how do lenses do in the rain?

kshapero

kshapero

South Florida Man
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Mar 27, 2006
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My Zeiss 50/1.5 ZM lens was left outside in a downpour ( I know I'm stupid). Soaked thru and thru. I dried it off with a towel and put it outside again to finish drying (no it did not rain again). It seems fine now but...... anyone else have a rain story?:D
 
I dropped my D200 in a lake, in the rain, if that counts (goddamned tripod on gravel....). The lens was fine after keeping it in a dry, warm place, but the camera was not :bang:
 
I left my Nikon F5 w/ 50mm f/1.8 AFD lens (plastic) on a tripod overnight during a tropical storm last summer on the beach in front of my house. The camera was also left on. It was fine the next day after a good toweling off and still works flawlessly.
 
I walked misty rainy paris for a week with my MP and Elmar-M 50. No special coverage given to the lens nor the camera. Just walked around held the camera on my back (using my body and messenger bag as shade), lifted, shot and scrammed. Just made sure to wipe water out from the barrel before collapsing and dried naturally every night. No problem whatsoever. But I know I shouldn't be doing this especially with a collapsible lens...
 
When I get something wet that shouldn't, I use a hand held hairdryer at med. heat to dry it. Works on everything except my cellphone that went thru the wash.
 
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I've had my MP, my M9 and a couple of 'luxes soaked and left to steam in bags overnight while camping. I had to leave them out in the sun until the condensation evaporated before resuming operation with no ill effect.
 
For me it wasn't rain but severe condensation.

I was shooting a public outdoor function in the dead of winter with an M3 and new CV50/1.1 and went inside to warm the extremities.
The bad part is that I walked right into a greenhouse.:eek:

There was so much condensation, my jacket was dripping before I braved the cold again. The minute I went outdoors every glass surface was marred with ice and all the working parts seized (camera and lens :mad:). Needless to say shooting was over that day for the kit. The negs didn't fare much better sad to say.

I kept it warm in my jacket until I got home and left it to dry in one of our warmer rooms. Thank goodness for low humidity winters here.
By all accounts, the gear is has been performing flawlessly since.
 
You want to make sure it's dry as a bone inside the lens itself. Otherwise fungal problems from the damp will happen.

Like the tamron something-a-rather my father dropped off the side of the boat. Fungus everywhere now... well I suppose it's been a couple of years since it happened anyway. But it's ok, it was only a tamron. :D
 
A tub of rice is, I'm told, great for drying things out. Uncooked rice, of course. A guy at worked drowned a P&S digital and put it in a tub of rice for a couple of days, after draining it as best he could. Worked perfectly afterwards! Just be sure that the rice won't find its way inside your wet lens...
 
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