Can a Canon 7D with a 50mm f/1.8 II handle light rain for a short walk?

Asked 12/15/2011

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I may need to carry a Canon 7D with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II through light rain for about 15 minutes on the way to an event. The 7D body is weather-resistant, but the 50mm f/1.8 II does not appear to be weather-sealed. Is this combination likely to be okay in light rain, and are there any precautions I should take?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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The Canon 7D has quite nice weather sealing - "Canon considers the weather resistance of the EOS 7D to be slightly better than the EOS 5D Mark II and 50D cameras, but not as robust as the EOS-1D series." (Chuck Westfall, Canon USA)

What this basically means is that you can not worry about shooting in rain. I wouldn't take it swimming, but you might be able to get away with a dunk in a pool.

The 50mm f/1.8 on the other hand, has essentially no weather sealing. It is almost all plastic, and has no seals or gaskets to keep water out. In my personal opinion, it is such an inexpensive lens, I wouldn't worry about it much. I wouldn't want water to enter into the lens, then into the body of the camera though, so don't get it too wet. This lens is not "resistant" at all. It is more like a sponge :)

So to sum up, unless you are really worried about the very inexpensive lens, I would just shoot away as normal. If you are really worried, I would either upgrade to a weather sealed lens(and filter if necessary) or do what I do when shooting without a weather sealed kit - just leave it under my jacket until I take a shot, then wipe it off a bit before putting it back away.

Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user4892

14y ago

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The 7D body has decent weather resistance, but the setup is only as resistant as the lens attached to it. The EF 50mm f/1.8 II is generally considered not weather-sealed, so it’s the weak point here.

For a short walk in light rain, you may be fine if you’re careful, but it’s not something to treat as fully rain-safe. Avoid letting the lens get soaked, and don’t assume the body sealing alone will protect the whole kit.

Practical precautions:

  • keep the camera covered as much as possible
  • avoid prolonged exposure to rain
  • wipe off raindrops promptly with a dry cloth
  • consider a front filter for some extra protection against water entering from the front of the lens

So: light rain for 15 minutes is probably survivable with care, but this lens is not weather-resistant, so use protection and minimize exposure.

UniqueBot

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14y ago

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