Best walk-around WR lenses for rainy city
I know my current gear (also weather and dust proof to a high standard) is vented in such a manner.
I only had about an hour in the rain with the K10D before it stopped working. Luckily I left it to dry for about 2 weeks and it came alive again. But no I will not use my gear in wet condition again.
Modern electronics can be a wonderful thing. My daughter has put her iPod Touch through the washing mackine twice (fault of her kids) and the first time, when she didn't know how to open it quickly during a wash, it was in there for well over 5 minutes!
Two weeks of drying later, it worked pretty well again - and after a month it was back to 100% (the screen being the last thing to recover). As you discovered, wet electronics does not necessarily mean a lost investment (though a camera would obviously be a bigger risk).
Would you add the 100mm F2.8 macro WR to the "safe" list? The lens barrel does extend for focusing of course, but the rear glass element is fixed.
No, I would not. The focus throw is so large that it will also pump air.
I would have thought the seals in the lens would be just as likely to suck in water as buttons on the body, if not more so, as the moving parts of the lens cannot be fully sealed. Because they are designed to move and slide against each other!
I tested this quite thoroughly, air gets pushed not though the o-rings in the lens but in and out of the mirror box.
I never had any issues at all using my K-7, DA* 16-50 or DA* 60-250 in very wet conditions. Sure zooms act as an air pump but they should be vented correctly through the body and I would be very surprised if Pentax hadn't thought of this.
I know my current gear (also weather and dust proof to a high standard) is vented in such a manner.
They apparently have not thought of it. Did the following test on both the K10D and K-5 with identical results.
Mount 18-135 or 16-50.
Make sure all ports are closed and proceed to zoom the lens.
Air moved in and out of the d-pad ring and 'ok' button on the K10D and similarly positioned buttons on the K-5.
When the SD card bay was open the lenses zoomed much more freely as there was no pressure resistance on the seals and it really blew quite strongly out of the open door of both cameras.
If I have my cameras in the rain with a 'sealed' lens I will no longer zoom it. I will leave it on the shortest extension and dry it off well before zooming. Or ensure I have a non extending fixed volume lens.
They apparently have not thought of it. Did the following test on both the K10D and K-5 with identical results.
Mount 18-135 or 16-50.
Make sure all ports are closed and proceed to zoom the lens.
Air moved in and out of the d-pad ring and 'ok' button on the K10D and similarly positioned buttons on the K-5.
When the SD card bay was open the lenses zoomed much more freely as there was no pressure resistance on the seals and it really blew quite strongly out of the open door of both cameras.
If I have my cameras in the rain with a 'sealed' lens I will no longer zoom it. I will leave it on the shortest extension and dry it off well before zooming. Or ensure I have a non extending fixed volume lens.
I don't doubt your experience and I have to say that is quite disappointing to hear. Still my kit never missed a beat, maybe I was lucky.
I just won't trust the seals when there is positive or negative pressure building in the body.
Would you add the 100mm F2.8 macro WR to the "safe" list? The lens barrel does extend for focusing of course, but the rear glass element is fixed.
No, I would not. The focus throw is so large that it will also pump air.
Thanks, that prompted me to test it using a large party balloon with neck cut off, it made a seal anyway. The lens did indeed pump air but the pressure seemed fairly low at non-macro focal lengths and with a rear lens cap on, no rear pumping at all, so there must be air getting past the lens seals too. Important to avoid end to end hunting when the camera body is wet, I guess, so I'll be careful!
But I do wonder how much of a problem these body air leaks are in practice re. water ingress, as I haven't noticed any reports of K5 failures because of it. On the other hand, there are many reports of problems for other reasons. I'll definitely take more care in future though, when out in the rain.
Result, great wild life shots.
Rgards
Billy no mates
Thanks for any advice!
link
Some great images here:
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/lens-clubs/107938-sigma-8-16mm-club-10.html
(Not sure if I can link to the 'other' site, but can pm you the link if not)
Wish I'd had a super-wide in San Francisco last year.
A funny anecdote was it the Jubilee party in Marple. Two "Pro" togs for newspapers had covers for their top cameras (D3's 1D mk whatever), yet I was busy shooting with my K-5 and 50-135, fully exposed to the elements.
Problems? none whatsoever.........LOL
Again in the monsoon that was Southampton on Tuesday for the P&O celebrations. K-5 and 50-135 or 18-55 WR. Problems? nowt, nothing, nil, nada.
I so LOVE Pentax and their WR bodies and lenses. Work in any condition.......
Anyway, I digress, the 18-55mm WR will be fine if you shoot at the sweet spot ( F8 ) but get the 55mm DA* if you want shallow DOF in the rain.
Probably the best general purpose lens with WR is the DA18-135. It is a somewhat contoversial choice as it had some bad reviews and is rather expensive.
However many people who actually own the lens like it very much.
Pro
Small, light, weather sealed, fast silent accurate AF, very useful focal length range. Distortion and vignetting easily corrected in camera (JPEG) or in software (RAW).
Con
Expensive, some distortion and PF, Sharp in centre of image but soft at corners and borders, vignetting, aperture only 3.5-5.6.
If it was better optically it would be an ideal "walk about" lens. As it is, some of its defects can be corrected in pp and the high ISO capabilities of the K-5 make the aperture limitations less of an issue.
It is my current favourite general purpose lens.
Hi Archie. Thanks for your useful information! Actually, I had seen reviews of this lens only after getting the DA* 16-50. I agree with your points, but I jumped at the 16-50 because I liked the "pro" build, SDM, and the extra mm of wide angle focal length. True, it's bigger and heavier than the DA 18-135. That's why I'm still wrestling with bringing my DA* 55 as well, though I really want to travel as light as possible.
In any case, I appreciate your expertise! Regards, Steve
just take your 55 out with you? What's the problem? put it in a coat pocket or get a bum bag and use that. I wear two bum bags on a shoot and I can get 30/1.4, 50/1.2, DA10-17 and DA14 in those. That'a not including the lens on the cam(s). No rucksacks or shoulder bags. Simples
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Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
They apparently have not thought of it. Did the following test on both the K10D and K-5 with identical results.
Mount 18-135 or 16-50.
Make sure all ports are closed and proceed to zoom the lens.
Air moved in and out of the d-pad ring and 'ok' button on the K10D and similarly positioned buttons on the K-5.
When the SD card bay was open the lenses zoomed much more freely as there was no pressure resistance on the seals and it really blew quite strongly out of the open door of both cameras.
If I have my cameras in the rain with a 'sealed' lens I will no longer zoom it. I will leave it on the shortest extension and dry it off well before zooming. Or ensure I have a non extending fixed volume lens.
I don't doubt your experience and I have to say that is quite disappointing to hear. Still my kit never missed a beat, maybe I was lucky.
OTOH I've have my Cams K10/K20 and K5's out in the rain with both WR and none WR lens and event after them getting quite wet I've never had a problem. I was out with my K-5s and various lenses at the local Olympic Torch event recently and it peed down. Not a problem. And yup I was zooming in and zooming out
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
Why would any body wont to buy a water proof lens. Dont you know waters bad for the skin, it depleats the natural oils, dont wash for a month, go in to the woods sit down and wait for all the wild life to come sniffing around.
Result, great wild life shots.
Rgards
Billy no mates
You can also do that in Aldi
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
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14 years
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