5D Mark III weather sealing

[cervantes]

Hi everyone!

I'm sure that many of you are wondering just as myself how reliable Canons marketing claims about the weather sealing of pro-grade cameras are. As you know, there is no warranty on water damge which leads many photographers treating their gear with the utmost care. Making sure that no drops ever touch the camera - either by using protective covers or simply staying at home when the weather is bad.

I am not one of those photographers. On my recent trip to Scotland I learned first hand how quickly your gear can be subjected to the elements and how it responds to rough treatment.

I created an article series about my trip and just uploaded the last part. In my final words I'm summarizing my experiences on the weather sealing of my gear, so that everyone can profit from my experiences.

If you are not interested in pictures and some stories just scroll down to the weather sealing chapter fairly at the end of my article. Here's the link:

http://www.focrates.com/articles/scotland_2015/scotland_2015_part4.html

If you also made experiences with harsh weather please consider sharing them here so that we can all gain some knowledge on an important topic!

Thanks and have a great day!

 

[FEBS]

Hi Cervantes,

thanks for sharing your way handling in combination with weather sealing. For me it's almost the same. The camera (5D3, 1Dx, 7D2) should be able to work fine, even in most extreme conditions. So, I'm not afraid that the gear becomes wet, however, for salty water spray I'm very carefully. Until now, I didn't have any remark to that behavior.

Nice photos you show from Scotland!!!

 

[jeffa4444]

Whilst not up to the 5D MKIII, 1Dx & 7D MKII my 6D was completely soaked in a sudden downpour in Snowdonia, Wales last year and again on Dartmoor, Devon this year (both occations with L series weather resistant lenses). I normally keep two large cleaning cloths in my Lowpro back-pack and in both instances dryed the camera & lens off (along with filter holder and filters) using these. No lasting issues with camera or lenses.

 

[cervantes]

@FEBS, jeffa4444: Good to see that you guys made similar observations to mine! BR!

 

[Maximilian]

Hi!

Thank you for sharing your trip and impressions.

A huge "thank you" for telling us your experiences with the weather sealing.
I didn't expect it to be that good and I still wouldn't provoke such situations as you went through.
But it makes me feel much better to know now that if you react fast and cautious a lot of situations will not cause instant damage to your and my gear.

Edit: until now I only experenced some light rain but also some sea spray and by clening the gear as you did (wet cloth) I also did not recognize any problems.

 

[cervantes]

Hi!

Thank you for sharing your trip and impressions.

A huge "thank you" for telling us your experiences with the weather sealing.
I didn't expect it to be that good and I still wouldn't provoke such situations as you went through.
But it makes me feel much better to know now that if you react fast and cautious a lot of situations will not cause instant damage to your and my gear.

Edit: until now I only experenced some light rain but also some sea spray and by clening the gear as you did (wet cloth) I also did not recognize any problems.

You're welcome!

Which camera are you using?

 

[expatinasia]

There have been so many times that I have sat on the side of a pitch when the sky has turned black and the rain has been so torrential I am surprised the games were not postponed for a while. So bad that your hand starts looking funny from all the rain - and I won't even begin to tell you about my feet!

It is always worse when I do not have the equipment to cover myself - as perhaps it was sunny in the morning and the forecast did not mention rain, etc.

At events like these I always carry my lens covers and I only use Canon's own brand - the ERC-E4. They come in three sizes and I have all three.

As soon as it looks like rain, I normally put the rain cover on only covering the body when it does start to rain. My equipment is my own and is far too important to takes risks I do not need to.

I have never had a problem so far.

The one thing I have found the 1D X does not like is my sweat, and in Southeast Asia it is often hot and humid so I sweat a lot.

If you think you are going to shoot in rain, don't take any risks, buy a good cover like the ERC-E4 S, M or L.

 

[jcarapet]

That's impressive, and that looks like a beautiful trip to Scotland.

Only story I have is recording a kids water balloon fight and taking a full one straight to the camera. No sweat on that.

 

[tomscott]

My 5DmkIII has failed once. Torrential rain for 5 hours at Silverstone Classics this year. Got my back up out same thing happened but in half the time. Camera just turned off, got it back to my hotel room wiped them clean took everything out and wrapped it in a towel next morning all good shot another 10-12hours with it.

It was so miserable. But I've taken my 5DMKIII through the amazon too and it got completely soaked. It really doesn't bother me, at the end of the day the pics are more important.

I think you'll find that Birmingham is the second biggest city in the UK. Pretty sure Glasgow is 4th.

 

[Maximilian]

Hi!

Thank you for sharing your trip and impressions.

A huge "thank you" for telling us your experiences with the weather sealing.
I didn't expect it to be that good and I still wouldn't provoke such situations as you went through.
But it makes me feel much better to know now that if you react fast and cautious a lot of situations will not cause instant damage to your and my gear.

Edit: until now I only experenced some light rain but also some sea spray and by clening the gear as you did (wet cloth) I also did not recognize any problems.

You're welcome!

Which camera are you using?

Oh, sorry for not mentioning!
I thought, it was obvious that I was talking about the same camera.
So the answer is that I own the 5D3.

 

[kubelik]

cervantes, I haven't used my 5D Mk III quite as hard as you have ... but as an aside, I've noticed that the moisture resistance is definitely much more robust than on my previous 5D Mk II. Within the first 100K photos of the Mark 2 I had 2 experiences in steady, moderate rain, in which the joystick and/or control dial on the 5D Mk II stopped responding. Once the camera dried out, they returned to normal function. I've used the Mark 3 in conditions at least that bad, if not worse, and had it perform totally fine. I have no qualms about pulling my Mark 3 out for photos in heavy downpour, but I generally try to at least tuck in inside my jacket in between series of shots.

 

[stefsan]

As an owner of a 7D and a 7DII I cannot judge the weather sealing of the 5DIII (I used one but in very fair weather). But if the 5DIII's weather sealing is as good as the one of the original 7D, it can take quite a soaking without any trouble. And the sealing of the 7DII should up the ante even more… The weak points are the lenses anyway but with L glass you should get by pretty well even if the atmospheric conditions are harsh.

 

[cervantes]

My 5DmkIII has failed once. Torrential rain for 5 hours at Silverstone Classics this year. Got my back up out same thing happened but in half the time. Camera just turned off, got it back to my hotel room wiped them clean took everything out and wrapped it in a towel next morning all good shot another 10-12hours with it.

It was so miserable. But I've taken my 5DMKIII through the amazon too and it got completely soaked. It really doesn't bother me, at the end of the day the pics are more important.

Thats basically also my opinion.

I think you'll find that Birmingham is the second biggest city in the UK. Pretty sure Glasgow is 4th.

Bummer! You're right - need to correct that ASAP. Thanks!

 

[cervantes]

cervantes, I haven't used my 5D Mk III quite as hard as you have ... but as an aside, I've noticed that the moisture resistance is definitely much more robust than on my previous 5D Mk II. Within the first 100K photos of the Mark 2 I had 2 experiences in steady, moderate rain, in which the joystick and/or control dial on the 5D Mk II stopped responding. Once the camera dried out, they returned to normal function. I've used the Mark 3 in conditions at least that bad, if not worse, and had it perform totally fine. I have no qualms about pulling my Mark 3 out for photos in heavy downpour, but I generally try to at least tuck in inside my jacket in between series of shots.

Sounds a bit like my strategy: I do not subject my camera to the rain if I don't have to, but I am also not willing to miss a good opportunity by being over protective.