non-weather sealing lens

[annod]

I have a K10d but no weather sealing lens.

Has anyone used weather-sealed body with non-weather sealed lens out in wet/sandy/dusty environment.

I thought about getting a cheapie $50 lens just for this purpose. (not heavy rain of course) At worst, the lens will be ruined, but the body should be okay, right?

What do y'all think?

[ftpaddict]

The body would only be ok if the lens' mount had a rubber gasket; otherwise water could easily sip in.

You could try it with a regular lens, but Pentax' warranty doesn't cover damage caused by water.

[er1kksen]

Less than ideal, but workable solution: Some of the older manual lenses, while not weathersealed, are very tight in their construction. You could put one of those on the camera and then seal around the mount with some cheap automotive silicone or something similarly easy to peel off afterwards. I imagine that would give a pretty good level of environmental sealing.

The downsides: No autofocus, You can't change lenses, you have to deal with applying the stuff and letting it dry and then peeling it off, it still probably wouldn't hold up in the worst conditions, and it would look ugly.

The ideal solution would be for pentax to release an affordable weathersealed lens or two.

[SpecialK]

I was in a mild drizzle with the 55-300 on the K20D (See my Rodeo gallery...) I just wiped it off once in a while. You could get those cheap plastic bag camera/lens covers which should work OK.

[kerrowdown]

I can reply re the dusty/sandy bit..............................

I used a sealed body (LX) with Pentax manual fast glass for many years in the the Middle East, weather sealed lenses had not been invented then.

Nor had rain or wet..........................................

Just be as cautious as you can when exposing you equipment to the elements, remember to give a good cleaning each night with a blower and cloths to remove the residue dust/sand.