The fact of the matter is that anything created by man is, by nature, imperfect. This includes the systems that create the products themselves (i.e. factories that create cameras). By realizing this, the ensuing understanding is that, unfortunately, you probably have a poorly finished end-product (read=compromised, less-then-originally-engineered sealing). Cars, computers, batteries, etc are recalled every year - it sucks, but it happens and is just a fact of life that you will ultimately have to come to terms with. But while that is true, I can assert that there is enough evidence to counter any claims of less-than-satisfactory weather sealing capabilities regarding Pentax products.
I can personally assure you that the weather sealing claims are very real, and in my experience are not touted enough. I have emailed Pentax (to no response, unfortunately) stating that I believe they need to do more to advertise the weather sealing claims, and the most legitimate way to do this is by using the internationally recognized IP Codes (see here for a much more detailed explanation). These are industry standard, regardless of the industry involved, and are also the standards used for evaluating critical pieces of gear/equipment for military usage (as the military demands the highest levels of durability, as one would expect). Using these codes, I have personally assessed the weather sealed bodies (I own a K-5 and K-7) when combined with a WR/AW/DA* lens to be, at a minimum, IP55W. AW and DA* will have a higher degree of sealing against water and dust, but the difference between 4 and 5 is enough that I would categorize WR as 5 (just barely) as well. What this means is:- IP - Ingress Protection Rating, sometimes also interpreted as International Protection Rating (mandatory prefix to coding)
- 5 - Dust Protected - Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact
- 5 - Water Jets - Water projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.
- Test duration: at least 3 minutes
- Water volume: 12.5 litres per minute
- Pressure: 30 kPa at distance of 3m
- W - Weather Conditions
*Disclaimer: I have not personally had access to a "6.3mm, 12.5 L/m, 30 kPa nozzle," however I believe that a highly pressurized showerhead more than suffices for this.
Here is a testimonial from another Pentax user (who luckily has insider access somehow...lucky bastard...)
The intent behind the aforementioned email to Pentax is that it is my personal opinion that Pentax should lead the industry by publishing their confidence in their equipment as rated to an internationally recognized standard. This would make Pentax the very first camera company to do so for DSLR's, and would help further the credibility of Pentax's purported claims (which still are dubious at best to many). As a 100% private user (i.e. not paid by Pentax in anyway), I stand by the above standard (IP55W), and all experiences have been through personally owned cameras.
I believe I can venture to say that I have abused my cameras--both intentionally and unintentionally--worse than 95% of Pentax's userbase.
The following examples should provide enough documentation and evidence to support that claim. For those of you who have seen these before, I apologize for a lot of self-plagiurizing/-summarizing.
Intentionally:
- This was actually the second iteration I did that day (I screwed up the first shoot), and now, over 3.5 months later (this was made in the beginning of July and is not mid September), I have never had a single issue with either camera or the lenses. 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 obviously 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.
You Tube
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- I can't count the amount of times I have poured water from liter+ bottles, sinks, shower heads and even a hose once just to freak photographer friends out (which makes your 2 oz splash on the backside seem like merely spitting on it).
- Using the above methods to legitimately clean off my cameras after getting them extremely dirty from being in the elements.
Unintentionally:- Do you see the large rectangular pouch that my left arm is resting on? Inside is my Pentax K-5 + mounted DA* 55 that I took on a nighttime helicopter raid mission
 I considered bringing the Sigma 30 since they both share an aperture of f/1.4 while the Sigma is considerably wider, but ultimately went with the 55 because of the weather and dust sealing. The next morning, I was so glad that I did - the helicopter that was coming to pick us up overshot the PZ (Pickup Zone) and flew RIGHT. OVER. us and pelted us with not just dust, but rocks. It was a CH-47 Chinook, which is the largest and most powerful helicopter in the Army's arsenal. Couple that with double rotors, and holy rotor wash lol. The camera and lens were so caked in dust and sand it was actually pretty shocking since it was inside the pouch. So I was very glad I took the 55 and not the unsealed Sigma 30. This was later cleaned under a shower head.
- This was taken by me in Afghanistan during a dust storm at approximately 1300h (1 PM), a time when it is so bright it is still painful wearing sunglasses at times. Pentax K-5, DA* 50-135
- This was also taken by me, but in a thunderstorm - the first few photos were ruined because there was so much water on the lens element that I didn't notice at first. Thankfully I did quickly and cleaned it. Pentax K-5, DA* 16-50
- I have taken my camera running - yes, literally running, and not in a bag/pack - just the strap across my shoulder or holding the grip in my hand. I was leading a physical training event in the rain at around 0400 as I was the lead trainer of 10 soldiers that were being trained to attend an elite military school that I had recently graduated from. Here's a photo taken from that morning, 2 hours into the rain soaked PT session (yes, those lucky few were carrying the 135kg/300lb+ boat the entire way the entire time). Pentax K-5, DA 18-55 WR
- I have had my camera in a turret (unsecured/not tied down) while being the gunner during a mounted vehicle convoy. Because I am sure the question will arise: no, photography was obviously never my priority - it was just to catch opportunity shots, and I shot pics through the bullet proof observation windows of the turret - I never put myself at unnecessary risk. At one point we were fired upon by enemy insurgents, at which point I fired back and the links and shell casings from my .50 caliber machine gun fell on the unprotected camera/lens. Again, this had to be cleaned under a shower head to be cleaned from all the dust and sand that covered the body and lens. Picture is of the K-5 + D-BG4 Battery Grip, DA* 60-250
- Most recently I have resorted to taking my K-5 on combat patrols (similar in fashion to the Night Vision image above) in a drop-leg holster (Lowepro Zoom 55 AW, which is a perfect fit for the gripped K-5 + DA* 60-250 with reversed hood) as I operate in an advisory role patrolling among Afghan soldiers. Yes my primary "weapon" is an actual rifle, not the camera, which is kept within the holster except for 15 sec intervals of quick-removal,-picture,-replacement-into-holster. Yes, as you can imagine, the same cleaning treatment is given upon return to base each time.
Others' Testimonials:
Finally see this thread and focus on posts 4 & 5 - I collected approximately 100 photos taken of/with Pentax DSLR's in extremely adverse environments:
Post your WR picture [Page 1]: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
In conclusion, I think it is extremely immature, shortsighted, and reactionary to exclaim "water resistant my ass!" without being a responsible consumer who does his research. Ultimately all you have accomplished is placing a completely unwarranted and undeserving stigma upon a company that has otherwise delivered far beyond their claims of 'weather resistance." Like I said - there is no such thing as the perfect factory/assembly line - some products will inevitably fail and you probably just got one from a bad batch - it happens. Sucks, and I'm sorry it did, but have faith that that is not the norm. Far from it:
-Heie
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