Tom,
I've traveled all over the world with my H2D and have photographed in many different conditions. The camera is very durable, but at best minimally water resistant. I also use a raincover (www.stormjacket.com) and have photographed in the rain a fair amount without significant problems. When shooting in very humid conditions, you will occassionally get an error message asking you to replace the lens or digital back. If you remove the battery and then replace it again, the problem is usually solved. I don't run into that problem in dry conditions. I carry it in a canyoneering dry bag with a dessicant packet AT ALL TIMES in the wilderness. I use black electrical tape around the interface of the Camera and the Back and this helps, but be aware that you should remove this every night to gaurd against condensation inside the interface. Although shooting in the rain can be nerve wracking but is doable, be VERY CAREFUL shooting near seawater. I was recently shooting in the South Pacific and a minimal amount of fine sea spray hit the camera despite being covered by the raincover. Not water splash, just the mist from waves breaking 20 feet away. The salt water mist ended up condensing inside the camera causing internal corrosion problems I couldn't visualize. The next day, the camera promptly stopped working forcing me to use my backup. I sent it back to Hasselblad and it took two and a half months to replace corroded parts which are not covered by warranty. Big expensive lesson learned. As for the good news, I've successfully used the camera up to 18,000 feet in Nepal without problems and have used it in temperatures as low as -15F without problems. I kept two spare batteries in my pocket with a chemical handwarmer. More and more Landscape and travel photographers are using the Hasselblad system and it would be nice to see some effort to weather seal the camera better, or offer custom fit rubber protection sleeves. Just my 2 cents...
-Michael Anderson
www.MichaelAndersonGallery.com
hi michael,
thank you for this interesting view to your experiences.
finally that's what i think to - not all of us are working in studios.
some years ago when h1 came out, it has been introduced in the magazin hasselblad forum. there where several product shots from the camera. amongst these an image of the camera during testing in climatic exposure test cabinet.
fine, i thought - they are testing it to hard conditions, not only for studio work at 24°C and chill out music.
but why did they forget about the most common climatic experience - rain???
@hcubell: really nice shot!! i like those "non postcard weather" images very much.
@BlasR: very nice shot too. and yes, i'll do my own testing about diffraction, just wanted to save precious time when moving out at good weather spontaneously, bevor i tested it.
cheers
tom
