Marsu42 said:
The only really sealed camera bodies are the 1d series, with everything else it's a gamble.
No, with every SLR camera body from every manufacturer it's a gamble. That includes the 1D's, the Nikon D-whatevers, the Olympus bodies, pro lenses of every model and manufacturer, all of it.
Nobody in the SLR market tests their bodies and lenses using international specs, which is why nobody publishes that their bodies and lenses confirm to XYZ spec or can handle X amount of water/weather for Y amount of time.
This irritates the heck out of me because the manufacturers want you to think their products can be used in rough weather, but they don't want to deal with the warranty or maintenance implications of this. It's dishonest.
The level of sealing and resistance can vary quite a bit between models with the same ad descriptions. The 5D2, 7D, 60D, 5D3, and 6D are all described as "sealed less than a 1D", and their seal diagrams look almost identical. You would think that whatever "less than a 1D" means, they would all be the same. But in practice reports have been very good for the 7D, good for the 60D, but bad for the 5D2 and now possibly the 6D. Can't say I've seen much of anything on the 5D3 yet. Going by user reports there are clear differences in sealing between them, but nobody can determine that from the ads.
Not only that, sealing can vary over the life of your camera. With most real water resistant equipment you have to inspect and replace seals periodically. Nobody ever talks about this with SLRs.
It's stupid really, and the photography press (or a good lawyer) needs to start pressuring manufacturers on this point.