All Forum Comments
Comment by JAK posted on Deleting images from an SD card at 31/05/2018 - 11:24
Is it not a matter of degree? Being caught out in a rainstorm doesn't seem to faze any of my Pentax bodies, but maybe the torrential downpour of a gargantuan waterfall plus the spray might be a challenge. It also then depends on where the water gets in, whether or not the lens is fully WR or simplified WR or even marked as AW (All Weather).
If a camera has genuinely failed due to a manufacturing fault then it certainly should be fixed or replaced (within a reasonable period of time.) If its failed by heavy use in challenging conditions it isn't so clear cut. Similar to buying a new car and entering it in the Dakar rally and taking it back to the dealer afterwards complaining its worn out. Maybe you need to budget for a new camera annually or get it insured (if anyone would bear the risk?) I mentioned it earlier, have you tried claiming on your home insurance? (Something like this: https://www.hiscox.co.uk/home-insurance/contents-insurance/camera-insurance )
Comment by JAK posted on Weatherproofing - Lifespan at 30/05/2018 - 21:32
Remember the magazine ads with the K1 in a steamy jungle? When the K50 was launched the promo video from Ricoh showed a couple horsing around with a hose to demonstrate it’s sealing.
As to adverts, they've always been faked. In black & white TV days they used yellow clothing to look bright and shiny as white clothing looked dull. That was to show their powder was whiter than white!
Food ads are faked, I don't trust any of them. In fact I normally go out of my way not to buy anything I've knowingly seen advertised, one always feels let down by reality!
As to that Pentax ad (I didn't know they'd been any for donkeys years as the lack of them is what users complain about here!) It's quite likely a new camera straight from the factory might have fine WR seals still. Give it 18 months use and time takes its toll. If they'd had a take where the camera seals failed, do you believe they'd have shown it?
In any event, a large waterfall with cold water in a hot humid climate is something else entirely. Its the condensation that occurs both inside and outside the camera making it wet (same as when one wears a plastic raincoat on a warm wet humid day, the inside gets soaked but it won't have leaked.)
Best advice, ignore too good to be true claims in adverts!
Plenty of big names featured here: https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/rulings.html names you'd think you could trust.
Comment by JAK posted on Weatherproofing - Lifespan at 30/05/2018 - 21:07
JAK, I was talking about weather resistance not waterproofness.
This explains how it happens.
And for the basics: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-mistakes-will-ruin-dslr-avoid/
It isn't really just about being weather-proof or waterproof, how you you differentiate these conditions? If water's pouring onto you and your camera from a waterfall or out of the sky, are you repelling weather or water?
Comment by JAK posted on Weatherproofing - Lifespan at 30/05/2018 - 17:27
The bird shots have a really nice background quality - soft and subtle
PS I cannot detect the reported green cast. Maybe the issue was their monitor
Comment by JAK posted on Chatsworth and some birds. at 30/05/2018 - 12:57
You wouldn’t be happy if your car or your windows leaked in that time, what’s the difference? My Leica binoculars have never leaked, my German watch has never leaked (no batteries). If building and engineering structures leaked in such a short time there would be legal action before you could blink. It’s down to good design, quality control and durable materials.
If someone wants a waterproof (as opposed to weatherproof) camera, they should buy one sold for the purpose.
Notwithstanding, it might be worth checking to see if the camera is covered under the home insurance policy, and if not this time, specifically include it in the future. Or you just take the risk personally.
https://www.switchbacktravel.com/weather-sealed-dslr-cameras-list
Something like this might help in adverse conditions as it's designed to be waterproof. DSLRs certainly aren't.
Or speak to these people.
I'm not sure those Youtube videos of people holding their camera under a running tap are being particularly helpful and anyone relying on an unprotected camera to be waterproof is being somewhat naive.
Comment by JAK posted on Weatherproofing - Lifespan at 30/05/2018 - 12:12
My K3ii failed on a recent holiday to Zimbabwe where spray and rain from Victoria Falls entered the camera which was being used with the WR 16-85mm lens. The LCD steamed up within 15 minutes of being at the falls! The camera was 18 months old and it killed the light meter. For the rest of the holiday I used manual - never had to think about exposure so much since the early 1980s!
Pentax are not interested in honouring the warranty and say it was being used in conditions it could not cope with. It is sold as being able to be used in 'severe conditions including rain'. My dispute with Pentax has been going on since late February and as yet, despite repeated attempts by Johnson's (the official repairers) over the last week to get a final decision from Pentax as to what refurbished K3ii body they are going to offer me (for which I am being asked to pay) they have not even bothered to reply to Johnson's. Truly dreadful customer service by Pentax - in fact I don't think it could have been worse.
In short, based on my experience, users of the K3 should not trust the weather sealing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0nFu3dm-Gc
Pentax cameras aren't designated as fully waterproof so the older they are the more susceptible they're going to be to water ingress, though in this case it sounds to be more the humidity of the air was the issue.
It's the same with so called waterproof watches, open them to change the battery and they'll likely not be waterproof any more.
If you used the zoom the 16-85mm does not zoom internally so that humid air and even water can be sucked into the camera.
Did the camera still have the flash socket cover in situ? They often go missing accidentally or on purpose and might prove an entry point for moisture along with worn battery and SD card flap seals, and then there's the hdmi cover so it's hard to say why it failed you.
Yes you're right to suggest not to trust it! Notwithstanding, hope you got some great photos regardless.
Comment by JAK posted on Weatherproofing - Lifespan at 29/05/2018 - 23:13
Comment by JAK posted on FS: Loads of stuff (holiday edition) at 29/05/2018 - 16:26
IMHO I'm not sure its a good idea to continually reformat an SD card. Flash based media has a limit on the number of writes so reformatting every time is going to cause more wear to the card than necessary and get you to that limit a bit quicker.
Clearly if any corruption to a card has occurred its worth trying a reformat to fix it and use an intelligent SD card formatter to do that as all the camera format is likely to do is rewrite the block allocation map. It all happens too fast for it to have been a proper reformat so card errors won't be cleared. If anyone believes otherwise I'd be interested to hear their reason.
Comment by JAK posted on Deleting images from an SD card at 29/05/2018 - 14:34
Comment by JAK posted on FS: Loads of stuff (holiday edition) at 29/05/2018 - 13:49


Nor me - I use Copy/Paste.
That way there are two copies of the file. Well, the original and a copy...
As to a MOVE command, not all operating systems include that.