[cxzj]

Hi all,

I took a trip to the Philippines last December to some hiking. We climbed Mt Pulag (3rd highest mountain in the Philippines at 2922m ASL) and visited the mountain town of Sagada.

I chose Pentax over all the other camera brands out there because of the famed weather sealing, and my choice was fully justified during this trip. The hike up Mt Pulag takes 2 days and 1 night, camping about 200m below the summit before hiking the last leg up the summit to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately for us, it started to rain during the night, and while we did attempt to hike up to the summit to see if the weather would clear, we had to turn back as it started to get worse. We ended up just having breakfast and heading back down to the trail-head because the rain wouldn't let up. Now the rain wasn't extremely heavy, not the lightning and thunder kind but still a steady patter of decent sized raindrops. All this while, I had my trusty K5 with the 18-135mm WR out and about braving the elements with me. Having tested this set up during an 8 hour light drizzly hike in Alaska, I was confident that the rain would not pose any issues. I don't have many shots during this period, because there really wasn't much to see but I was holding my camera just in case I spotted anything interesting. The downward hike took about 2 hours, and the temperatures changed drastically from around 7 Celsius to around 16 Celsius nearer the trail-head because the sun came out.

Up to this point, the K5 was perfectly fine. But once the temperature rose, the condensation started to form inside the lens and must have affected the electronics inside the body too. At first, a half press of the shutter button would fire off a shot. It later worsened to the back LCD not turning on at all, and none of the buttons functioning. Turning on the camera would interestingly fire the shutter and I could still adjust settings using the top LCD and control dials, but the autofocus could not work because the lenses were fogged up inside too. At this juncture I was kinda devastated, as I had only one body and it was barely half-way into the trip. There was nothing left to do except dry out the camera that night at the hostel we booked. I took out the battery, opened all the doors, took out the lens and attached the lens cap and left everything overnight to dry. In the morning when I woke, I put everything back together and to my surprise, my K5 was alive again! All the components worked as they should and showed no signs of the soaking they had received the day before.

All I can say is that the famed Pentax weather sealing really lives up to it's name. The durability and reliability of the equipment at this price point is simply unparalleled. I would not hesitate to recommend Pentax to anybody because of its superb blend of image quality and ergonomics packed into a tough, solid body. May my K5 live forever!

Some shots I took on the trip below:

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[loco]

Always nice to hear a positive story. Sounds like a really cool trip, too, despite the rain. Nice pics!

Thanks for sharing.

[Blacknight659]

ah... the K-5... Is this your first Pentax? Also, did you purchase the K-5 used recently?

I am not putting you down for this, I am a K-5ii and K-5iis user myself and love them dearly. I was just wondering if this is your first experience with Pentax or if you are a seasoned user.

[JinDesu]

As an FYI, weather sealing does almost nothing with condensation. As long as air can get in somewhere, humidity will as well. Weather sealing is intended to restrict water droplets, etc.

You can offset condensation by having the body and lens reach the temperature of your surroundings while in a bag with dessicants. It'll reduce the moisture within the camera and lens, and with the temperature stabilized, condensation will not likely form.

Great photos btw

[sfkazimierczak]

My K5ii withstood recording video in heavy snow without any problem. Its great to have a camera in which you can find a reliable companion Great journey and best wishes

[alecan]

Hi all,

I took a trip to the Philippines last December to some hiking. We climbed Mt Pulag (3rd highest mountain in the Philippines at 2922m ASL) and visited the mountain town of Sagada.

I chose Pentax over all the other camera brands out there because of the famed weather sealing, and my choice was fully justified during this trip. The hike up Mt Pulag takes 2 days and 1 night, camping about 200m below the summit before hiking the last leg up the summit to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately for us, it started to rain during the night, and while we did attempt to hike up to the summit to see if the weather would clear, we had to turn back as it started to get worse. We ended up just having breakfast and heading back down to the trail-head because the rain wouldn't let up. Now the rain wasn't extremely heavy, not the lightning and thunder kind but still a steady patter of decent sized raindrops. All this while, I had my trusty K5 with the 18-135mm WR out and about braving the elements with me. Having tested this set up during an 8 hour light drizzly hike in Alaska, I was confident that the rain would not pose any issues. I don't have many shots during this period, because there really wasn't much to see but I was holding my camera just in case I spotted anything interesting. The downward hike took about 2 hours, and the temperatures changed drastically from around 7 Celsius to around 16 Celsius nearer the trail-head because the sun came out.

Up to this point, the K5 was perfectly fine. But once the temperature rose, the condensation started to form inside the lens and must have affected the electronics inside the body too. At first, a half press of the shutter button would fire off a shot. It later worsened to the back LCD not turning on at all, and none of the buttons functioning. Turning on the camera would interestingly fire the shutter and I could still adjust settings using the top LCD and control dials, but the autofocus could not work because the lenses were fogged up inside too. At this juncture I was kinda devastated, as I had only one body and it was barely half-way into the trip. There was nothing left to do except dry out the camera that night at the hostel we booked. I took out the battery, opened all the doors, took out the lens and attached the lens cap and left everything overnight to dry. In the morning when I woke, I put everything back together and to my surprise, my K5 was alive again! All the components worked as they should and showed no signs of the soaking they had received the day before.

All I can say is that the famed Pentax weather sealing really lives up to it's name. The durability and reliability of the equipment at this price point is simply unparalleled. I would not hesitate to recommend Pentax to anybody because of its superb blend of image quality and ergonomics packed into a tough, solid body. May my K5 live forever!

Some shots I took on the trip below:

Great pictures. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[quh86]

Just a quick tip for situations where you expose your gear to great temperature differences: Bring sealed plastic bags!
Especially helpful in winter. If you expose your gear to below zero celcius degrees, wrap it in a plastic bag before bringing it back in. Let it warm up in there for a good hour or so, before unpacking it, et voila no condensation whatsoever

(The reason behind this is that actually the different air temperatures are at fault for causing condensation.)

[Wingincamera]

Another thing do when coming in from large temperature difference is remove the memory card before sealing up the gear. I want to look at & process the photos right away. If not, then just leave the memory card in the camera until things equalized.

[bwDraco]

Had a similar experience with heavy rain at a soccer game: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/310832-torrential-rainfall...my-k-3-ii.html

The camera behaved erratically and stopped working altogether for some time after extended exposure to rain. It was brief, though, and the camera came to its senses about 15 minutes later. Absolutely no problems since.

[Stickl]

I've never had problems with my K-5 II in crazy conditions like -40C temperatures, in heavy rain or snowing etc - it's gone through everything in these three years and still working like a new one! It will be amazing backup camera for K-1.

[monoloco]

I have even had condensation problems with a Nikonos when going from an air-conditioned room outside into hot muggy conditions in Panama.

[cxzj]

ah... the K-5... Is this your first Pentax? Also, did you purchase the K-5 used recently?

I am not putting you down for this, I am a K-5ii and K-5iis user myself and love them dearly. I was just wondering if this is your first experience with Pentax or if you are a seasoned user.

Yup this is my first Pentax!. Got it 2nd hand last June, previous owner had it for about 2 years

[Blacknight659]

Yup this is my first Pentax!. Got it 2nd hand last June, previous owner had it for about 2 years

That rocks! Glad to have you on board. Enjoy the Pentax community!

[Ron63]

Great story about the K5's hardiness and also those are nice photos.

[totsmuyco]

Great pics. I live on the Philippines and I haven't been to Mt. Pulag. I have the younger sibling, the k-5II and I love it. I can't say anything bad about the system. Thanks for sharing.