Originally posted by justDIY I've seen the youtube video where a soldier covers his K5 and DA* lens in Afgan dust and sand, then then rinses it off in the shower, as well as people rinsing the camera under faucets but these seem more to me as novelty one-time demonstrations.
I am that soldier. I can assure you that it isn't a "novelty one-time demonstration." That was actually the second iteration I did that day (I screwed up the first shoot), and now, 1 month later, I have never had a single issue with either camera. No sand inside any of the dials, buttons, etc. The flash got "stuck" on the K-7 in the video because sand had gotten under it (it is weather sealed also, but not the space between it and the camera), so once I raised it up manually, it was good to go, and today it feels as if I just bought it - springy as ever. Come winter time I plan to do a sequal to that weather sealing video - I'll save the details to keep it a surprise
Also, you have to remember, that natural rain hardly ever has the same intensity and pressure as a full blown shower head - I have lived through plenty of hurricanes and I can promise you that whatever rain you are thinking of will at best match the water's intensity that you saw in that video I made. And that would be unbelievably rare when it does happen.
In my opinion, by calling what happened in that video a gimmick and a novelty is being very shortsighted and unappreciative of just how traumatic and demanding that test was, as well as how much more severe that would be compared to actual, real-life situations.
For those that haven't seen the video the OP and I are referencing, here it is:
-Heie