D50 versus the elements

ericande

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I couldn't find anything on Nikon's site about how much weather the D50 can stand. Last night it snowed in Seattle so I went and walked around and took some pics. It was snowing on the camera and everything was fin obviously. But how much rain and crap can these take or should you submit them to?

I've seen that many people use simple seran wrap to protect the cameras. Do you comletely cover everything including the lens or just the body? If you cover the lens, does that distort or hurt the pictures you take?
 
ericande said:
If you cover the lens, does that distort or hurt the pictures you take?

:lmao: I suppose covering the whole lense will give you veeeery long exposures ;)
 
ok, seriously ... unfortunately all camera makers don't tell us much about how much weather a camera can easily withstand.. and this is for the simple reason that they do not want to be responsible if anything goes wrong!

however, today's DSLRs can withstand some amount of nasty environment. ... jut once large drops are forming on your cam or even small streams are running along its outer skin... then i would be concerned.

I use a self made clear plastic bag for really bad weather. for standard bad weather i get the camera out of the bag, take the picture and put it back in, wiping off excess water before i stow it away of course.

works fine for me.
 
One thing you have to watch out for...is condensation. If you bring the camera/lenses from a cold (dry air) to a warm environment (indoors or even in a warm car)...condensation will form inside and outside the gear.

Even when it snows...I wouldn't be too worried about the temperature in Seattle. It's much more of a problem up here where I live. It's freaking cold up here.
Another time you have to watch out for condensation is when going from an air conditioned place...out into hot & humid air.
To avoid condensation...you should cover up the gear (sealed plastic is best) and let it warm up gradually.

As for rain...it's not good...but a little bit shouldn't hurt. I got caught with my camera (Canon 20D) (& without my camera bag) while in the rain forests of Costa Rica...in a torrential down pour. I did have a shower cap and a smaller plastic bag to cover the camera...but it and I both got soaked. The inside of the LCD was fogged up for a few hours but it dried out and still works fine.

I've also seen the inside of a camera that was briefly dropped into the ocean...it was utterly ruined.
 
Unfortunately the D50 and it's other entry level brothers including the D80 and EOS400D are not weather proof.

I'm sure a small amount of rain will not harm them, and maybe a bit of snow, but I would not attempt that on a regular basis. Modern DSLRs seem to be pretty fragile based on some comments I have recently seen while asking the exact same question about the D200.
 
When you get into the metal bodied Nikons such as the D2 line or the old F line you will find that most of the cost difference is the strength/integrity of the body.

An F4s was probably as invincible of an SLR as was ever made. I saw a film once where a group was scaling Everest and they had lost their hammer for the tent spikes so they used an F4s body. The same shutter/meter/AF system with a slower motor drive could be had in an N8008s for less than 1/3 of the F4s.

I have a D50 and do the same think I did when an N8008s was my regular shooter...I use a 1 gallon press and seal baggie with a hole big enough for the front element to poke through. Cheap and effective, but dorky looking.

LWW
 

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