How much damp?

[adwb]

coming from Pentax with their extreme weatherproof bodies and lenses I now with my a7 rmk2 and the kit Lens I am a bit wary of water.

Ther seems to be a mixed reaction to what Sony have said re this.

Just how waterproof or not is this camera and lens? I don't intend to stand under waterfalls or work in pouring rain but sometimes have to in that light misty rain that gets every thing damp very quickly .

[Guest Peter Kelly]

The problem with this stems from what Sony claimed initially and, in some respects, from how their previous models performed.

 

The A900 was really superb, memorably outperforming Nikon and Canon (particularly) when Luminous Landscape took early models to the Antarctic.

However, the basic design of the original A7 has issues. Other than being smaller, which means water has less distance to travel before interfering with the internals, it is flawed in the shape and layout of the adjustment wheels; effectively they provide water channels straight down! I believe this is at the core of their fragility and why they were the most noticeable change for the Mark 2 versions. This is particularly upsetting as I really liked the way those dials worked and felt!

 

Unfortunately, it would seem that Sony did not sufficiently test the effectiveness of the sealing built into the cameras and made an original claim that they were 'Weather sealed'.

This has caused a great deal of bad feeling for many who suffered problems after being out in the rain, whereupon Sony refused to honour the guarantee, quoting 'water damage'.

 

The fact is the expression 'Weather sealed' has no definitive meaning, or standing. Most of us would imagine it means exactly what it implies: that the camera can withstand use in poor weather, but that's simply not the case.

 

Following on from the growing number of reports, Sony quietly removed any reference to sealing from their blurb and now, despite the significan redesign, they are only supposed to withstand minor changes in environmental conditions i.e bringing one into a warm room from outside.

 

Personally, I think they have played it too safe in what they tell people and I would have no qualms using the Mark 2 models in rain, providing you take reasonable precautions.

If you are going to be soaked, then I think it would be wise to use one of the many products available for the purpose (usually look like a plastic bag with a round glass window!) to be safe.

[adwb]

Thank you

[jaclarkaus]

Wouldn't think it is much at all.

 

The LL Canon failures were 5D which were not sealed, especially for the scroll wheel near the shutter button on the top of the body (DUH!). 1D series take torrential rain in their stride usually.

 

In the case of the Sony zoom lenses, as they do not zoom internally, a.k.a. dust pump, I would think they would be very suspect at any rate

[K2Kevin]

One word... Personal article insurance policy.

[Guest Peter Kelly]

One word... Personal article insurance policy.

 Isn't that four?