dwbell Posted August 30, 2011 Share #41 Posted August 30, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) After listing for years to experts on forums like this one, I never go out with any camera without several zip lock bags. One large enough to enclose and seal my M9 while carrying it inside my normal leather camera bag (an old one designed for video cameras). The best advice I had was to snatch plastic shower caps out of any hotel that offers them to me. Keep at least one in the same camera bag. It completely covers the M9 with lens attached. The elastic band, when placed in the right location underneath the camera, completely keeps the rain off the camera. When you get to a covered location, you can uncover it and shoot photos. Or, if still a light rain, you can simply uncover the end of the lens (keeping most of it covered), and then start shooting again. When you're back in, check the shower cap for hole and keep or throw it away and stash the next one in your bag. This leaves humidity and airconditioning to worry about. Again, leave it in the zip locked bag until the inside temp and humidity are equalized for the camera. I had to get in and out of landing craft in the Galapados Islands, worring that I'd drop the whole camrera bag. But with the camera sealed inside a zip locked bag, I figured I could still recover it from the water before much leakage occurred. Anyone else do this? Couldn't agree more and yes, I do exactly this. But again, it comes down to cost for me and what is covered or not. With the M9 I have a zippy in the bag, sudden downpour and I slip it in until I can find cover. Perfect. But with the 5DII I keep shooting, even more perfect! I'm not "dissing" the M9, like sports and telephoto etc it's just another area where the M9 leaves it to the other cameras. Would I like weather sealing in an M10, hell yeah! There's usually fantastic light when the weather is changing rapidly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 30, 2011 Posted August 30, 2011 Hi dwbell, Take a look here are you afraid of your m9/m9-p getting wet? dont be! . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
vanhulsenbeek Posted August 30, 2011 Share #42 Posted August 30, 2011 The ziplocks are invaluable and excellent for quick safety. But during a recent trip to islands in the north of Indonesie, including many trips on small and smaller boats in all sorts of weather, my M9 - I am sure - was saved by the large zip lock that Ortlieb makes: ORTLIEB GmbH - welcome outdoors Look for ZipCity Of course, at the very moment the water really came into a boat, the camera was not in the Ortlieb. But we had this at hand: ORTLIEB GmbH - welcome outdoors Look for RackPack , threw everything in and only had to worry about ourselves then. Papers in pouches on the body, passports in ziplocks of course Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchman Posted August 30, 2011 Share #43 Posted August 30, 2011 Thank you Sander for your tips on the Ortlieb products. Regrettably it is one of the few rational postings in this thread. Most are based on N=1 evidence. Although the M9 is a fantastic camera it is NOT weather sealed. To me it seems silly to defend properties it does IN GENERAL not have Everybody knows someone who survived a > 200 KPH car crash but that makes it still dangerous to drive that fast Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Roberts Posted August 30, 2011 Share #44 Posted August 30, 2011 {snipped}Everybody knows someone who survived a > 200 KPH car crash but that makes it still dangerous to drive that fast No--your analogy is backwards IMO. Everyone has heard of people who've died at less than 80KPH but you're not that likely to if you're a reasonably careful driver. Of course, if you don't want to drive at all, then that's fine and the safest. There are always risks. But in general, the Ms are quite fresh-water / rain resistant, despite their lack of weather sealing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchman Posted August 31, 2011 Share #45 Posted August 31, 2011 Your analogy holds for a situation in which there is an adverse exeption to something generally regarded to be safe My analogy descibes a positive exeption to something generally regarded to be unsafe Let others be the judge who is backwards here But thanks for the fun I had reading your comment : exemplary!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted August 31, 2011 Share #46 Posted August 31, 2011 Phrased differently, personally (me!) I would not give a toss if a Leica M is weather sealed or not. Why are we all so anal on stuff? It is only stuff. It is not your wife, your child, your house or whatever. Sorry for the strong language but I am getting a bit tired about this. A Leica M is not suitable for scuba diving & never will be. If you want a submarine then buy one. I will add that a M8 can stand about 12 hours of continuous rain (in Cornwall/Devon). Can it get worse??? I am not sure but who knows. The rain came from below at some points in time, which was an interesting phenomenon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmond_terakopian Posted August 31, 2011 Share #47 Posted August 31, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've used my M9 and 35mm Summicron ASPH in a really heavy downpour for around 40 minutes and it was fine. I for one would welcome proper weather sealing but naturally this involves the lenses too. The aperture ring as mentioned already and the focusing ring are one area where water may ingress; another is the bayonet mount itself, which naturally will damage the body and the lens. In Canon's case, most of the 'L' lenses are not only sealed, but have a rubber ring on the rear mount. When attached to the camera, this forms a proper seal. During an assignment a few years ago, I had to stand in the rain for around six solid hours; my Gortex jacket was leaking as the rain was so heavy, but the 1DMkIIs with the 16-35 and 70-200 just kept going! For a complete system, the lenses would need these additions. Edmond Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
