[felixkh]

I too have used the K5 with the DA*16-50 & DA18-135 in rainy weather in Singapore the last couple of weekends, so it is safely weather sealed.

[Docrwm]

So the K5 coupled with a "WR" or DA* lens is fully "weather sealed" at least according to all online reference I can find. What I can't find is first hand information about the camera being used in "weather". 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 have some pictures I would like to take in heavy rainfall, and I'm wondering if the weather seals on the K5 are up to the task. The camera's going to be exposed to the rain and wind, and I plan on pushing buttons and twisting dials. I wouldn't expect trouble from one of Pentax's silly looking water-proof point and shoots, but the K5 is far more complex and has a lot more buttons.

Have any of you used the K5 (or K7) out in the rain, not just a sprinkle, but coming down cats and dogs style? Not just a story about how it started raining walking home from a hike and the camera half-hid under a shirt or something, but actually working the camera (and lens) in a heavy rain.

There are plenty of reports here. I wrote about having mine at a NASA Launch that was scrubbed due to weather and being the only one out of 30-50 with SLRs to stay out in the rain other than a Pro who had a HUGE FF on tripod. He tried to get me to run for cover too and was shocked that my Cropped Sensor camera and lens system was WR. No problems from an hour+ in on-and-off downpour.

As I recall it has 81 o-rings in the thing and it has fewer openings than the Canon that is WR which has fewer o-rings too. It works as advertised.

[Docrwm]

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:

PENTAX DUST AND WEATHER SEALING IN AFGHANISTAN - YouTube

-Heie

Heie,

Just an FYI to you sir. The Pentax K-30 Tour was in Atlanta last night and Ken Curry was using your videos as examples of how robust the K-5/7 model is and he made a point of saying that the K-30 has just as many o-rings and is just as WR as the K-5. I asked him if Pentax was going to send "that soldier" a K-30 to field test too. He smiled. Just smiled. Good luck.

[Heie]

Heie,

Just an FYI to you sir. The Pentax K-30 Tour was in Atlanta last night and Ken Curry was using your videos as examples of how robust the K-5/7 model is and he made a point of saying that the K-30 has just as many o-rings and is just as WR as the K-5. I asked him if Pentax was going to send "that soldier" a K-30 to field test too. He smiled. Just smiled. Good luck.

Hey Doc, glad to see you went to the Tour. Next time they have a tour hosted in a hotel in Afghanistan, I'll be sure to have my platoon stop and pull security as I check it out

And I appreciate the inquiring on my behalf. If anything ever becomes of it, I will let the PF know as soon as I do. And since they used the video....that's commissionable, right?

So if Mr. Curry is looking to transform pearly whites into a care package.....I'm right here

Thanks again!

-Heie

[JinDesu]

Hey Doc, glad to see you went to the Tour. Next time they have a tour hosted in a hotel in Afghanistan, I'll be sure to have my platoon stop and pull security as I check it out

And I appreciate the inquiring on my behalf. If anything ever becomes of it, I will let the PF know as soon as I do. And since they used the video....that's commissionable, right?

So if Mr. Curry is looking to transform pearly whites into a care package.....I'm right here

Thanks again!

-Heie

I'll throw in another mention of you at tomorrow's NYC tour stop

[Heie]

I'll throw in another mention of you at tomorrow's NYC tour stop

If I said I loved you guys, would you hold it against me?

-Heie

P.S....what part of NYC are you from? I grew up in Nassau (Mineola specifically, with some weekend getaways just outside of the Hamptons for fishing trips with my grandfather in East Quogue), and everytime I go home, I always include a multiday layover at JFK to spend time with my family and friends that stayed there when we moved to Florida (L.I. was just way too expensive for a single grandmother raising 4 kids...)

[JinDesu]

I live in Queens - used to live in Flushing, but now up by the Whitestone bridge. I don't often go out to Nassau/Mineola (besides the occasional trip towards Roosevelt fields mall).

[loco]

That's pretty cool, Heie! Hope they do something for you. You've brought them lots of great word of mouth!

[eddie1960]

That's pretty cool, Heie! Hope they do something for you. You've brought them lots of great word of mouth!

+1 they should send you say a DA560 to beta test

[Docrwm]

Hey Doc, glad to see you went to the Tour. Next time they have a tour hosted in a hotel in Afghanistan, I'll be sure to have my platoon stop and pull security as I check it out

And I appreciate the inquiring on my behalf. If anything ever becomes of it, I will let the PF know as soon as I do. And since they used the video....that's commissionable, right?

So if Mr. Curry is looking to transform pearly whites into a care package.....I'm right here

Thanks again!

-Heie

Heie,

Wish you could have been there, thanks for your service.

They did not actually show your video, merely referred to it several times.

-Robert

[Docrwm]

+1 they should send you say a DA560 to beta test

Is Heie Sniper rated? BTW, no mention of the 560 last night. Don't know if anyone else asked 1:1 but I forgot to and did not hear it mentioned.

[JinDesu]

Is Heie Sniper rated? BTW, no mention of the 560 last night. Don't know if anyone else asked 1:1 but I forgot to and did not hear it mentioned.

I'll ask tomorrow night. In fact - if anyone has any questions, might as well send me a list and I'll bring it to the tour.

[BirdDude007]

I think I will add my 2 cents here, I just came back from my two week vacation to
Disney World and Universal Studios, I purchased the 18-135mm lens and battery grip just for the trip because I wanted a good WR walk around set up for the trip.
I had the set up on me 100% of the time and I put it through hell. I took it on all the rides, even the water rides, sometimes it would be on a strap, and sometimes I had it on the "Capture" tethering clip that I had on a belt.
On one ride at the Animal Kingdom I got on one of those Rapids rides that is a round raft that seats around ten people, they told me to put my camera gear in the center stowage on the raft but I declined, they told me my camera will get totally doused on the ride and I said "good". the other riders on the raft were looking at me like I was insane and one of them had a Canon EOS that he had to stow away for the ride(I could sense a little envy from him) I sat so that I could have a good view of my family and then set the camera for continuous and waited for the large drop on the ride where everyone gets drenched, I got off about 10-15 shots as we went down that drop and at the bottom a huge wave of water came over me and the camera, I and the camera was soaked from end to end. I got off the ride and pulled out a microfiber cloth that that I had in a Zip lock bag and wiped the camera down ( I usually did that just to be safe, and it made me feel better)
I drenched the camera on several other occasions as well, the first day at Magic Kingdom it rained all day and I was pretty much the only one with a camera out and shooting pictures and the camera was pretty much soaked all day long.
During this whole time I NEVER had any issues with the camera, lens, or grip, I am seriously impressed with this camera and the way it holds up like advertised. It is great knowing that I can rely on this equipment no matter what comes my way.
I will be doing a write up soon on PF but at the moment I am developing the images in LR and want to have some ready for that write up.

[Docrwm]

I'll ask tomorrow night. In fact - if anyone has any questions, might as well send me a list and I'll bring it to the tour.

Say Hi to Amber. Nice woman.

[JinDesu]

Say Hi to Amber. Nice woman.

Will do