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M240 body is supposedly weather resistant - what about the lenses?


insf

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Never had a problem with mine in mild rain or snow.  Stefan Daniel has noted that Leica lenses are built to tight tolerances, and do not require additional weather sealing when mated to the M.  Common sense*, of course, but I've never babied my M gear.

 

* And that includes carrying personal insurance for any circumstance not covered by warranty   ;)

 

Jeff

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I define 'mild rainfall' as not drizzling, not pouring. That should clear up absolutely nothing. ;)

 

Thanks Jeff - yeah, everything is insured. I have a Zeiss lens, is there a huge difference to Leica in resistance to the elements?

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Well mild rain for short periods of time shouldn't present too much of a problem, just keep the camera/lens as dry as you can and wipe off any rain from time to time. 

 

In reality, if very bad weather, you're likely to end up with some rain on the optics too which isn't going to do the image quality much good! 

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Last year I had a Zeiss 50 Planar out for a shooting and it started raining...quickly fashioned a plastic rain cover for it and continued shooting (remote trigger, as I had 2 tripods set up for different angles of a museum train which hadn't run on mainline in 33 years). Wiped it dry and all was fine. Same with my Leica lenses...my first 2 years with Leica lenses were at sea...just made sure they weren't soaked, and quickly wiped them free of spray. No need to baby the gear, just use common sense.

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The lenses can get very wet and all you need do is wipe them down every now and again, I use a microfiber cloth that mops up the lens body and cleans the filter quickly. And if you don't use a filter in the rain you create your own problems because you can't clean the front element with a blower brush, the only option is a cloth rubbing a grit and water mixture around. Take note of the temperature and humidity because hot hands, breathing on it, or sticking the camera under a warm jacket can soon fog up the inside of the viewfinder and lens if it's already wet and cold. You are far better off just putting the camera into an airy bag (not the bafflingly popular type of tight fitting Leica posing pouches) or leave it to get wet if you want to carry on shooting that day.

 

Steve

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Thanks for all the feedback - this gives me a lot more confidence moving forward. I was at the point were I was looking for a backup body/lens for rainy days - it's amazing how few options there are for a true weather resistant body/lens combo with a small footprint.

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