M9 weather tight

[rob_x2004]

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Ahh ok. Thanks.

[wstotler]

come on - you've never taken a picture in the rain with your m8???

 

Yes, that's right. First spot of rain, into the bag it goes. I'm not chancing it, Tina Manley or no Tina Manley.

[Jamie Roberts]

Well, I don't want to, um, "rain on anyone's thoughts," or even suggest you try this with any camera, but this has been a terribly rainy summer here.

 

As a result, I've been regularly caught in "torrential" downpours with my M8, and though I "shield" it as best I can with my body, I keep on shooting, and it's been just fine:

 

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I'm generally completely and totally soaked at this point. The camera gets wiped off and keeps on going.

 

I lost a lesser lens (not a Leica) to fogging, I must admit, for a few days after one of these soakings.

[nryn]

Let's be clear, though, a weather sealed M-whatever won't help much at all if the lenses aren't sealed. And they're not. So at best any camera in the M lineup would be weather "resistant" (whatever that means) unless it's in a bag.

[ho_co]

... I guess we can now make photos in the rain?

 

Why not? A lot of us have been taking pictures in the rain with the M8.

 

I figure if the rain is bad enough to jam up my Universal Finder, but doesn't destroy the camera, it's good enough for me.

 

But then, I guess if you've paid $7000 for a camera, you might want to leave it home when the weather bothers you!

 

There are folks who are afraid to take the cameras out and say "Oh, I wouldn't recommend it to a serious photographer because Leica doesn't say 'weather-sealed.'"

 

And there are others who use in all weather, taking the same care they would with any other camera.

 

There haven't been a lot of cases of water-damaged cameras reported here.

 

OTOH, Michael Reichmann reported a sizable percentage of 5D's going down to moisture damage on his recent Antarctic trip. But that doesn't matter, because the camera is advertised as being weather-proof.

[ho_co]

... I can imagine many conditions in which an M would not be consistent or dependable - and so can Leica, or the M8 and M9 specs wouldn't state "Operating range: 0C to 40C", which rules out both the searing heat and the bitter cold. ...

But you fail to point out that a number of people have used their cameras outside that range, putting the camera under their coat or in the shade to keep it happy.

 

If you don't take it out and use it, don't complain that it isn't up to your ruggedness standards.

[InspectorOyster]

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I think it's kinda bs to hear tough camera talk from Leica. I just had to have my M8's shutter replaced after it failed. It was still under warranty but they cited improper handling and charged me. I argued it but got nowhere. I've been rough on it but I wouldn't say rougher than "almost any imaginable conditions."

[giordano]

But you fail to point out that a number of people have used their cameras outside that range, putting the camera under their coat or in the shade to keep it happy.

 

If you don't take it out and use it, don't complain that it isn't up to your ruggedness standards.

 

I've used my M8 in conditions outside the 0-40C range and would have been very cross if it had failed. But the fact remains that Leica aren't confident enough of hot and cold performance to guarantee it.

 

My real point though is that "almost any imaginable conditions" is a challenge to one's imagination, not a performance warranty. You can - or at least I can - easily imagine using an M as if it were a Nikonos, but it will quickly fail. You can't stick it on the front of the space shuttle to get pix during re-entry. If you set the self-timer and drop it out of an aeroplane you may get a photograph but the camera will probably be a write-off. And so on ad nauseam.

[wda]

Should this not be moved to the M9 section?

[ho_co]

You're right, John. "Almost any imaginable conditions" is clearly advertising-ese. They probably expect us to recognize that.

 

It doesn't really say anything, because if you do drop it out of a plane to get a self-timer shot, they can obviously say, "We said almost any imaginable conditions."

 

As far as that goes, I think their advertising is far cleaner than that of most companies.

 

But the point is that the camera work as it's supposed to. Once we've got cameras to shoot, we can take pictures and quit nit-picking the ad copy.

[jeff_clegg]

I am very impressed with your images in your gallery and selection of music. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff