[palmerchan]

Hi guys...
I have a question on DA* lenses...
is weather resistant long lasting??
coz i m buying a second hand DA* lenses for my K-30 n is like one or two years old...
i m just worry the weather resistant ability might be gone from time to time...
i have tried to google the durability of weather resistant for pentax lenses...n i cant found out
I m still quite new to DSLR so guys plz help out!

[Medium FormatPro]

It is always a bonus to have any camera with that much of Weather resistance (W/R) built in, but... There are differing levels of w/r.

For instance the formerly produced (now discontinued) flagship Pentax K-5 does have an impressive amount of w/r. But, it is widely understood that the w/r in the k30 is better - to a point. As for the calim of w/r inlens, sure it exists, but also only to a point.

I'd professionally state that it is only w/r as the exact name implies - only resistant against the weather - and still only resistant to a point. Take a garden hose at even low pressure and one is taking a gamble. Even the so called rinsing off of the camera under a kitchen sink (also with low water pressure - with or without aeriation) would also be a gamble. But if one happens to get caught in a brief shower (or techncicaly even a downpour of sorts) then technically it should not be a problem.

I've also seen what happens on all types of various cameras when items such as w/r or even (something on a completely different scale) water proofing fail. I have in fact seen a K-5 fail at a place (Hawaii) that does have one of the highest amounts of rainfall in the world. We're talking a place that regularly gets severe amounts of rain - perhaps even refered to as a small rain forest - in the amounts of two inches of rain in far less than one hour.

And there are also places like Mount Washington, NH; where... A person can get hypothermia in July or August. Where a truly driving wind could also drive the rain hard enough to defeat most any w/r device. I did not see it happen there with any camera, but... At that exact location I saw two people have their swiss watches (with a version of "bar water res") totaled by the weather.

So that w/r rating is also effected by the severity of the weather, The seals that normally help out w/r would in fact also start to give way at both extremes of the temperature scale. Such as (for people) at about 40 degees and also above 90 degrees - depending upon factors such as direct sunlight. Sure Pentax products are no space shuttles, but we all see what happened to the space shuttle when it gets to temp extremes; even with it's o-rings.

As for lens' and getting then second hand... Well when getting anything at all second hand one can still never tell what conditions that lens was kept in. The seals might very well be next to gone in less than one year - as would be the case in how I use products professionally and in rather extreme enviroments. But there's a chance that same lens could technically hold out for over five years, maybe even ten in an ideal enviroment.

To conclude for now; if operating any camera in unusual enviroments I'd also consider adding; filters, w/r (or even water proof) gadget bags, etc... One should also "look into" getting extra insurance (usually a type of waiver) to cover ones camera equipment - down to the point of replacing it under certain specifications. Also noting - depending upon how one purchases their camera equipment (and also more importantly how they use the camera; ie - semi professionally, hobby, etc...) that certain credit crds do offer extra levels of protection on some equipment purchases, but... Make sure you retain extensive records for that exact purpose.

[palmerchan]

thanks !
very informative answer!!!
but i think they should announce resistant point...e.g. -10 degrees Celsius to 38 degrees Celsius to make clear how strong the resistant is...
instead of pouring water or sand on the cameras and lens..
i feel like i fell in a trap of misleading promotion...

[Timd]

There is actually an IEC standard (IEC 60529 Degree of protection provided by enclosures [IP Code]) for electrical equipment. It is very precise in defining what the protection is. My gut is that the K5 is IP54, in other words dust protected and water spraying. It is not IP68 - dust tight, continuous immersion in water.

I would like Pentax to come clean and actually quote the IP rating of all their equipment.

[Tatume]

For instance the formerly produced (now discontinued) flagship Pentax K-5 does have an impressive amount of w/r.

The K-5 does not appear to be discontinued.

PentaxWebstore.com:K-5 Body Only Kit K-5 Body Only Kit

Take care, Tom

[Tanzer]

... it is widely understood that the w/r in the k30 is better - to a point.

I haven't heard this, so I'm just curious, where did this come from? I haven't seen any hints that the K-30 weather sealing might be better than the K-5, other than advertising images from Pentax explicitly showing the K-30 dripping wet -- I don't recall any images of the K-5 in mud or rain that I can recall. On the other hand, the Pentax USA website describes the K-5 is "fully weather sealed" while the K-30 is simply described as "weather sealed." Hope this question is not off-topic.

Edit: I agree, it would be nice if Pentax could quote some sort of standardized testing criteria, going forward, to further differentiate their products against other brands.

[palmerchan]

I haven't heard this, so I'm just curious, where did this come from? I haven't seen any hints that the K-30 weather sealing might be better than the K-5, other than advertising images from Pentax explicitly showing the K-30 dripping wet -- I don't recall any images of the K-5 in mud or rain that I can recall. On the other hand, the Pentax USA website describes the K-5 is "fully weather sealed" while the K-30 is simply described as "weather sealed." Hope this question is not off-topic.

Edit: I agree, it would be nice if Pentax could quote some sort of standardized testing criteria, going forward, to further differentiate their products against other brands.

guys, is there any method that we can check this with Pentax???

[Medium FormatPro]

Pentax is to electronics - is just the same as - what Seiko or Omega are to the watch industry.

It's quite highly unlikely that Pentax would actually share that type of data; just like most any watch company would show the failure point of it's watches. Interestingly enough I've seen (and owned) many a fine watch over the year. Some of those watches claiming to be 100meter bar water resistant - if that statement actually makes any sense at all??

Yet that same watch - costing well in excess of 5k; could not even take the average occassional amount of water in a shower - no joke.

[Verglace]

I've come to consider the WR as an extra layer of defense, however it is not a fool-proof defense, still take care of your equipment, even though it is advertised as WR, the warranty does not actually cover damage from WR failure (from what I understand of the warranty).