Is really E-500 so sensitive to rain?...


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OlyFlyer

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Mar 22, 2006
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Just wonder why in that case?

I mean, I know it is not an underwater camera, but I never really cared when I used my OM-2N in rain or no rain. Of corse, that may depend on the amount of water falling down. I never went out in heavy-heavy tropical rain with any of my previous cameras before. I also know that plastic is not sensitive to water, LCD is the same as in other Oly cameras, if my UV at the front of my lenses gets wet, well, just dry it, or throw away and get a new ones.

Has anybody ever had to go to a repair shop or throw away the camera because of some rain drops? I was out in rain the other day, and my E-500 still seems to work. But again, it was a rain I like to walk in, not a massive tropical one, like under water.
 

Be careful when you take the E-500 out in the rain. There aren't any weather seals (gaskets) preventing water seeping into the body, which aren't waterproof. That I think is the real danger. In the days of film, there aren't that much electronics, and everything was basically mechanical, so any moisture getting into the camera will only destroy the film, not the camera itself... a simple modified plastic cover or shower cap will be suffice to protect the camera in rain use.... the drying up afterwards usually is the main concern (time needed to dry out the camera).

I would not recommend you taking the E-3xx/500 series cameras out in the rain... maybe ok in light drizzles to take a shot, but not exposing the camera to the elements. Its not built to take that abuse... if you really enjoy outdoors so much, why not pick up a E-1 while every camera supplies store are clearing them right now?
 

I took my E-500 with 11-22mm lens to NZ Milford Sound this January. It was very cold and wet there, lots of rain, but it did just fine despite how wet the camera got. I did give it a thorough drying up after the boat ride. It was a risk for me, but the images I got were worth it. :)
 

plastic said:
...There aren't any weather seals (gaskets) preventing water seeping into the body...
So, Oly saved another few cents in material and labour costs. :thumbsd:

About the E-1, thanks for your tip but no thanks. I belive in the digital world that camera is just too old. I rather fix some ugly plastic bag as protector for my E-500. I belive E-500 is better than E-1 as camera. I don't have any experience with E-1, it is just a feeling I have. I may hoever be interested in next gen E-X.
 

tao said:
... It was very cold and wet there, lots of rain...
No plastic bag or any other home made weather protector? Which lense?

I've heard stories that E-500 can handle -20deg Celsius, taking pictures without problem, for me living in Sweden that is good. Will test next winter. Unfortunatly we have a lot of rain also, even if it usually never rains like tropical rain.
 

OlyFlyer said:
So, Oly saved another few cents in material and labour costs. :thumbsd:

Oh please, weather proofing FULLY a camera is not as cheap as you think. If they call the DSLR weather proof, the price will be jacked up a lot as these need to be certified. I suspect that consumer Olympus DSLRs are actually partially weatherproofed as explained below.

OlyFlyer said:
No plastic bag or any other home made weather protector? Which lense?

No plastic bag, but the lens is the weatherproof 11-22mm Zuiko. If I use a non-weatherproof lens, I think I will get into trouble.

OlyFlyer said:
I've heard stories that E-500 can handle -20deg Celsius, taking pictures without problem, for me living in Sweden that is good. Will test next winter. Unfortunatly we have a lot of rain also, even if it usually never rains like tropical rain.

I have read lots of those glowing endorsement too and can back them up by my own experience.

But after using both the E-300 and now the E-500 extensively, I can safely say that Olympus DSLRs outside of the E-1, are built to a very high standards in terms of body fit and quality, such that they are relatively resistant to outside elements. So, I dare claim that light rain won't hurt it at all so long you dry it properly and put into dry cabinet after use.
 

Thanks tao for you reassuring words about E-systems quality. I also belive the E-500 feels like a good quality, I'll let you know in about 10-15 years time :bsmilie: what my real life experince is with E-500. Just retired my OM2-N a few weeks ago. Still not dead, just too old.

And regarding weather proofing, I think you have to draw a line between weather proofing and water proofing. Water proofing is expensive since it must withstand beeing practically under water. Weather proofing is just to say that it has some seals around every possible thing between outside world and the cameras guts. Of course, some extra tests have to be done, but it does not needed to be certified to be called weather proof. Certification is a standard process, and I don't think that there are any ISO standards for that. Oly has made several weather proof cameras, even in the film era without having too high prices. So, yes, I know it is not a matter of 'few cents', that is just an expression I used, but it is definitly not more than a few dollars per camera.

Regarding the lense you used, I only have 14-45 and 40-150 ZD lenses, so I should be worried and be more careful. An other solution is using my old OM lenses for bad weather, since what you say those are better made. You not actually saying that, but that is my experience, and you say my ZD lenses are no good. I'll lose autofocus and have to use Aperture priority, but that's OK. My OM lenses have no Weather proof stamp, but my experience over the last 25 years are good. So far no problem. Anyway, if old OM will be killed I will not cry the way I would if my new ones get killed by rain. Unfortunatly I am still waiting for my MF-1, so I have no experience yet.
 

Hey, your ZD lenses are good ok, just that it is probably not a good idea to soak them wet. I suspect that moisture will seep in via the focusing ring. Which was why I was so confident with my 11-22mm and 14-54mm, both weather sealed. I think your old Zuikos will work great in the rain, what with their great built quality. Good luck, Haha...

BTW, I have been using a MF-1 with a Zuiko 50mm F1.8 and the results, while rather unpredicatable in terms of WB and exposure, are very very nice... images captured reminded me of the images I got on film with my FE2 and Nikkor primes... warm colour, great tonality and that analogue feel. You should know what I mean here.

However, focusing can be quite difficult as there is some sort of a front/back focusing issue with the lens and the sensor. Practice helps but the great 2.5" LCD on the E-500 helps even more to review and make sure you can finetune the focusing until you get what you want. This is when I will kill to get the liveview on the E-330 but then, I prefer the CCD on the E-500 anyway.

I am hunting for 2nd hand Zuiko primes, especially those >100mm in range. Do you know where I can find them?
 

Well, tao, I can't wait to get my hands on my MF-1. Hope Oly Europe will get a new batch soon, right now the Amsterdam warehouse (= whole Europe) is just empty. So far I can only read other peoples comments and see their pics.

As for the Live view, I personally don't think it is worth the extra cost. I would have been prepared to pay for a better, and exchangable focusing plate. Unfortunatly it is not exchangable in E-500. I hope I can handle manual focus with my OM-lenses, considering the focusing plate is made for auto focus.

Regarding 2nd hand Zuiko primes, I know several shops (they are still in business) selling second hand. What they have depends on the day. Unfortunatly, as I said I live in Sweden, so unless you also live here, there is no point in me giveing their adresses to you. They don't sell through internet.
 

tao said:
I am hunting for 2nd hand Zuiko primes, especially those >100mm in range. Do you know where I can find them?

TCW has a limited range. Why not Ebay? Tons of them and very cheap.
 

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