How 'waterproof' is the 5D Mk iii?

[Andy Nickless]

Presumably, it's 'showerproof' - or is it better than that?
If it got splashed with mud, could I wash it, for instance?

I'd love to know.
Andy

[Rob Cantwell]

i dont believe that it's 'Waterproof' at all, I wouldn't go putting it in the sink or under a stream of water to wash it!!
I own both a EOS 1D mark III and 1DS mark III, before i bought these, i did a bit of research and the best Canon came up with is they were; ' Water/ Dust Resistance: equal to EOS-1N', which is a mid 90's vintage camera. So Canon make no claims of their cameras being waterproof.
I've used the 1 series cameras in very wet downpours here in Ireland and even in humid jungles in Malaysia and they've not let me down, maybe i've been lucky i'm not sure.

Canon's site just states 'Weather Sealing' whatever that means?
If i ever get the new 5D I'll certainly try and keep it out of the harsher elements as much as possible.

R

[Pete Bauer]

Weather seals definitely help in inclement weather but do NOT, repeat do NOT, count as "waterproof."

See this post regarding the C300:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/new-cano...ml#post1736926

and I'm sorry to say that someone took a fall into a swimming pool with my (first) 5Dmii and it was a total loss.

[Craig Terott]

More important to consider the lens that's attached to the mkiii. It's much more vulnerable.

[Andy Nickless]

Thanks - but I had something more realistic than immersion in swimming pools and rivers in mind. Clearly the camera's not designed for that treatment (let alone the lens).

If anyone's old enough to remember the Canon F1n, I used one of those professionally in the early 1980s and it regularly got a drenching in heavy rain. Fortunately, it never missed a beat, I just removed the (replaceable) prism and lens, and stood it on a window sill above a radiator and left it overnight. The next morning, it was ready for use again and worked perfectly.
Andy

[John Wiley]

Film and digital an two very different beast when it comes to dealing with water. Film cameras, at their simplest, can be operated entirely mechanically. Now obviously the more advanced film cameras have plenty of electronic components, but they are nowhere near as vulnerable as modern DSLR's.

The weatherproofing on the Canon DSLR's is not something I take for granted. I don't think to myself "I can shoot in this thunderstorm and I'll be fine". Instead, it means I am less stressed when on the job. I still protect my cameras form the rain, dust, and from salt spray in coastal areas, but it means I can get the shot without the fear that my camera is about to suddenly give up on me. At weddings, for example, getting caught in a sudden rain shower means I am not sent running straight for cover. I get the shot first, then I go running for cover.

If you need to clean your camera, the recommended way is with a slightly damp cloth, rather than under the shower. Treat the weatherproofed DSLR's as you would any other very expensive piece of electronic equipment - the weatherproofing is there for those times when laziness, clumsiness, cluelessness, or external factors sneak up on you and your camera is caught in a bad situation.

[Andy Nickless]

In case anyone's interested, a couple of times, recently, both 5D mk iii and 24-70 f2.8 USM lens have been substantially wetter than I'd normally be comfortable with, but so far there are absolutely no issues with either of them.
Normally, I normally draw the line when the spots of rain build up and look as though they're joining together (in other words, might run into joints etc) and I'm especially careful about the lens, because Canon make no claims about its water resistance, but it seems both are pretty useful outdoors when it's wet.
Andy

[David Alfonso]

One of the other remarkable features which shields the camera from possible water penetration is the internal water wheel construction of the Main Dial, It scoops out any droplets. which may have penetrated from this possible entry point.It is weather sealed.It is expected to be significantly better than the xxD designs. I was in moderate rain with my 60D a number of times & in most cases using white L glass. I never had an issue.

[Donald McPherson]

Although I'm a T3i user I would worry when you press a button on any camera that is wet. Is the button still sealed when pressed?

PS. I recently bought a rain hood.

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Originally Posted by Andy Nickless

Presumably, it's 'showerproof' - or is it better than that?
If it got splashed with mud, could I wash it, for instance?

I'd love to know.
Andy

It's not reliably 'anything-proof', and there have been many cases of cameras dying thus. A thick plastic wrap will surely help, though.

[Trevor Dennis]

I met and chatted to this guy a few years ago:

Marine art and marine photography, original art. Ocean Gallery, Auckland New Zealand.

At the time he was using a small rib and standing up in the middle, with two supporting ropes tied to the front of the rib, and a long extension on the outboard. He used to get _very_ wet, and we are obviously talking salt water wet. This was in the days of the original 5D, and he reckoned on getting a year out of a body before it died.

He uses a bigger rib with a central console and a tiny screen now, but I bet he still gets wet.

Profile Pictures | Facebook

Now this is interesting. My thoughts when reading through this thread that 1D bodies and L lenses are weather-proof, but the metal to metal lens body interface must be a weak point. If you look at William on his Facebook page, and zoom in a bit, he appears to have a cloth draped over the back of the lens. Now that might just be a handy place to keep his front of lens cleaning cloth, but I suspect it is keep the camera lens interface dry.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

I regularly use my 5D mk2 cameras out in rain/fog/snow day & night for weeks on end without any problems. I am also using them in boats and dinghies in all kinds of weather without protection and have yet to have a single moment when the equipment didn't function due to bad weather. I used to do the same even with my old film cameras such as the Pentax LX and Nikon F5.
Most pro or semipro cameras will take a heck of a lot of punishment in all weathers; more than most people realise.

I hate using cameras with covers because it makes them so awkward to use. I do sometimes place special rain-covers over the body & lens during very severe rainstorms, but most of the time I prefer not to. I also sometimes fit the Canon camera inside a special Nikon insulated blimp during severe winter weather of snow & ice, but this is mainly to keep the battery pack warm and to prevent the skin of my face and fingers sticking to the ice-cold metal.

Having said all that, I must admit that I do wish there was a professional-grade modern digital version of the Nikonos RS autofocus underwater SLR, which could be used above and below water in the worst conditions imaginable. A real metal tank of a camera...but sadly far too expensive to produce in this modern plastic-digital age.