Testing How Canon, Nikon, Sony and Olympus Cameras Fare in the Rain: Which Is Most Waterproof?

Imaging Resource recently decided to put the weather sealing of a Nikon, Canon, Sony, and Olympus camera to the test. Watch as the team use a hosepipe to soak the equipment in simulation of a rainstorm to determine which camera fares best.

Using the Nikon D850, Sony a7R III, Canon 5D Mark IV, and Olympus OM-D EM-1, the team subjected the equipment to 15 minutes both of a fine mist spray and a heavy rainfall. Of course, the intent of the experiment isn't to name and shame the cameras which suffer most (after all, it's noted that the hosepipe used generates a higher precipitation rate than natural rainfall), but merely to gage how far they can be pushed in a realistic situation. The water exposure that the cameras are subject to is obviously a heightened version of what most of us would allow our equipment to undergo.

Emerging victorious was the Canon and Olympus, both surviving with zero water intrusion detected. A close second was the Nikon with some water making its way into the viewfinder, although this could be preventable by using the hot shoe cover.

It was bad news for Sony, however. Following the mist spray test, it had malfunctioned. The team explained:

[W]e heard a rapid clicking noise coming from the cameras … It turned out the sound was coming from the a7R III, which was firing continuously. It was set to continuous-high mode, but its power switch was turned off. The only way we could get it to stop chattering away was to drop the battery [...] We could see that there was water on the shutter blades.

It’s not all bad though, as they report that the camera seemed to be fully-functioning after it’d dried out. Any long-term damage is unclear.

Watch the five-minute video to see the experiment and results for yourself, and see their breakdown results in which they compare the experiment to a "real-world" test here.

[via Imaging Resource]

Jack Alexander's picture

A 28-year-old self-taught photographer, Jack Alexander specialises in intimate portraits with musicians, actors, and models.

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