Pentax 645D How weather proof is weather proof ?

[larkis]

When Pentax says the camera is weather proof/sealed what does that mean exactly ? Has anyone tried this claim out ? Is it weather sealed for light rain or can one take the camera out and shoot during a monsoon ? I would like to know if any brave soul has tried this as I want to take the camera and shoot in the mountains where weather and temperature changes quite often.

[Graham Welland]

I don't know of any manufacturer that would claim that their camera is weather proof. Weather resistant maybe but that's about the extent of it unless it's something like an underwater sealed camera which the 645D most definitely is not.

Typically it means resistant to showers but definitely not resistant to a dunk in the river.

[theguywitha645d]

Pentax states that the 645D with a weather sealed lens is weatherproof. You can take it out in driving rain--I have not done that with my camera yet, but then I felt really strange the first time I rinsed my Nikonos off under the tap in the sink--just something strange about mixing cameras and water.

Disclaimer--the Nikonos is waterproof and the 645D is only weatherproof--I would not wash it off in the sink.

[larkis]

I did find this pentax demonstration but it's not the 645D only their smaller sensor camera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNh3wLJydAI&feature=player_embedded

[larkis]

This is interesting if anyone cares: http://www.pentax.de/de/pentax-645d-haertetest-seite1.html

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

Miles Hecker of http://www.wyofoto.com fame had an interview on "Smibs TV" sharing his experience with the Pentax 645D and he was shooting it under extreme conditions. It seems that it was pretty weather proof.

Best regards
Erik

When Pentax says the camera is weather proof/sealed what does that mean exactly ? Has anyone tried this claim out ? Is it weather sealed for light rain or can one take the camera out and shoot during a monsoon ? I would like to know if any brave soul has tried this as I want to take the camera and shoot in the mountains where weather and temperature changes quite often.

[BernardLanguillier]

According to Pentax, it is in Nikon D3 range in terms of weatherproofness, which means pretty much undestructible.

Cheers,
Bernard

[ixania2]

I don't know of any manufacturer that would claim that their camera is weather proof. Weather resistant maybe but that's about the extent of it unless it's something like an underwater sealed camera which the 645D most definitely is not.

Typically it means resistant to showers but definitely not resistant to a dunk in the river.

this summer i sank into a lake with muddy banks and was completely under water. a canon 1ds mk3 with 70-200/2.8 and a canon 1d mk3 with 16-35II/2.8 hang around my shoulders. and an apple macbook pro in a flimsy bag. the macbook died, the canons had no damage whatsoever. none.