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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-15-2018, 08:08 PM
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This is my first attempt at a long exposure. It is only a 30sec exposure so there is a lot of ghosting with the people fishing.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-15-2018, 03:00 AM
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Happened upon this event by chance yesterday not really expecting to see something of such a dramatic scale in the Highlands
Lots of well maintained transport and well looked after sheep, but hints of decay and deterioration no doubt because of the decline in value of sheep in the UK
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-15-2018, 01:15 AM
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A peaceful early morning on the edge of Poole Harbour
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-20-2017, 08:23 PM
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With a few notable exceptions, most threads on this site that specifically relate to weather seals generally fall into three main groups: reports of failed seals and/or rants about expectation of seal performance and/or Ricoh voiding warranty when water is found inside the camera. The standard responses range from success stories ("seals saved my camera"), sympathy comments, more rant, and suggestions of user (victim?) blame. That last is particularly prominent to the point that I have been thinking that a short treatise on user responsibility may be more kind and ultimately more helpful. Note that this note specifically excludes discussion of lens flange seals and/or use of focus/zoom on a sealed lens. The intent here is focus on the body only.*
Mods: Feel free to relocate if needed
A few initial talking points:- Given enough time and/or pressure differential, any seal in any system will fail
- All seals degrade with age and factors such as heat, ozone, contamination, etc. may contribute to the process
- Hermetic seals are only a good idea if a static internal environment is also a good idea
- Many on this site and elsewhere who have shot electronic film cameras and did so under challenging conditions for many years without failure due to moisture
- The above four points strongly infer that mindfulness and appropriate expectation might be combined to secure a good result. (That certainly reads stuffy.)
When water gets in with help from the user
I have my K-3 in front of me as I type. Pentax claims 92 environmental seals and has featured photos and video showing the camera quite thoroughly wet, if not soaked. That appears to be a clear invitation to excess. On the body, I count six points where user behavior may reduce the benefit of the camera's seals. They are (working from the top down)...- Microphone port flap...must be properly seated
- USB, HDMI, DC-in flap...very easy to not get fully seated to seal
- SD Card door...probably the weakest point in the system, though it is quite possible that there may be additional internal seals similar to those used with the hot shoe
- Wired remote port flap...must be properly seated
- Battery door...I would not leave the camera base sitting in standing water...'nuff said, eh?
- Grip contact cover...if properly seated, probably is quite effective, however, see point #5 above
Some might also add the lens mount (duh) and PC sync cap.
As is noted above, time is not our friend where water is concerned and while there are well-documented occurrences where a Pentax camera has survived full immersion or cleaning under a gentle stream of water, prompt removal of standing water from the camera is a prudent course of action. Some additional thoughts regarding time and pressure...- Avoid situations where the camera may end up sitting in pooled water (e.g. bottom of leaky camera bag or ice chest**)
- A splash is a high pressure moment. The same is true for a falling drop of rain. A few more words about "splash". There has been a subtle move by manufacturers to use "splash" in preference to "all-weather", or "rain" when describing seal performance. I think that is is safe to assume that "splash" as a "waffle word" does not include firehose, 30' waterfalls, garden hose nozzle, or a rogue wave at the sea shore.
You Tube
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- Aftermarket plastic or glass protectors for rear and top LCDs may allow water to pass and hold it against the main seals for the LCD itself
On the subject of humidity
Water in the camera is not always due to seal failure and damage to internal components due to moisture is not always due to gross incursion of liquid water. The sad truth is that water vapor in the air will follow the concentration gradient and while seals may slow the process, eventually the vapor pressure of H2O inside will be the same as on the outside. Moist air may encourage growth of fungus and when the camera passes from a warm, high humidity environment into a cooler space, condensation on internal surfaces, including electronics and optics, may occur as a result. This has always been a problem for cameras and lenses, particularly in the tropical parts of the globe where specialized storage in low humidity cabinets is not unusual. Another common humidity risk element is present in cold winter areas where outside air is cold and dry with indoors air often being somewhat more humid. Moving a camera filled with warm moist air to a 10°F (-12°C) outdoors will result in condensation within the camera and/or lens. The most obvious indication is condensation on internal optics and mirrors. Note that moving to an air-conditioned space from the humid summer outdoors is very similar. There are many approaches to dealing with humidity and condensation and a full discussion of a little off-topic. Google is our friend. Many thanks to user @JinDesu for suggesting expanded content on humidity.
