unfortunate you had to go through this, but at least it is working now. The higher end Canon bodies definitely have superior weather sealing as I shot a C300II in the pouring rain 2 years ago and water was literally dripping off the camera for hours shooting in a wooded area with no issues whatsoever. I don't have anywhere the same trust with my Sony bodies, so I use Peak design rain covers. They make 3 sizes for everything from DSLRs down to MILCs. They are form fitting and easily packable in the camera bag.

Aside from that, and since rain covers only protect against direct exposure and not residual humidity/condensation moving between hot/cool environments, I do a few things back at home when I store my gear. I first throw it in a Ruggard electronic dry cabinet and afterwards when I'm not shooting for awhile, I pack them in a sealed pelican case with a few of those metal canister dessicant packs. They turn red when saturated and I can then throw them in the oven for awhile until they become blue again. The Ruggard dry cabinets go on sale from B&H from time to time.

The only thing to consider with liquid damage is I don't know if camera manufacturers put in LCIs (liquid contact indicators) these days. Almost all smartphones do because they use it to gauge warranty claims. If an LCI is activated, it may affect future unrelated warranty claims.
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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It's unfortunate you had to go through this, but at least it is working now. The higher end Canon bodies definitely have superior weather sealing as I shot a C300II in the pouring rain 2 years ago and water was literally dripping off the camera for hours shooting in a wooded area with no issues whatsoever. I don't have anywhere the same trust with my Sony bodies, so I use Peak design rain covers. They make 3 sizes for everything from DSLRs down to MILCs. They are form fitting and easily packable in the camera bag.

Aside from that, and since rain covers only protect against direct exposure and not residual humidity/condensation moving between hot/cool environments, I do a few things back at home when I store my gear. I first throw it in a Ruggard electronic dry cabinet and afterwards when I'm not shooting for awhile, I pack them in a sealed pelican case with a few of those metal canister dessicant packs. They turn red when saturated and I can then throw them in the oven for awhile until they become blue again. The Ruggard dry cabinets go on sale from B&H from time to time.

The only thing to consider with liquid damage is I don't know if camera manufacturers put in LCIs (liquid contact indicators) these days. Almost all smartphones do because they use it to gauge warranty claims. If an LCI is activated, it may affect future unrelated warranty claims.
Thanks a lot for the thorough reply

Yeah I know iPhones have those in the charging connector, easy to see water damage without opening them.
 
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