E-M1 - how good is the weather sealing REALLY

[jonoslack]

Hi There
We've spent a week in the lakes - Sunday was sunny, and I took a lot of shots with the Leica M . . . . . . . then it wasn't sunny.

I understand that Ming Thein has shot his E-M1 the shower, others have poured water over it - whatever.

Well, I've spent something like 15 hours this week in pouring rain / sleet / hail at temperatures around 3 or 4 C gale force winds (and another 15 hours threatening rain), The E-M1 with the 12-40 has been over my shoulder all the time, at one point it had turned turtle, and there was a pool in the lens. other times it's had water streaming off it. The real problem was keeping a lens cloth dry enough to wipe the rain off the lens. . . . I was a little worried as I'd lost the hot shoe cover.

Nobody kept dry - expensive Norwegian jackets let the water through - two different LowePro backpacks leaked, leaving an M240 in a pool of water in the bottom (undamaged).

My E-M1 is now really clean and shiny, and it worked perfectly and seamlessly at all times, no hangups, no hiccups, so I guess one can say that the weather sealing really works. Soakproof indeed!

all the best

 

[docmoore]

Jono...

Here you go:


DryZone Series | Lowepro


Regards,


Bob

 

[Knorp]

I think Ming Thein has a point: why go all the way to the lakes while you could have waterproof tested your E-M1 comfortably in your own shower at home ?
You Brits are such a funny bunch ...

All the very best.

 

[docmoore]

Even Ming would balk at 15 hours in the shower...:ROTFL:

Bob

 

[jonoslack]

Jono...

Here you go:


DryZone Series | Lowepro


Regards,


Bob

Hi Bob
Fine, but you need a degree in astrophysics to get your camera out, and a bodybuilding course to carry them.......... And if you leave a zip open they'll still leak!

 

[jonoslack]

I think Ming Thein has a point: why go all the way to the lakes while you could have waterproof tested your E-M1 comfortably in your own shower at home ?
You Brits are such a funny bunch ...

All the very best.

You have a point Bart.
Also, I wouldn't have two sore knees and a buggered wrist where I slipped on some scree. I think I'm going to do some serious shower photography

 

[mazor]

I have used my EM-1 in small rains, and it has performed admirably never missing a shot. The only issue is trying to keep the rain off the lens, of which even the provided lens hood cannot prevent rain fro occasionally hitting front lens filter.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Hi Bob
Fine, but you need a degree in astrophysics to get your camera out, and a bodybuilding course to carry them.......... And if you leave a zip open they'll still leak!

You want to get the camera out of the bag?!? You Brits are weird sometimes. Put the camera in the bag, place it in the shower, open a bottle of claret and you're day is saved. If that Olympus has an interval timer, you should be able to get some perfect shots of the inside of the bag. Dry ones, not depressing, soaking wet images of fogy British landscapes. :ROTFL:

Islanders!?! They are a bit slow, aren't they?

 

[Godfrey]

It hardly rains much around here, but the weather sealing on E-1, E-5, and E-M1 bodies when used with the higher end, weather-sealed lenses has worked a treat in blowing dust and fine grit from the dry lake bed at at Black Rock Playa in Nevada too. That same dust totally hammered a Nikon FM I was up there shooting with a decade ago ... I had to have the camera CLA'ed after a weekend of rocketry there as it jammed solid at the end.

The E-1 and E-5 survived many such encounters without a hiccup, I washed them off in the shower when I arrived home and they were good as new. I expect the E-M1 works similarly.

 

[Mike Woods]

You have a point Bart.
Also, I wouldn't have two sore knees and a buggered wrist where I slipped on some scree. I think I'm going to do some serious shower photography

Please don't post the results

Mike

 

[greypilgrim]

Can't speak to the EM-1, but I had my EM-5 and the 12-50 out in the Hoh rain forest in the Olympics, and it performed wonderfully. I can definitely relate to the lack of dry cloths though. We were in rain gear and got totally soaked, but the camera came through in spades.

Any shots to share from the trip?

Doug

 

[Knorp]

You have a point Bart.
Also, I wouldn't have two sore knees and a buggered wrist where I slipped on some scree. I think I'm going to do some serious shower photography

Ow sorry about your mishap, Jono.
Don't tell me you're crash testing your E-M1 as well ?

Seriously, I'm sure the lakes are a much more inspiring place than your shower.
At least I liked very much your shots of the meres :thumbup:

Kind regards.

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Hi Bob
Fine, but you need a degree in astrophysics to get your camera out, and a bodybuilding course to carry them.......... And if you leave a zip open they'll still leak!

Actually those look pretty awesome. I've used plain bags like that with the rollover top on a kayak trip. But they are for carrying stuff THROUGH the waterfall, then using it once comfortably inside and dry again. Maybe the physics degree is useful for knowing when to take things out.

The most appealing wet-test I've seen is Sean Reid's annual shooting of a Vermonter's typical Fourth of July party in which local fire fighters play soccer on the main street of town with live fire hoses and a basketball. The least appealing one involved a bag of Olympus E-1 Kit and a neglected dog, but we don't have to go there.

Happy springtime,

scott

 

[jonoslack]

Here are a few shots to give you a general idea . . .

On High Spy

Drying Matty

Cows at Buttermere

This is what happens if you do leave the lens cap on (condensation on the outside element of the lens

Silas on Latrigg - you can't photograph the wind!

Path and View

​

 

[MGrayson]

Wonderful, Jono, but to paraphrase Star Wars, that's no cow...

Best,

Matt

 

[Elderly]

This is what happens if you do leave the lens cap on (condensation on the outside element of the lens

Na - you are just too ashamed to admit you were trying one of the 'Art' filters

Great dog btw :thumbup:

 

[jonoslack]

Wonderful, Jono, but to paraphrase Star Wars, that's no cow...

Best,

Matt

HI There Matt
Well, , , , , actually the cows of Highland cattle also have horns, Highland cattle.
I don't know whether this was a Bull or a Cow, although I was assuming it was a cow, as I got rather close!

 

[MGrayson]

Oops. I see how that read. Apologies for the poor humor - I wasn't trying to make a reference to gender, but rather to that creature's fearsome aspect. Over here, cows look decidedly less threatening. The rest of the quote runs ".. It's a battle station."

Best,

Matt

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Wow, Jono, that looks even wetter than snowboarding in Sochi. But the dog and the younger generation seem to be having a good time.

scott

 

[jonoslack]

Wow, Jono, that looks even wetter than snowboarding in Sochi. But the dog and the younger generation seem to be having a good time.

scott

HI Scott
Oh! I had a great time as well - in fact, I was the only person out of 8 of us (4 oldies, 4 25/32) who did all the walks . . . . I have to say my knees are suffering a bit though!.