Please indulge a small aside on the matter of hermetic (love that word) seals. User expectation often is that the camera should be warrantied watertight. The logical extension is that the camera be fairly airtight as well. There are troubling implications to both in that once water or moisture-laden air gets in, it may be very difficult to get the wet out again. The seals work against us and there is a good reason to not make them too tight. It is my belief that Ricoh/Pentax should extend a grace in their warranty restrictions where condensation is a potential cause for water damage.
Best Practices
I won't guaranty that following these suggestions will save one from wet grief, but they are common practice and field-tested and I do believe them to be of value.- If one finds that rain gear is needed, it is quite likely that one's camera needs some level of protection as well
- Do not be presumptuous of the effectiveness of the seals. Hubris is not a virtue. Yes, it is sort of cool to allow the seals to be the first line of defense against the wet (I confess), but it is better to avoid doing so.
- Do not expose the camera to more than a few minutes of steady rain or penetrating mist. If one needs to wipe the lens front element or camera eyepiece or if water is dripping off the gear, there is reason for concern.
- Make sure that doors and flaps are properly closed.
- The seals on exterior doors and flaps as well as o-ring mount gaskets (WR and AR lenses) work best if they are kept clean of grit, lint, or contamination. Many thanks to @BigMackCam for reminding me of this and for his cleaning suggestions (comment BELOW)
- Do not allow water to stand on the camera. Carry a small towel (e.g. dish towel) to wipe water from the camera before returning it to the bag
- When working in the rain or when potential for splash is high, avoid setups where one of the body doors or flaps are open to the wet
- Consider use of well-fitted camera rain sleeve or poncho
- An umbrella can be a huge help, particularly if one has a willing assistant to hold it. Having an umbrella might allow one to carry the camera around the neck or off the shoulder.
- Most camera bags have minimal water resistance. Know before you go.
When to weep
The following indicators of water penetration have been reported by users on this site...- Visible fog, droplets, or sloshing water in rear/top LCD
- Persistent fogged viewfinder eyepiece
- Condensation on inner surfaces of SD card access, USB/HDMI access and similar
- Liquid water inside SD card access or battery bay
- Sloshing sounds from within the camera
- Failure of one or more camera controls
- Failure of rear or top LCD displays
- Failure to power up
- Camera is demon possessed
- Liquid water found during service attempt
- Gross corrosion found during service attempt
Mitigation
There are multiple reports from users on this site of successful drying after a mild incursion. I have never had to perform the procedure, but conventional wisdom goes something like this:- Power off and leave power off until confident that the camera is dry
- Remove battery
- Remove lens
- Open all camera access doors and flaps
- Place in a closed plastic bag with desiccant to draw moisture out of the body. Tradition calls for dry, uncooked rice grains, but rice can cause problems if allowed to get into the mirror box and other openings and can get mushy. Some users have used other grains or dried legumes (e.g. wheat or lentils) and have reported good results. A recent option is silica gel-based crystal-type kitty litter (see HERE).
- Drying may take several days and may also require a change of desiccant
Incursion of salt water is much more serious and I hesitate to recommend a DIY solution beyond powering down immediately and removing the battery prior to getting it to a service facility.
Steve
* The rational is partly for convenience and partly due to my lack of experience with sealed lenses (yes, I shoot in the rain without such and have done so for decades).
** Yes, I wrote ice chest and yes, I did see this and no, it was not my camera
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