Hello all
I am doing white water trip with the 350 I need some recomendations to protect the camera on the trip please help.

Looking for stuff for my upcoming F350, I ran across this one; both a glove with raincover:

http://www.petrolbags.com/new_petrol_site/products/Cam_Protection_I/PCW-8/PCW-8.htm

Maybe it will suit you?

Looks like it may cover the fan exhaust holes around the base of the handle. These should not be covered or blocked otherwise you risk an overheated camera. Maybe in the arctic that would not be a problem. I use an all over cover made from waterproofed nylon fabric. At least this dosnt block the ventilation holes.

And where did you get yours?

I purchased several meters of waterproof black nylon ripstop fabric and a sewing machine on ebay and made several covers for various cameras. I always make my covers 6 - 8 inches taller than the camera so that it also protects the tripod head. I looked at several commercial covers and came up with a design that works well for me. Remember a basic rain cover dosn't have to fit like a glove. A portabrace type cover that you leave on all the time is an altogether different beast and much harder to make.

I purchased several meters of waterproof black nylon ripstop fabric and a sewing machine on ebay and made several covers for various cameras. I always make my covers 6 - 8 inches taller than the camera so that it also protects the tripod head. I looked at several commercial covers and came up with a design that works well for me. Remember a basic rain cover dosn't have to fit like a glove. A portabrace type cover that you leave on all the time is an altogether different beast and much harder to make.

That Petrol cover Vincent linked to is a camera wrap type cover. If you look further down the page, you'll see the actual rain covers with extra room like you incorporated in your own design.

Good point about covering the fan vent holes. I'd want to check with Petrol on that before ordering one.

-gb-

That Petrol suit I linked to has a raincover included as well. In a pouch on the side. So always with the cam.

That type of cover is good for everyday protection from bumps and scrapes and the built in rain cover is handy for showers or occasional use but if you were planning on doing a lot of filming in heavy rain or spray an all-over rain cover my be better as the built in covers don't always cover the lens very well and almost always never go low enough to help protect the tripod head.

Now that's a long sentence! ;-) Do you have a picture of your home made protector?

Hey Thanks Guys I believe the company went with a Kata Rain Cover.

Shouldn't type when I'm sleepy. Go into ramble mode.......
I would be interested to know how the various cover manufacturers deal with the fan vents around the base of the handle as they would be all to easy to block.

Hey Thanks Guys I believe the company went with a Kata Rain Cover.

But according to their website, Kata has not have one for a 350/330. Do the use the 530 version probably? If so, are the usable for both cameras regarding the reach-ability of the knobs etc?

But according to their website, Kata has not have one for a 350/330. Do the use the 530 version probably? If so, are the usable for both cameras regarding the reach-ability of the knobs etc?

It's the same version they sell for the DSR-450, whose body is even more similar to the 350 than the 530.

Regardless, in the online product guide there is an entry for the 350/330 which takes you to that product. But the actual product page for that case does not mention the 350.

Thanks Nate, for pointing that out. Still curious to Alister's home made solution..

Alister,
I just received a Porta-Brace cover for my 350. The base cover seams to be better designed than previous Porta_brace units I've owned. It does not block the vent holes in the handle. The rain cover is very large. The side pouch it is stored in is twice the size of the pouch on my Betacam or DRS500. There is a large 1 1/4 inch wide, soft rubber gasket and velcrow strap that fits tight around the lens hood to seal it off. A zipper and large flap to get it over the mic and then cover it up. Plenty of room for both hands to control the lens when on the shoulder or on a tripod. A large velcro opening on top to reach the carrying handle. There is enough loose material on top that I can still get a good grip on the handle even if it's sealed off.
If over heating were a concern you could leave the zipper open on the right hand side, and flip the flap that overs the mic over to cover the zipper opening. That flap, and the zipper, runs from about the middle of the mic to the rear of the handle near the heat vent. The camera would still be protected but you could have a large, big enough to put your hand into, or small, the flap can be folded inside it's self to make it smaller, rear facing covered vent to let any heat out right near the fan vent. Hope that makes sense. Of course now that I have it it’s not raining.

cheers


Morton

Alister,
I just received a Porta-Brace cover for my 350. The base cover seams to be better designed than previous Porta_brace units I've owned. It does not block the vent holes in the handle. The rain cover is very large. The side pouch it is stored in is twice the size of the pouch on my Betacam or DRS500. There is a large 1 1/4 inch wide, soft rubber gasket and velcrow strap that fits tight around the lens hood to seal it off. A zipper and large flap to get it over the mic and then cover it up. Plenty of room for both hands to control the lens when on the shoulder or on a tripod. A large velcro opening on top to reach the carrying handle. There is enough loose material on top that I can still get a good grip on the handle even if it's sealed off.
If over heating were a concern you could leave the zipper open on the right hand side, and flip the flap that overs the mic over to cover the zipper opening. That flap, and the zipper, runs from about the middle of the mic to the rear of the handle near the heat vent. The camera would still be protected but you could have a large, big enough to put your hand into, or small, the flap can be folded inside it's self to make it smaller, rear facing covered vent to let any heat out right near the fan vent. Hope that makes sense. Of course now that I have it it’s not raining.

cheers


Morton

Excellent post Morton, with good information! Especially about the fan vent concerns. So is the cover you purchased the same Petrol CW-8 linked to in
Vincent's earlier post?

-gb-

Hi Greg,

No it's different, PortaBrace call it a Shoulder Case

http://www.portabrace.com/product_detail_C.php?id=3262

will bring up the product page on PortsBraces's site or just search the site for PDW-F350 It's a new item, they don't even have a photo of it on the site but it's similar to there other products.

cheers

Morton

You're right, the Porta Brace shoulder case for the 350 is much better than other PB cases I've used. It will take a bit of time to adjust all the velcro for a good fit, but once it's on correctly it's great. In other PB shoulder cases, the rain gear was so small, it would hardly cover the camera and viewfinder ... as posted above, the raingear for the 350 is HUGE. It fit's over a mounted Sennhieser with a big softy, a big wireless box and an Anton Bauer 140, a big Fujinon 16x4.6 and I can still fit my giant hands underneath. I'm not sure I'd use it hurricane conditions but for an occasional downpour or snow it's fine. Nothing beats Glad Bags.