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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Rain advice!

Luca Perin

Luca Perin

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Hi everyone! I'm planning a 20 days trip in Iceland in October and I want to take my RAVEN with me! I'm just a little bit worried about the rain!
Should I buy a rain cover? Any good advice? Thank you! :)
 
Hands down, yes. I'm not an expert on RED cameras, but if I were you I'd use more than a rain cover. Moisture (water molecules suspended in air) could damage your equipment even if you're using it after a rain storm. You want to keep the inside of that machine DRY, at all cost. That moisture could condensate inside your camera and cause a lot of problems.

Short term, it would probably survive, but the more you take care of it now the longer it will last. I can't prove any of this, just using common sense. I own a DSLR but the electronics sometimes bug out.
 
Robert Ridge said:
Hands down, yes. I'm not an expert on RED cameras, but if I were you I'd use more than a rain cover. Moisture (water molecules suspended in air) could damage your equipment even if you're using it after a rain storm. You want to keep the inside of that machine DRY, at all cost. That moisture could condensate inside your camera and cause a lot of problems.

Short term, it would probably survive, but the more you take care of it now the longer it will last. I can't prove any of this, just using common sense. I own a DSLR but the electronics sometimes bug out.
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Nothing here is incorrect, however most cameras do just fine during rain (covered) and after it rains. REDs are known to be tough in the field -- Brain Farm does a lot of Nat Geo stuff with their RED kits, Renan Ozturk with his RED, etc. You'll be totally fine with a solid rain cover or old taped-seams rain jacket (how I do it). I would mention that you should be aware of fans and air-flow as you don't want to choke your cam. Not sure many cameras these days stack up to the hell I used to put my DVX through, but that's a whole other story.

Use common sense, by protecting the camera and taking extra special care of any electronic contact points, and you'll be fine.
 
Thank you guys! I'm gonna pay attention to those big fans on top and take extra care of the camera! Can't wait to shoot some great footage! I also found the CAMRADE wetsuit, it looks nice!
 
...and just remember, that rain in The North Atlantic, doesn't usually fall straight down. It can fall down, sideways and upwards. :)

I live in the Faroe Islands, which are right south-east of Iceland. We have rough climate here and it always amazes me how calm and predictable (and downwards-falling) rain is, when I´m travelling to other countries :)
 
Thomas Koba said:
...and just remember, that rain in The North Atlantic, doesn't usually fall straight down. It can fall down, sideways and upwards. :)

I live in the Faroe Islands, which are right south-east of Iceland. We have rough climate here and it always amazes me how calm and predictable (and downwards-falling) rain is, when I´m travelling to other countries :)
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Ahahah! No way :) !! It'll be an adventure!!
 
You could also look into getting an EWA Splash Bag if you need more mobility.
 
out of the box Raven / Weapon seem to have lots of exposed connectors. Shorting them with moisture may or may not do some damage depending on circuit design - can anyone from RED comment?
And what are most people doing? I was thinking about some thin insulator film taped over the general contact area to prevent any contact mechanical or electrical.
RED covers would be nice, but I seem to remember some comment where drago or weapon was damaged because the cover bent or damaged the delicate contacts!
 
That video is misleading to say the least. I recently had a brand new Redmag assessed by Red for water damage. It wasn't at all visible by eye. The card worked fine. It was sent in as part of troubleshooting another issue and they found corrosion on the contacts. The card was garbage. $2500 down the drain.And the card wasn't exposed to any extreme environments. Likely something as simple as a bead of sweat (salt water). And Mike's comment about covers is something I'm interested in too. Way too many exposed sensitive areas on the camera - with little to no options for protectors. Even the media bay sits open to the elements when a card isn't in it. This is something I'd like to see Red address by way of more protection accessories, or built in protection/covers, rubber tabs, etc.
 
Luca Perin said:
Yeah I think I'm gonna take this http://cvp.com/index.php?t=product/camrade_2709.0408 ;) It's the only one I found!
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This looks like a great pick. Not overkill, but also total protection. The velcro over the lens is something I always have to jimmy together on set, awesome it has it built in. I do lots of on-location work and I'll most likely be picking one of these up myself.

This is where touch-screen controls become lackluster. You might wanna tape a small rag inside the cover near where you put your hand in to wipe your fingers on as you go to change settings on the screen (or even the sidekick if you have it). It's less about protection (even though it helps immsensely) and more about just getting it to work. Slightly moist fingers hinder the touchscreen abilities and will become maddening...causing you to tap and touch more, causing more water to end up on a water-sensitive area.
 
Brendan_H_Banks said:
This looks like a great pick. Not overkill, but also total protection. The velcro over the lens is something I always have to jimmy together on set, awesome it has it built in. I do lots of on-location work and I'll most likely be picking one of these up myself.

This is where touch-screen controls become lackluster. You might wanna tape a small rag inside the cover near where you put your hand in to wipe your fingers on as you go to change settings on the screen (or even the sidekick if you have it). It's less about protection (even though it helps immsensely) and more about just getting it to work. Slightly moist fingers hinder the touchscreen abilities and will become maddening...causing you to tap and touch more, causing more water to end up on a water-sensitive area.
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I also pre-ordered the side handle! I don't know if it'll fit in the rain cover!
 
Luca Perin said:
I also pre-ordered the side handle! I don't know if it'll fit in the rain cover!
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Take a look at photo #3 on the link, looks like it has a design where it'll work really well actually. The side-handle will be a solid physical control as well.

15-12-20151450190216wetsuit-for-red-raven-3.jpg


Definitely take care but also don't feel too hindered. I shot a piece over two long days in the worst weather Detroit had to offer this winter (in Feb) -- we were EXT in snow, rain, sleet, and mixed conditions the entire day. My AC team did a incredible job keeping things wrapped up, but a few gusts of big wind tossed our rain protection and ya know, a little water here or there doesn't kill things. Moisture on the screen was unavoidable but when you can, take a minute to wipe things up. These are high quality production cameras built to take a good amount of what you throw at it. Keep using your common sense (as you are doing already) and you'll be all set!
 
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