businessasusual Posted September 1, 2011 Share #48 Posted September 1, 2011 The ziplocks are invaluable and excellent for quick safety. Just added these to my bag - great tip. Reminds me of an ice breaker we did in a Uni Tutorial. Tutor split us into 4 groups and gave each group a list with items on it. The group that could produce most items on their list was the winner. I emptied my bag and had everything on the list IN MY bag - the list included receipt for having photographs developed, aspirin, band aid, bus ticket, stamps - but it was the first one that synched it for me. I wasn't sure whether to be chuffed or really embarrassed. Nobody in my group needed to add a thing. Think I could surive if lost in the wilderness with what I carry around - now all in my newly added zip lock bag. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diopter Posted September 1, 2011 Share #49 Posted September 1, 2011 I must be one of very few Gals who runs for cover in rain to protect M9, forget about my hair! I'm not a gal but that was exactly what I did last month when I was down at the railroad. The moment the skies started opening up, I ran for cover but not before shoving my M9-P into my bag. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel buck Posted September 1, 2011 Share #50 Posted September 1, 2011 mine gets sweaty and dirty, but I've never used it in real heavy rain, glad i can count on it in that situation! When it's been raining I've always grabbed my "old" 1Ds2 if I could, but I'll stick with the M9 now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted September 2, 2011 Share #51 Posted September 2, 2011 Good to know it might survive getting drenched.... but I'm still afraid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaques Posted September 2, 2011 Share #52 Posted September 2, 2011 hmmm, interesting read. The Leica may be able to deal with a little rain- and I have taken mine out in inclement weather with no bad results to date- but that doesn't mean I don't wish it could perform like a Phase One digital back- simply unbelievable- elephant proof, bake proof, freeze proof: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted September 2, 2011 Share #53 Posted September 2, 2011 Yeah! Don't you love marketing? Great digi back for sure, I would love one, but ..... what camera/lens combo would endure the same treatment? The (great) back is useless without them. I notice they did not subject the back to the 'hammer treatment' they gave the rubber ball. Each back only endured 1/4 the weight of the truck! ....and so on. It's a pity a good product has to lose 'cred' because of the promotion. I know. It's welcome to today's world. Oh! .... and I forgot. What photographer wants to work under such punishment? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaques Posted September 2, 2011 Share #54 Posted September 2, 2011 "what camera/lens combo would endure the same treatment?" that's what your back up camera is for... I don't see any loss of cred in those videos... only a quarter of a truck/elephant? Only 340C? Only -140F? surely that's enough. It does impress me that Phase not only produce amazing quality images- but that they put so much effort into the durability of the product. Given the stratospheric cost of the backs it seems appropriate to make them so strong. I don't expect a Leica M to perform like that- but a little rubber seal on the baseplate would be nice- and a cable release that doesn't act as a drainpipe into the body would be a benefit.... Actually I would like to see the cable release on the side of the camera (as in Hexar RF)- along with a flash socket connector on the m10... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted September 2, 2011 Share #55 Posted September 2, 2011 Jacques, I was really agreeing with you about the back. Just stripping the hype out of the promo. In actual fact, my Hasselbad outfit (2 bodies and 6 lenses + 4 backs) back 20 years ago endured prolonged exposure to -35 Deg C. It was me that caved in. Not the gear. Of course the Leicas are not made to withstand those extremes in the videos on the Phase One backs. Leicas serve another purpose as you will be well aware. The reality is that no camera could or would be asked to work like that. I guess I am just a skeptic of 'bench testing' as a promotional tool. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaques Posted September 2, 2011 Share #56 Posted September 2, 2011 I am with you erl: other than the odd lock up- the Hasselblad cameras will keep on trucking. I don't expect I can ask an elephant to stand on my M9... but I would love to see the same design ethos applied to the phase backs applied to a digital RF body at some time in the future. I think it would be possible to make such a camera. A single titanium case, clad in black kevlar (or some such), with recessed RF & VF windows, perhaps a cover for the LCD, weather sealed buttons, rubber lens mount seal, etc. A black box of rangefinders. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted September 2, 2011 Share #57 Posted September 2, 2011 Jaques, we obvious live in different climates! My Leicas are fine (for what I demand of them) in my world. That has included Antarctica, by the way. You must live very dangerously. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaques Posted September 2, 2011 Share #58 Posted September 2, 2011 actually- we get a little less rain down here in Adelaide... but I do travel! I would appreciate the durability... the other day I was in the desert: super fine dust everywhere. My friend borrowed my camera to grab a shot. He layed in directly on an asphalt road. I had to tell him to be careful not to scratch the base... he only took one shot and just missed focus. great shot from that angle. If I hadn't been worried about the base-plate he would have nailed it... (and before you tell me I shouldn't be worrying about my baseplate: I know but I selling the camera soon and don't want to drop a K over some scratches). I am getting the M9-p because I appreciate its higher durability over black paint (which I really like). here is the shot- be warned it's a little gruesome: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/160491-are-you-afraid-of-your-m9m9-p-getting-wet-dont-be/?do=findComment&comment=1782567'>More sharing options...
ho_co Posted September 2, 2011 Share #59 Posted September 2, 2011 There's the perfect start to an ad campaign! That shot plus the text "My Leica survived the Australian desert conditions that caused this carnage"; or "Conditions not fit for man or beast, but made for Leica"; or some such. etc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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