How to protect your camera

A tourist checks the images on her camera following a ride on a camel beach safari.

A tourist checks the images on her camera following a ride on a camel beach safari.

Published Dec 1, 2015

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Berlin - Many owners of sleek digital cameras tend to leave their expensive equipment at home when the weather turns bad.

But single-lens reflex cameras are better at coping with rain than people think.

The data contained in instruction manuals on maximum temperature, moisture and dust is mostly there for legal reasons, according to a report in the German photography magazine, c’t Digitale Fotografie.

Modern cameras can in fact shrug off a little splashing from rain, despite the manufacturer’s cautions, says the magazine, which regularly tests new models.

That does not mean you can go ahead and lightly put your camera through a gruelling weather test, but there’s no reason to sacrifice a chance to take arty pictures on a stormy or rainy day, provided you give the camera common-sense protection with some kind of covering.

Experts advise having a cloth ready to wipe off any droplets that land on the front of the lens.

It will be annoying if you only notice when you return home that raindrops have spoilt your pictures. A simple umbrella can also be a handy accessory in wet weather.

If you are planning to spend an extended period of time in the wet, then you should buy a waterproof cover for your camera.

The magazine said you can also make your own cover from a freezer bag if you’re planning to undertake only a short photo session in the rain.

Both types of cover will also prevent dust and sand getting into your camera.

A professional cover made from neoprene will provide more, and tougher, protection.

If a camera bag for the shoulder is not 100 percent waterproof, one can wrap the camera in a plastic garbage bag.

A waterproof tube bag is a great way to pack a camera if you think you’ll be travelling in a wet region for a considerable length of time.

Carefully read labels of expensive waterproof equipment such as welded-seal camera bags or backpacks before purchasing them, says c’t.

“Water-resistant” means the bag will prevent raindrops from wetting your camera, but that won’t help if your camera is completely submerged in water.

Moisture inside a sodden camera bag can be extracted by placing in the bag a silica crystal bag of the type that often comes with packaging.

dpa

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