Can you handle the truth?

InsuredDisaster

Or the water?

I'm in Thailand and they have this week long water fight. So my question:


The D300 and Nikon 24-70 2.8 are both billed as having "weather seals." I've shot with the D70 and the Sigma 18-200OS all day in a drizzle with no protection and not had problems (and this combo had no "weather sealing.") So I'm feeling like my 300 is bulletproof. Will the 300 handle a bucket of water being thrown onto it?





PS. I do routinely take my camera to 30 meters, so naturally, I have flood insurance.:wink

angevin1

I guess there's only one TRUE way to find out, eh? yeah, I've seen the seals all around them on the cover doors and such, and I've had mine out in the rain, but I admit to not really ever wanting to set out to test it's ability to handle water.

Good Luck~

ziggy53

The Nikon D300 has "some" weather sealing, but water under pressure can still get inside the camera.

I would use primary protection like some sort of waterproof bag in which to enclose the camera, and just allow the front of the lens to protrude.

The lens is an integral component of the water shed system so make sure you use a lens with water seals as well, and most lenses are not water resistant without a sealed front filter, so a sealed front filter is a requirement.

InsuredDisaster

Well, suddenly there is a sort of problem. In P mode, the program shift feature does not work. I think the camera thinks it is in the "mirror lockup mode" as live view doesn't work.

Focusing doesn't work properly any more. This only occured after sitting a few hours.

Going to remove the camera battery for a bit and see if perhaps the "advance mode dial" (S, CL, CH, LV, etc) needs to dry out a bit.


I did try a shopping bag over the camera, but that didn't seem to help much.

I guess, for anyone who just wanted to know how water resistant their "weather sealed" cameras are, well, a direct hit with a bucket of water might be the limit.:D

borrowlenses.com

Only one way to find out, and it looks like you might have found it

Just take the battery and CF out and give it some time to dry out.

*fingers crossed for you*

Ekaj

I would remove the battery and throw it in a box with some silica... you might be able to save it.

davemj98

Update
Looking forward to a report on the effectiveness of your flood insurance
Dave

System

I don't mean to be a jerk here but...
You've got to be kidding. You want to know if a bucket of water dumped on your camera is ok? If this were 4-1-10 I would say "April fools".

InsuredDisaster

captain78 wrote:

I don't mean to be a jerk here but...
You've got to be kidding. You want to know if a bucket of water dumped on your camera is ok? If this were 4-1-10 I would say "April fools".

Well, no, I'm not kidding. Luckily, I've got 2 more backup cameras. MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Bring out the D60!


*Actually, I will be using an Olympus 1030SW camera, which stopped working for the longest time, but then suddenly just started working again.



I was doing ok with the 300 until some jerk came up behind me and threw a bucket of water directly at the camera.

jsqueri

My D200 got wet and the usb port quit working. I think it was about 2 days before it started working again. Be patient.

chrisjohnson

what were you smoking?

insanefred

I completely ignore the weather sealed hype.

Cuong

Doesn't matter what kind of seal you have, it deteriorates and doesn't last forever. Since there's no easy way to check and evaluate the condition of theses internal seals, I would try to avoid camera-meet-water-from-a-bucket situations as much as possible.

Cuong

Art Scott

I never leave "home" with out the plastic trash bag and several rubber bands for damp to wet work......I just do not want to subject my tools to that if I can help it...............

InsuredDisaster

I haven't been smoking too much after I drove my car into the artic ocean; thought the tires would keep it afloat.


I did try the bag idea, but seemed that water was getting inside regardless.

I now will also ignore the weather sealed hype.

And the camera is still acting weird. Recently, it started running around in circles yelling "CHEESE!"



However, good news for those of you who are watching this thread: The camera will be heading back to a Nikon repair facility sometime after the 5th of May. However, I do not expect to get it back any sooner than the 20th.

InsuredDisaster

The mighty 300 is back, but I can't actually test it, as all of the batteries and cards for the camera are in another location (recently moved.) I think I'll be able to turn the thing back on later.


The crazy thing is, Nikon did not suspect or find anything related to water. They really weren't sure what the cause was. The best they could figure out, based on their diagnostic tests was. . . wait for it. . .

OVERUSE.

huh?

I'm not sure if this is some sort of face saving Chinese thing for "abuse" or not since the front desk people know me the moment I walk in as the guy who doesn't return the lens cap to his 24-70 2.8 (it has a UV protector filter on it.) The mere site of scratched paint on the 300 sends them into tizzy.

Well, I'm happy to get it back. No word on the insurance thing. The repair bill (photos of the parts removed from the camera to follow later, should you wish to see them) was below the deductible for flood insurance, and wasn't much higher than the deductible for all other damage, so I can't be bothered to file a claim.

If anyone is interested, here is a photo of the yard sale, including the shutter and some other important looking parts.