[KxBlaze]

I only baby the lens and the rear LCD (I do not have a top LCD). As for the bottom, I have no trouble at all laying my camera on dirt, brick, stone, anything really (except for sticky dirty stuff like gum or bird droppings of course). It's the bottom of the camera, who cares about that part.

[Mustang]

Maybe it's just me, but having a thousand dollars worth of equipment in use at one time makes me think twice about where I put my camera. I do use walls, tables, and other bases sometimes, but I try to keep my equipment clean.

[FullertonImages]

My wife went on a youth group whitewater rafting trip last weekend. So I sent her off with a K-7 and 18-55WR, just because I wanted to see what it could really handle. She brought a little toploader Mountainsmith case, which quickly became saturated with water, so the camera spent the majority of the time just around her neck. She said the camera was getting absolutely pummeled with waves that were big enough to be knocking her around. The camera is fine. Works 100% now, never stopped working during the trip. She was shooting photos and video the whole time. when they were loading up the guide was like, you shouldn't bring that it'll get really wet. And she was like, I know.

[jbrowning]

I don't treat my camera and lenses like crap. But with that being said. I took my K20D and Pentax DA*300 out in the rain for the first time. I was a little worried. But they both came through it just fine. It rained all say Saturday steady then all morning on Sunday. From Sunday about 10 a.m. till noon it rained danged hard and I mean good size rain drops steady. But once again the camera and lense came through just fine. Thank goodness I got the DA*300 the weekend before this race. Here are a couple of shots from that weekend.





If you want to see more go to this link and view the picture from 6/12 and 6/13.

Rocky Mtn Photos Motorcycles .

It was pretty cool being the only photographer out there that weekend. Everyone else stayed home to keep their equipement dry.

Jim

[Clicker]

Like a sibling, it takes what i dish out.

[kyles_jollies]

I love the ruggedness of my K7. As a soldier (Australian Army) I do a lot of traveling and have been in some pretty hairy situations with the K7. Afghanistan, Kuwait, UAE, East Timor and all over Europe. Not to mention rugged Australia. I use Sigma lenses and they have also held up everytime. Snow, mud, dust, extreme cold and heat, battle. No problems. The pictures speak for themselves.

The top photo is of an Afghan Soldier taken in a Bazaar in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
The second photo is of Wallman Falls (longest drop fall in the Southern Hemisphere) also a very wet place to take photos.
The third photo is of my feet whilst sitting in Jungfrau region Switzerland, forget the name of the mountain but I can assure you it was cold!
Finally the last photo shows a Blackhawk helicopter landing on a river bed in East Timor.

[FullertonImages]

Great shots, Kyles!

[Ratmagiclady]

I've broken more flashes (I think the 360 and 540 have a fatal flaw in their design at the foot) than I can remember.

That's why we used to swear by 283s and 285s: they passed the 'drop test.'

(The drop test being: "If you drop it, are you losing money on this shoot?")

It seems like people treat their cameras based on their personality. I'm an action sports, aggressive, go-get-em type of guy. Like a couple other folks on here, I figure the camera can handle the abuse. If it can't, well, that's what the shops are for. At least I get my shots.

I take photos in heavy dust/heavy rain/hail/ every few days (not all at once usually). There's mud, sand, ash, snow, and rocks, all being flung at me and the camera. Thus far my Pentax bodies have held up magnificently.

Getting the shot is the thing. Even when I was able to be more active, my gear didn't get really beaten-on, ....now I mostly just don't want things too fragile, in case of little mishaps.

[TaoMaas]

I don't 'baby' my gear, but I don't abuse it, either. I guess it all depends upon your point of view. I had one friend who refused to change the lens on his camera unless he was indoors. Frankly, I think he missed a lot of shots because of this. But he was okay with that. Eh...to each, his own. I believe cameras are tools and they're meant to be used.

[Ratmagiclady]

I love the ruggedness of my K7. As a soldier (Australian Army) I do a lot of traveling and have been in some pretty hairy situations with the K7. Afghanistan, Kuwait, UAE, East Timor and all over Europe. Not to mention rugged Australia. I use Sigma lenses and they have also held up everytime. Snow, mud, dust, extreme cold and heat, battle. No problems. The pictures speak for themselves.
.

Nice shots, Kyles: Speaking of Sigmas, I wonder if you've got any with that push-pull mechanism to switch between manual and autofocus: I have the 28/1.8 and really like it, but I've been wondering if that mechanism is in any way fragile (or prone to letting dust or moisture in.)

[Parallax]

I don't treat it anymore. I tried buying it a ice-cream cone once. Geez, what a mess!

[stevebrot]

I don't baby my K10D. It has been rain soaked, thoroughly mudded, and banged around more than I care to think about. People may complain about plastic housings, but the K10D is remarkably resistant to scratches and impact. One thing I do take care to avoid is dropping it. No camera should have to endure that.


Steve

[PentaxMom Felua]

I treat the k20d with great outings: it goes with me where ever I stumble and fall, which is a great talent of me. So far we have both come out well.

Then I hand it over in the hands of my youngest (very autistic) son, who has a peculiar way of using it: through the dirt he crawls to take pictures of ants, which he especially likes and he doesn 't care they turn out so small in his pictures as that is what they are. I have become an expert in sensor cleaning. In cleaning the whole thing.

[johnmflores]

Not too well, I'm afraid. I had a little Ricoh that I hung off the motorcycle to take photos. Invariable, it got wet. I shoot in whatever conditions I find myself in, and it's rained on nearly every single motorcycle story I've done ...

Very interesting looking pictures, kyles_jollies! Especially the chopper one.

As a soldier (Australian Army) I do a lot of traveling and have been in some pretty hairy situations with the K7. Afghanistan, Kuwait, UAE, East Timor and all over Europe.

Do you mean you've been in hairy situations and in the service in Europe as well?