Watch what goes into really weather-sealing a camera in this in-depth behind the scenes video
Mar 17, 2020
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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One of the most standout features of Olympus mirrorless cameras is just how well weather-sealed they are. You can practically hose them off to give them a good cleaning at the end of your day of shooting and they just keep on going. Not all camera systems fare so well, so how does Olympus do it?
While not the only company that offers good weather sealing, it is highly regarded as being amongst the best in the industry. Dave Etchells at Imaging Resource wanted to find out what goes into weather sealing a camera, so they took a trip to the Olympus R&D HQ in Japan to chat with Imaging Product Development manager, Takao Takasu.
The beginning of the video is an interview with Takasu-san, who talks about Olympus’ history with weather sealing, beginning in 2003 with the Olympus E-1 DSLR. The cameras have been developed since then with high levels of “splash-proof performance”. The first OM-D camera to receive this kind of protection was the Olympus E-M5 series, introduced in 2012.
After the interview, the video goes into a bit of a deep dive inside some of the camera systems to show how the weather sealing is designed and implemented into their cameras. Particularly interesting are the splash-proof features of moving parts, such as command dials and buttons.
The amount of attention to detail that goes into designing the weather sealing in Olympus cameras is extremely impressive showing some pretty ingenious solutions. I wouldn’t try to take one swimming, but it certainly gives you the confidence to go out and shoot with one in just about any kind of wet weather conditions.
Be sure to read the blog post at Imaging Resource, which offers up some more details on the process.
How much do you trust your own camera’s weather sealing?
[via DPReview]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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2 responses to “Watch what goes into really weather-sealing a camera in this in-depth behind the scenes video”
The best comment I saw in a argument about raincovers and protection is. “What is a raincover?” The man used a Olympus camera.
I bet that sums up my trust in my Olympus OMD cameras weathersealing :)
I never worry about my Olympus cameras and lenses. I take them out in any weather.