Originally posted by c.a.m Ricoh Imaging UK has unveiled a new Pentax DSLR Product Guide in late 2013:
PENTAX DSLR Product Guide - RICOH IMAGING UK LTD.
On the first page inside, we are treated to a K-3 splashed fully by a liquid - presumably water. Turn the pages, and there's a K-5 II also feeling a good drenching.
There are references to "weather resistance" for the K-3 and K-5 II, but on page 11, the K-30 is touted as "weatherproof." The section on Pentax lenses promotes the new ones as "additions to the already comprehensive weatherproof range."
The K-5 II is described as a "camera that can cope with a quick dunk below the surface and a very heavy rain shower." First time I have seen this type of description in Pentax literature.
How should we interpret "weatherproof"? I wonder what Ricoh uses as their definition. What's the difference between "weather resistant" and weatherproof? Is the K-30 really protected more robustly against the elements than the other models?
And most importantly - should I take my K-5 II with WR or DA* lens out into the pouring rain?
- Craig
DA* lenses have better sealing than WR lenses.
WR lenses are wether
resistant, but DA* are weather
proof.
Neither are water proof.
So WR can "resist" weather, but DA* were designed to be totally immune to weather conditions.
I would never go out with a WR lens in heavy rain, snow or in excessively dusty atmosphere. DA* should, however, be more suited for that purpose. Yet none can be or should be submerged!
Regarding the camera designation, if same letters describe same designs, then WR camera is only weather resistant. So far,
not a single DSLR camera from Pentax is weather
proof. However, that resistance may be of different quality in different DSLR cameras. That is something we don't know, but some
surmise a K-5 or a K-3 may be a tad better sealed than K-30 or K-50. It is somewhat
expected, rather than confirmed.
Taken from a considerate perspective, best sealed products in Pentax DSLR line are DA* lenses —they are better sealed even than DSLRs.
But I totally disagree with the claim from the brochure that a Pentax DSLR camera has such a splendid sealing "it may be submerged for an instant" — because that act
will nullify warranty straight away. I have no idea why did they write such things.