Tropical rain & M11

[PeLu]

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Hi all,

I will visit Seychelles in January which is their rainy season. I haven’t been there previously so I’m not sure how moist it will be. But probably occasionally heavy rains and humid air. How much can the M11 take? It’s not sealed so obviously will try to keep it safe but as you all know it’s hard to avoid getting it at least a bit wet. Will bring the q2 as well.  

[PhotoCruiser]

I did and will not expose any of my cameras to rain as i see absolutely no reason to do so.
The Q2 is weather sealed but not water/dustproof and if you search you find some users here who damaged their Q2 by rain or dust.
There are several solutions to protect cameras from the elements, a umbrella and a waterproof bag, EWA-Marine plastic bag for snorkling or rain caps, a scuba dive housing. Buy a waterproof backpack or messenger bag to store the camera when you are walking around, you find many when searching on Amazon for example.
Air humidity is not really a issue for the Q2 and if you don't change lenses nor for the M11. As soon you are back in the accommodation take your gear out of the bag, dry it if necessary and leave it on a table with A/C on to dry it. If i changed lens under very humid conditions then i would leave the body without attached lens with opening downwards to dry also the sensor cavity.

Use A/C on dry if available, if not the don't cool your room below approx 24°C/75°F as the considerable colder gear will get covered by condensation as soon you get outside. Option would be to switch off A/C in the middle of the night to allow camera to warm up to avoid condensation.

I lived and worked for 14 years half year in Costa Rica and had all my cameras with me, compacts for scuba diving and D90/D7000/D800 and had no other problems than all lenses got infected with lens fungus. Not really sure if the lenses caught some lens fungus spores somewhere in the tropics or if the first lens infected passed the spores to the other lenses. After that i bought a dry cabinet for my cameras but thats not feasible for travelling but the A/C is basically the same.

For a new trip in the tropics i probably would take my Q2 and the SL2 with only the macro lens, or only the Q2.

However, don't overthink it, there a zillions of photos shot in the tropics, just protect your camera from the rain and let her dry as soon you are back in your room.

Chris

 

 

Edited 31 minutes ago by PhotoCruiser