8,516ft altitude, wind chill factor of 18ºF, 4 hours of moderate to heavy Snow and Rain.. Can a Canon 7D survive?
Preparation:
It was Friday afternoon and when I heard the forecast for the coming days I decided take an emergency trip up to San Jacinto Mountain to do some filming ( time lapse and interviews). I had just a few hours to prepare my camera, lenses, tripod, and the rest of my gear for what was suppose to be 7″ of snowfall. I went into a camera shop and to my horror they were out of any and all rain gear for DSLRs. I had to figure something out quick with no time to visit another store. After pacing around a bit I found some items and did some simple modifications and pretty effectively weatherproofed my camera. It was quite simple to rig up, and definitely will save you some money if you decide to try it my way.
I used two items at a total cost of about $30.00:
- Domke 19″ x 19″ Protective Wrap @ $19.99
- Generic Lens Pouch @ $8.99
Shooting:
Domke Protective Wrap:
Modifications:
The Domke Wrap is a soft padded Nylon cloth with velcro on each corner meant to cradle your camera body in transport or storage. All I did to make it into a snow cover was turn in upside-down, and secure two ends of the velcro underneath the lens. Having it upside down exposes the Nylon-Backing to the elements which happens to be quite weatherproof.
Generic Lens Pouch:
Modifications:
I was mainly using a Tamron 10-24mm which is NOT weather resistant, unlike L-Series lenses. So as an extra precaution to keep my lens safe when not covered by the Domke I used the above. A generic lens pouch which I simply cut out the bottom with some scissors. The top of the pouch ( where the lens meets the body) had a drawstring type closure which was perfect for protecting the base of the lens when tightened. Also, the sunshade at the end of the lens helped immensely in keeping the lens pouch from extending too far forward creating a solid vignette ( especially on a 10mm).
