C300 "sealed"? Not so much...

C300 "sealed"? Not so much...

  • Yes, dust behind IR glass

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • Yes dust behind IR glass and moisture issues

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No, just dust on top of IR glass

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Nothing at all

    Votes: 5 83.3%
  • Total voters
    6
  • Poll closed .
NeedCreative

NeedCreative

Well-known member
Well it hasn't happened to me yet but I've read at least two reports now of dust particles getting into the camera behind the IR glass and onto ND filters. One person even saw a smear behind the protective glass.

I was going to shoot in some light rain today, but Philip Bloom (who has) warned me strongly against that. I guess whle Canon advertises the camera as being "dust and splash proof" and having similar weatherproofing to 5D2, it's not nearly that good because (presumably) of those vents.

My question is what are your experiences? I need to shoot today at Fenway Park with a chance of rain showers. I don't want to ruin the camera. I may have to switch to the more robust 5D Mark 3 but I'll be sacrificing a lot of picture detail.
 
Good question. I have a rain cover (well more like a plastic bag) but one has to worry about the humidity. Though that'll eventually dry out. I think with the cover it can handle a light shower at most. We'll see!
 
I think it's important to remember that having weather sealing does not mean that the camera is weather proof. I would never take a C300 out for shooting in the rain without a cover or bag of some sort. That being said, i've shot some pretty intense environments over the past two months with my C300, including 4 days in high desert wind with dust blowing all over. Also shot for 3 days in Austin with intermediate shower sprinkles, and at one point had my camera covered in fire extenguisher white dust retardant. Because of the vents, I was actually a little concerned about this, but my sensor cavity and ND's are clean as a whistle. But i've only ever used L series glass on my camera, and those lenses have far better sealing than non-L lenses, so this may have something to do with it.
 
cowpunk52 said:
I think it's important to remember that having weather sealing does not mean that the camera is weather proof. I would never take a C300 out for shooting in the rain without a cover or bag of some sort. That being said, i've shot some pretty intense environments over the past two months with my C300, including 4 days in high desert wind with dust blowing all over. Also shot for 3 days in Austin with intermediate shower sprinkles, and at one point had my camera covered in fire extenguisher white dust retardant. Because of the vents, I was actually a little concerned about this, but my sensor cavity and ND's are clean as a whistle. But i've only ever used L series glass on my camera, and those lenses have far better sealing than non-L lenses, so this may have something to do with it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for chiming in Brian. I'm going to cover it in plastic and hope for the best. We are expecting at worst a light shower, and I just don't want to kill a great opporunity shooting at Fenway Park by using a 5D3. It'll be way too soft for all the detail that's there except for faces. I also plan to have my PA bring an umbrella just in case. Will let you all know!
 
The ol' trash bag and gaffe tape trick has worked for me on many occassions through the years! Actually did it a couple of weeks ago with the C300 on a late night pickup shoot when it starting raining in the valley. May not look the prettiest, but if I get the shots and get out with my camera in good shape, I'm happy. The way I figure it, why take a chance with water and electronics if it can be helped. Weather sealing or not, when it comes to protecting gear, I'm not a gambling man.
 
Just to Clarify, The venting for the fan/cooling system will not lead any incoming debris into any vital parts of the camera. The Cooling system is a sealed, self-contained duct system that basically keeps air flowing between the main board and the sensor. the only ways into this duct work is through the vents and by the fan, under the built in view-finder. So, no need to worry about things entering the vents leading to other important parts.

Cheers
 
I've had the c300 in some really fine-silty (fine nasty gritty dust) environments, and after a light brushing, it emerged clean as a whistle.
 
On the first shoot with my C300 i had to jump out of harms way from a skier and the C300 landed unprotected in snow. The whole camera was drowned in the powder.
picked it up, cleaned the lenses and sot away a few minutes after.
I am quite sure many cams would have given up for the rest of the day at least.
 
2 nights ago the dancers kicked up mud onto the C300 and I nearly had a heart attack, but a soft moist cloth and a few minutes later it was all good as new with no problems
 
After my first outdoor event shoot (3 days) with the C300 mine has a few large particles inside the sensor cavity and some on the ND filters. I wish there was a way to get inside there to blow it all out but it seems the only solution is to send it to a Canon service centre taking 7 - 10 days.

I don't think it gets in through the lens, I only swapped lenses indoors and never found any such particles between the lens and the C300, it seems to be getting in via another route.

c300-dust.jpg
 
I am working on a Western now in Southern AZ. We started with two C300. The environment, as you can imagine is very hot, dry and dusty. After two days shooting we gave up on the camera and switched to RED. There were dust issues.
 
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