09-22-2024 10:04 PM - last edited on 09-23-2024 08:15 AM by James_C
I've had the R5ii for about a month now. I got up at 2am in Alaska to pre-order on the day it was released to make sure I got it as soon as I could. I've been shooting with the R5 for about 2 years, almost exclusively for wildlife photography. I've shot in all conditions - rain, snow, on small boats with ocean spray. The only issue I ever had was the eyepiece fogs (which is quite annoying). I finally used the R5ii in some decent rain yesterday and treated it as I do my R5. I have a rain cover and only expose the camera when shooting. I'm not meticulous about keeping it dry but I try. The camera performed well throughout the day with no issues until I got home later. I wiped it down and an hour later went to review photos on the back of the camera. It wouldn't turn on. I opened the battery compartment and noticed the battery had water on it and there was water in the battery compartment after I took the battery out. Not a lot, but definitely moisture inside. I left the door open and let it dry next to my dehumidifier and after a few hours tried a different battery. Luckily the camera turned on, but it flashed the dead battery icon even though it was a full battery. I decided to just let it dry out overnight and popped open the card door. Also moisture. The following day after de-humidifying I loaded a fresh battery, card, and the camera booted up no problem. I then went to take photos and when I half pressed the shutter for pre-capture, it started taking photos. I turned it off and back on again and at that point it went into pre-capture mode (filling buffer with pre-capture icon visible) when I wasn't even toughing the shutter. Half press starts taking photos.
It is insane to me that I paid $4300 for a pro-level camera that can't take a little rain and was able to get 3 separate weather sealing areas of the camera (that I know about so far). I will now have to replace or repair the camera through CarePak. Will the repair or replacement be at all weather proof? Will I have to worry about my camera working any time I encounter weather? I've just lost a lot of faith in this system. Other than that it's a phenomenal camera. What a shame.
09-22-2024 10:38 PM
Hi Mike and welcome:
Yep, that sounds both frustrating and disappointing. I would call 800-OK-CANON and talk to a technical support person and detail the situation to them to see what they can do for you.
09-23-2024 01:31 AM
Thank you for the reply and suggestion Trevor I’ll give them a call tomorrow and update with how this goes. Just had to get that rant out haha.
09-23-2024 02:35 AM
Greetings,
Condolences about the camera, and compliments for the CarePak.
I was in Bergen Norway a month ago on foot and got caught without a bag or umbrella in a heavy downpour. It wasn't just raining. It was an atmospheric river. I was easily 4 miles from the ship, and without my phone or wallet. First, only and last time. 🤣
This was the first time in 2 yrs I was actually concerned for my gear. Mostly because I didn't have a bag. I had a light rain coat on. It came off and I tented my camera. I started hoofing it, and boy was it coming down. 3 minutes and I was soaked. Took me almost an hour to walk back. Checked my camera. Had a few drips. Blotted it dry. Checked battery and card slots. They were dry. My R5 C has twice the number of vents (holes) 😆 than the R5mkII. Yours are on the bottom. Mine are on both sides. I'm surprised you had so much moisture using a rain cover. Weather sealed doesn't mean waterproof. I use my gear and in light rain, but not in downpours. In rain I usually try shooting from doorways or overhangs. I walk with the lens pointed down so I don't get drips. My bags are high denier nylon with rain covers.
If the camera is not behaving normally after heavy moisture exposure, I'd send it in. Any repairs will be as weather sealed as the camera was when new. I'd be bummed too. Let us know how it goes.
~Rick
Bay Area - CA
~R5 C (1.0.7.1) ~RF Trinity, ~RF 100 Macro, ~RF 100~400, ~RF 100~500, ~RF 200-800 +RF 1.4x TC, BG-R10, 430EX III-RT ~DxO PhotoLab Elite ~DaVinci Resolve Studio ~ImageClass MF644Cdw/MF656Cdw ~Pixel 8 ~CarePaks Are Worth It
09-23-2024 07:57 AM
Next time, cover the battery bay and memory card doors with an electrical tape. That seems to help.
I have read in many places that the weather sealing of the R5, R5 M2, R5, R6 M2 and R7 are not at the level of the R3 and R1.
I try not to expose my cameras to any rain. It does not matter how good they are claimed to be weather sealed.
09-23-2024 09:21 PM
Yeah R1 and R3 are definitely supposed to have better weather sealing. I wish they had made a proper R1 and I would have bought it in a heartbeat.
09-23-2024 09:23 AM - edited 09-23-2024 09:24 AM
It is possible that moisture and temperature change was largely responsible for the amount of moisture inside if cooling camera internals post-shooting caused it to draw in air and moisture through some of the weather sealed areas. This behavior is a good reason to keep the camera clean around the openings and controls because this is how salt/oil from your skin builds up and is then pulled into the camera along with any other contaminants on the camera body, especially in those areas surrounding the controls. Clean contaminant free water isn't great for electronics but mix in a little salt and then you will have real issues later.
Heat management is a tough issue with more sophisticated cameras, especially MILC with their greater power appetite which results in more heat to dissipate. My 1 series DSLR bodies use heat pipes to dump much of the heat to the battery compartment where it is conducted to atmosphere allowing them to remain highly sealed. I haven't looked closely at the R1 yet because I am not interested at this point in switching architecture but I would assume Canon has done some special tricks to keep it weather sealed while also rejecting heat to the outside.
Rick, you are a brave man shooting in the rain with a highly ventilated camera body 😂 I have a Canon XF-400 camcorder for video because I hate shooting video with a typical camera body but there is no way I would use this fan cooled ventilated little guy in the rain. I don't shoot much video and I consider the XF-400 a fair weather friend.
I have been shooting with Canon 1 series for a couple of decades (first with a 1D Mark II and currently with 1DX II and III bodies). I have shot sports in some pretty miserable weather and when I expect to be in nasty conditions the cameras and I dress appropriately.
I use Canon's combined lens/body covers which are awkward when using a multiple camera setup like I use but work well at keeping the camera body dry and moisture off the lens front element/filter.
But I have been caught by surprise a few times and have shot both soccer and football in heavy rain. The 1 series bodies and L lenses didn't complain and performed fine. I did dry them off before packing them away for the ride home but otherwise no special treatment.
Photos below are from a cold wet nighttime playoff game last fall. Forecast was for very light rain to move out of the area 2 hours before game time, the weather guy lied! The photos were below from a pair of unprotected 1DX III bodies using EF 70-200 and EF 400 f2.8 glass, the cameras did fine but we still had grass instead of turf last year so the photographer wasn't wearing cleats and I alternated between running and skating on the sidelines. Two of the officials had to have wraps applied due to slip and fall incidents during the game. It was incredibly messy.
Rodger
09-23-2024 09:17 PM
Man these are beautiful images! I would have liked to go to the R1 to get the extra weather sealing but the R5ii makes way more sense specs wise for wildlife/birds. I like being able to crop. If they had put the R5 in the R1 body I would have paid extra in a heartbeat.
09-23-2024 09:28 AM
Yeap, sometimes the water coming from condensation is the issue. Nothing to do with weather sealing.
09-23-2024 09:20 PM
I have shot with the R5 for months in places like French Polynesia, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji where there were HUGE temperature changes and condensation was a massive issue. Going from 90F outside with 100% humidity, raining, etc to air conditioned vehicles and ship cabins. My R5 never had a single issue other than viewfinder fogging. I can't believe that the R5ii could fail so miserably in my first outing. I have heard good things from others with the camera in wet weather so I'm hoping mine is just a lemon and Canon can get me a replacement that is at least as good as my old R5.
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