Topic: Wet Weather Shooting

[gothamtomato]

I wish I could be like Michael Jackson and have some guy follow me around with an umbrella, but alas, I cannot afford to hire an umbrella handler. So I'm wondering if you all do any wet weather shooting, and if so, how do you protect your gear?

I'd like to do some night shooting in the rain, to get all the shiny pavements, etc, but I'm tryig to figure out how to avoid getting my camera wet.

Any tips?

[calbisu]

I have often thought about it but never did it (one of my many photo-phantasies is to embark into a fishing boat and shoot in the middle of a hugue storm), still If I would do it I would use a biiiig Hood for the lense and a plastic bag around the camera and taped to the hood. Maybe not too fancy but might work   or not  

PD For the fishing boat photo-phantasy I would use a waterproof case, I think that is the best way, actually why not buying a Nikon Nikonos V ?

[Francois]

Well, Michael Kenna has his umbrella wielding assistant too

Ziploc freezer bag with a hole cut in the front and a piece of plastic used as a rain protector for the lens. Lens shade mandatory...

There's also the probrella camera umbrella


Though I doubt it's efficiency to a certain degree...

[moominsean]

i usually just let it rain on my stuff, though i often keep a hand over the lens so my photos aren't blurry. but i don't stand out in heavy rain for extended periods. if i'm actually walking in the rain i have an umbrella.

but none of my cameras have electronic gear to mess up...

[DS]

I'm a great fan of cheap but good cameras for these occasions (happens quite a lot with fieldwork)- Something like a Zenit SLR or my Zorki. That way if it gets wet / full of sand / mud and stops working i wont shed many tears. A nice hood is a must, as is a UV / skylight filter. It must also be said that such cameras are wee troopers and rarely break down after a soaking but I've still managed to kill a few.

Another thing is to take the camera out of the bag / case as soon as you get into the dry- left sealed in the damp, humid confines of your bag the moisture will migrate inside the camera/lens and cause fungussy badness.

[chricela]

Like Francois, I use ziplock bags. Keep my film in them.  &  pretty much everything has a ziplock & back up ones in case I spring a leak. I don't usually worry about the lens . As I usually have a uv or sky fllter on...so I just wipe with sleeve as needed. But I do have a rubberband holding the cut out ziplock to lens.

 

[Heather]

Go on an evening just after it's rained and everything's still shiny and wet

[Late Developer]

I lived in Manchester for many years, so there was no avoiding taking photos in the rain - night or day. Most of the better modern cameras are pretty well sealed from the elements. The only camera I had that didn't like the rain was a Canon A1 - and I put that down to the fact that it was all electric.

Although I shoot mostly in the dry these days, my solution was to cut a small hole in a bin liner (so it was "baggy") and attach the bin liner to the front of the lens my means of elastic bands / gaffer tape. Ideally, I'd leave room to attach the lens hood for additional protection. The bin bag could then be cut to size to allow my arms to operate without having it flapping around or not having enough to protect it. A bit like a big "cape" for te camera. If you know where all the settings buttons are and can see the settings through the viewfinder, it's works quite well.

The only problem comes if it's windy as well as raining.

[jojonas~]

storm, rain or snow.. toycams don't bother


though I've used my contax rts (RIP) aswell. I do like how those drops look lying on the filter..

[gothamtomato]

Go on an evening just after it's rained and everything's still shiny and wet

That's what I really want to do most, and I want to shoot square (with my Hasselblad CM), but I'm worried about ruining it. I think I'm going to try the ziplock remedy. That seems the best option, especially in those misty-type situations where the rain isn't necessarily coming straight down.

I like that little umbrella thing but I too doubt its efficacy.

[Francois]

If you want to go "all pro" on the zipbag theme, there's always the ewa marine bags. Same thing but at a premium.

[Skorj]

or



The Konica, with a 28mm lens, is a great solid little shooter. Dead quiet, with a good flash and some override functions. The Nikonos, though zone focused, works a treat if the seals are properly looked after. The Ricoh Auto Half with its no-focus, half frame, spring drive is just plain fun...

Some more details here: Ricoh Auto Half Review and Konica WB Review. See ya! Skj.

[chricela]

If you're using a tripod. You can place an open umbrella over head & let it just sit on you're head & shoulders.
It might take a bit of balancing, but works. Just use a compact one, rather than traditional. Plus ziplocks 

[Francois]

If you opt for the golf umbrella option, just make sure you get one with a wind pressure release flap

[Late Developer]

Yep, Francois - it's terrible when you're playing golf and you get the wind