Canon 7D in a snow blizzard on South Georgia Island, November 11.

TYPE OF TEST: CFR-2 (What does this mean?)

One issue I´ve been very interested in regarding the new 7D, is how well it performs under tough weather conditions. Some of my assignments and expeditions take me to extreme parts of the world, where cold temperatures, snow, rain, sand, or a mix of fine sand, rain and a splash of sea water are the norm. On my recent expediton to Antarctica I had a great opportunity to really test how well sealed and rugged this camera actually is. The other two cameras in my camera bag were the Canon 5D Mark II and 1DS Mark III.

This trip was almost the same 3.5 week photo expedition to Antartctica as last year, where I had a 50D and Canon HF10 HD video camera for testing. On that trip I destroyed the video camera on my first day at South Georgia, and the 50D camera had a one day “hangover” after a wet landing. After a few days I put the 50D away because it was not suited to those conditions. 3-4 photographers with Canon 30Ds and 40Ds broke their cameras during last year’s expedition. NB: My workhorse, the 1DS Mark III worked flawlessly, even after 2 “baths” in cold sea water. After these experiences, I wasn’t sure if the 7D and 5D Mark II would survive for the duration of the expedition this year.

Weather resistant

When I´m shooting I’m very focused on my subject and technique. The cameras and equipment experience extremely hard use. When shooting wildlife I´m usually laying on my stomach, with the camera in direct ground contact. This works great with most cameras if the ground is dry, but in Antarctica the ground is almost always wet, muddy or covered with snow or sand. On my recent expedition it snowed almost every day, and at times wet snow, which is worse than rain.

Rough weather conditions = rough images. This Antarctic Fur Seal was photographed with 7D and 300/2.8L on South Georgia.

I always use the 7D with the attached battery grip because it gives me a much better grasp of the camera. Some 5D Mark II users who use the battery grip have reported some problems with water leaking between the camera and battery grip. The battery grip for 7D is new and seems tighter and better sealed. In my case the 7D had absolutely NO problems with snow, rain and water (sea spray). This was just as I had hoped. I’ve also used the 7D on rainy days in Norway, without any problems. The 7D easily passed the rain and wet conditions test.

My 7D in heavy rain.

Wet snow in South Georgia. These conditions might destroy cheaper cameras after a few hours. I used a ThinkTank “raincoat” for my 300mm, but nothing over the camera.

So, what about the two other cameras?
My 1DS Mark III is built like a tank and is heavily weather sealed. I didn´t drop it into sea water this year, but used it without worry or protecting it from bad weather. It worked as expected, without problems.

The big surprise was the 5D Mark II. I used this camera as hard as (but not as much) the 7D and it performed superbly. I didn´t use any protection from rain or snow. The camera was used without the battery grip, which might have helped. The 5D Mark II has been on 2 expeditions to Svalbard (Arctic – 80° North) and one recent expedition to Antarctica without problems, so the weather sealing is robust enough for most conditions.


Conclusion
All three cameras performed very well  for the whole Antarctica expedition. The 7D performed as I had hoped, surpassing 10,000 exposures without a problem. I must admit that the 5D Mark II surprised me as well with its build quality. The 1DS Mark III camera is the most rugged and best weather sealed, but the 7D and 5D Mark II (without battery grip) performed 100% in my opinion.

I have not tried to drop the 7D or 5D Mark II “by accident” into salt water, but I don´t expect them to survive as well as the Mark III / IV cameras. It will be interesting to hear your opinions regarding your use of these cameras (especially the 7D) in extreme weather. Have you had any different experiences, or mostly the same as mine?

OJL

Thanks to Bob Baillargeon for copy-editing!

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