Shooting In The Rain?

[FDSA]

every time it rains I see something I want to take pictures of. Is there some kind of cheap cover that I can use or make? I was thinkng like a lens filter with a plastic bag attached so that you would still be able to use all of the controls.

 

[Overread]

http://www.optech-online.co.uk/prdrainsleeve.htm
sold both in the UK and the USA - not too expensive and it covers your camera whilst also letting you get at the controls - quite a few covers will cover the camera and lens completly and thus hide and hinder changing settings

 

[FDSA]

http://www.optech-online.co.uk/prdrainsleeve.htm
sold both in the UK and the USA - not too expensive and it covers your camera whilst also letting you get at the controls - quite a few covers will cover the camera and lens completly and thus hide and hinder changing settings

Thanks, that looks perfect, have you used one before?. Do you know how it attaches on the front and to the viewfinder? Also does anyone know a reliable online dealer in the US?

 

[Overread]

eh == ahh sorry I saw OPTECH USA and thought that they were USA based as well - sorry they appear to be a outlet only

not used one myself but I know others who have and whlist they are not as robust as some other solutions they are cheap enough not ot break the bank and do work - they attach at 2 points - one is a cord hole which fits over the lens and the other is at the viewfinder

 

[Alfred D.]

http://www.optech-online.co.uk/prdrainsleeve.htm
sold both in the UK and the USA - not too expensive and it covers your camera whilst also letting you get at the controls - quite a few covers will cover the camera and lens completly and thus hide and hinder changing settings

Same thing, but cheaper:

if you can find one of those cheap disposable plastic raincoats (for when you may need to change a flat tyre in the pouring rain; standard emergency equipment in many cars), preferably with elastic cuffs, you can cut off one of those sleeves, stick your camera in it, and fix the cuff around your lens hood. Secure with one of those thick 'postal' rubber bands, or even with gaffer tape. Who cares what it looks like!
Use a UV filter, better yet a skylight filter (slightly reduces the excess blue in the ambient light during rainfall), to protect the lens from direct raindrops and/or splashing water.

Always have something close at hand – a small towel, or similar, in your photo bag or your pocket – to wipe the water off the protective filter and the inside of the hood, and make them dry. That ought to be integral to the standard M.O. when preparing for a shoot in the rain and other potentially wet events (e.g. sailing/boating, skiing/snowboarding, canyon rafting, trips to WaterWorld, or even more mundane ocassions like the kids' water fight with hoses and buckets, in the backyard. After all, summer just started, didn't it? Could be fun!).

Have fun!

 

[FDSA]

I actually don't have a lens hood yet but that sounds like a good idea, I'm just worried about some water seeping in. How waterproof is a lens?

 

[Overread]

most should survive a light sprinkle of water - but its not something that you ever really want to test - the problem being if the water gets inside the lens even if it dries out it can leave behind salts and things that can grow inside your lens (molds and such) and then its off for pro cleaning at cost.
Best to keep it dry - goes doubly for the camera body

 

[FDSA]

the first one looked good but I don't understand how the viewfinder thing works and keeps water out. And its probably around the same cost for a rain jacket.

 

[Overread]

the viewfinder cllips out of the socket - you then place the plastic in that cap and then put the viewfinder back on so as the plastic is round the edges rather than covering the eyehole

 

[Alfred D.]

It's not just the inside of the lens system that needs to be protected from direct contact with water in the environment. The rain's acidity is a given, for instance. And swimming pools, or any kind of treated water really, contains all sorts of aggressive chemicals. Etc. etc. It's in fact all around us. (Research shows you can't even trust bottled water!)

You don't want that stuff in contact with the delicate multi coatings on the outside of your lens! It ruins them!

 

[FDSA]

the viewfinder cllips out of the socket - you then place the plastic in that cap and then put the viewfinder back on so as the plastic is round the edges rather than covering the eyehole

So how do I get the viewfinder off? Is that what the little nob to the top right of the viewfinder is? thanks for all of the help so far

 

[Overread]

what camera are you using?

 

[FDSA]

what camera are you using?

Sorry I meant to put that my last post. Its a canon rebel xsi I didn't see anything about it in my manual...

 

[Josh66]

So how do I get the viewfinder off? Is that what the little nob to the top right of the viewfinder is? thanks for all of the help so far

That knob is most likely the diopter adjustment. The rubber eye cup around the view finder should just slide off (push it up).

 

[Overread]

should be in the manual somewhere - but yes O is right - puch the viewfinder up and it should click out.