Canon 5Dmk1 and humidity

alvingphotography

I'll be going on holiday in a couple of days. To Indonesia to be exact.

Read in some forums that particularly canon 5Dmk1 cannot perform/stand in humid air.
I.e the mirror falls apart.

Is that right?
Wondering if anyone here in this forum have any opinion about this.
Is it safe to bring my 5dmk1 to a humid country

I've never traveled overseas with dslr camera before so i'm a bit skeptical about this

Matthew Saville

Honestly? If it is an original, early model 5D that hasn't been serviced by Canon, then yes you do stand the risk of the mirror falling out. If the shutter count is very low then you're probably okay, I'm not being scientific but I'd say that if you're below 50,000 clicks you're probably just fine, 50-100K is "safe", but any more than that and you're into risky territory.

The mirror falling out of the 5D mk1 is a known issue and Canon will repair the issue free of charge no matter what.

Aside from that, don't worry about humidity at all. These cameras may not have the most robust weather sealing, but they'll survive in harsh conditions no problem. The biggest issue in a hot, steamy environment would probably be lens condensation when you go from a cold environment into a hot one; you'll get fog on glass surfaces like crazy. It goes away after a bit, but do it too many times and you've got a recipe for lens mildew. The best way to avoid lens fogging is by leaving your camera in your bag for 20-30 mins after entering an extremely hot / humid environment, so the camera can slowly adjust to the temp.

=Matt=

alvingphotography

THanks Matt

I dont know when's the last time this camera being serviced as i bought it 2nd hand.

Maybe bringing this 5dmk1 for a holiday this time is not a good idea

Does the 5Dmk2 have a better weather sealing? i wanna get a 2nd body sometime next year.

Matthew Saville

alvingphotography wrote: »

THanks Matt

I dont know when's the last time this camera being serviced as i bought it 2nd hand.

Maybe bringing this 5dmk1 for a holiday this time is not a good idea

Does the 5Dmk2 have a better weather sealing? i wanna get a 2nd body sometime next year.

Yes, I believe the 5D mk2 has a few more weather seals, but nothing like a 1-series of course. But it's still more than adequate; 5D mk2's have survived TERRIBLE conditions before and kept right on clicking, I'm sure. A little moisture, dust, sand, etc. is nothing for these cameras, even the advanced amateur ones. Just don't do anything stupid lol, like toss it down a sand dune or shoot in a torrential downpour for 45 mins.

I would check your 5D's shutter count, google how to do that and like I said if it's fewer than 50,000 clicks, you're probably just fine. If you're way over 100,00 though, I would at least bring a backup body... If you have a 5D mk2, just bring that if you feel comfortable doing so.

I'm sure nothing will happen, but I just wanted to confirm that yes indeed, the 5D mk1 has a known defect with the mirror that is worsened by humidity. So, especially if you ever shoot for money; you might want to get the camera checked out by Canon service just to make sure that the mirror repair has been performed...

jhefti

Matthew Saville wrote: »

Yes, I believe the 5D mk2 has a few more weather seals, but nothing like a 1-series of course. But it's still more than adequate; 5D mk2's have survived TERRIBLE conditions before and kept right on clicking, I'm sure. A little moisture, dust, sand, etc. is nothing for these cameras, even the advanced amateur ones. Just don't do anything stupid lol, like toss it down a sand dune or shoot in a torrential downpour for 45 mins.

I can testify to this! My 5D2 sat partially immersed in water in a dry (HA!) box for several hours, and it worked fine after I opened it up and dried it out using the rice technique. I use it under very harsh conditions, and haven't had a problem yet.

ziggy53

Regardless, take a backup body if this is an important trip.

alvingphotography

Thanks guys! I know 1D series have the best weather-sealing but its way too much for me and its a bit overkill for the shoot that im doing.
I've decided not to take the 5Dmk1 to indonesia.
We're gonna celebrate my sons birthday over there (i say its pretty important, but its not a job). Spoke to my relative over there and he's kind enough to let me use his Sony A350

But, yeah i will get 5Dmk2 next year for sure.

Matthew Saville

alvingphotography wrote: »

Thanks guys! I know 1D series have the best weather-sealing but its way too much for me and its a bit overkill for the shoot that im doing.
I've decided not to take the 5Dmk1 to indonesia.
We're gonna celebrate my sons birthday over there (i say its pretty important, but its not a job). Spoke to my relative over there and he's kind enough to let me use his Sony A350

But, yeah i will get 5Dmk2 next year for sure.

As Ziggy says; I would bring a backup. Even if a camera is at risk, I would still bring it. Going with just ONE camera is still a greater risk.

Either way, good luck!
=Matt=

jhefti

Matthew Saville wrote: »

As Ziggy says; I would bring a backup. Even if a camera is at risk, I would still bring it. Going with just ONE camera is still a greater risk.

Either way, good luck!
=Matt=

What Matt said! If these are irreplaceable moments you want to capture, redundancy is critical.

As an aside, I don't do wedding photography, but it seems incredibly stressful to shoulder the burden of capturing such a special day. If I fail to get the shots at a pro sports event, I might have an angry media outlet, but not a devastated couple who have nothing (or less then ideal shots) to memorialize the event. Don't know how you do it, Matt, except that you do it very well! Your work is gorgeous!

Matthew Saville

jhefti wrote: »

What Matt said! If these are irreplaceable moments you want to capture, redundancy is critical.

As an aside, I don't do wedding photography, but it seems incredibly stressful to shoulder the burden of capturing such a special day. If I fail to get the shots at a pro sports event, I might have an angry media outlet, but not a devastated couple who have nothing (or less then ideal shots) to memorialize the event. Don't know how you do it, Matt, except that you do it very well! Your work is gorgeous!

Thanks John! I do it with lots of backup plans, and also it helps to be part of a team that you can trust to have your back and work together smoothly. ;-)

Photoskipper

I work in Singapore which is just next to Indonesia. The weather are almost the same - hot and humid.
My old 5D mark 1 did have the mirror drop off but during the trip in Desert resort near Red Sea.
If you stay there only for couple of days, the weather will not harm the camera too much.

But becareful when you carry the camera / lens out from the air-conditioned hotel room to outdoor. The water condense and fog the lenses.

I usually keep the gear inside the bag and zip it before getting into the hotel room. Open it only on the following day outside the cool room.

karlabbott

Double sided tape is a quick fix for the mirror problem. I have a used 5D also and brought along my Xsi as a backup body on a trip to Scotland this past year and ended up having the mirror pop out -- even though the local camera store had re-attached it with epoxy. The double sided tape let me keep going with the 5D for the latter part of the trip.

I ended up sending my camera back to Canon and the previous owner had tried to fix the mirror problem with some type of glue that had managed to keep the epoxy and anything else from working. Long story short, I had to have that whole shutter assembly replaced and that was not covered by the mirror repair problem.

But yes -- take a backup and some double sided tape

borrowlenses.com

ziggy53 wrote: »

Regardless, take a backup body if this is an important trip.

Wise words Ziggy