Shooting the Epic near water

[Berkeley Fondren]

Has anyone shot the Epic near water? If so, or if not, do you need a waterproof cover over it to protect it?

I want to shoot near and on water (for the first time) and I'm just afraid of the splashes and water damage. How does the Epic deal with water splashes?

Any incite or opinion is welcome!

 

[Dominik Muench]

how close are you trying to get ?

I shoot on the beach pretty much every week, in this video I was sitting in the water and walking into the swell without a splash housing

Obviously if the camera gets properly wet the game is over....but a few drops on the outside or some sea spray wont be a drama, the EPIC is built like a tank....you just have to be a bit careful with how close you really get.

Any sort of water getting into the front cooling fan is probably not a good idea.

 

[Berkeley Fondren]

How comfortable would you feel if you splashed the camera. Not a lot, but say a dog or person jumped into the pool less than 10-15 feet away from you and it splashed you fairly well, would the camera be alright?

 

[Burke Doeren]

I agree with Dominik, though from your response, your best bet here is to evaluate the risk vs. reward. Think to yourself - can you achieve this shot with a longer lens where the camera is definitely safe further away from the water source?

You can rent (or even buy) a great rain cover for a fraction of the cost of a brand new EPIC, and if you're going to take a risk like this, you better make sure your insurance covers water damage. Also, sometimes insurance companies can require supplemental coverage if you're shooting on a boat vs. shooting on dry land. It's always better to check before hand than to be disappointed after.

It's entirely up to you - you'll know the most about your shoot, but situations like these always remind me of the age-old saying, "it's better to be safe than sorry."

 

[Dominik Muench]

I wouldn't be able to make that judgement....thats something you have to decide on your own...personally I would do a test without camera first...work out your position and see how severe the splashing is. At the end of the day...it wont cost you anything to rip up a big garbage bag and wrap the camera body with just the lens and LCD peeking out.

 

[Berkeley Fondren]

Thanks for the help! And I plan on buying a waterproof cover because I will be shooting in a boat in the near future. And I will check my insurance!

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

Has anyone shot the Epic near water? If so, or if not, do you need a waterproof cover over it to protect it?

I want to shoot near and on water (for the first time) and I'm just afraid of the splashes and water damage. How does the Epic deal with water splashes?

Any incite or opinion is welcome!

GET A RAIN COVER!!!! $250 super well spent. Then practice, off set, assembling it. Rain covers on Reds can be a bitch because they can't design around everyone's unique configs, so there is always something hanging at wrong place.

A garbage bag is too soft, and might get too close to the fan intakes (which suck air in) and block them.

 

[Robert Hart]

Firstly, please heed the wisdom of better than I on this topic. My personal preference would be to bag the camera but cooling issues are at play with the RED family ( and my SI2K P+S Body as well ). I usually like to have a small piece of cloth or paper towel in there on top to soak up any leaks or dewing inside the bag from extreme dampness. Practically, the lenses may come to harm before the camera from light droplets but none at all is better.

If you must take the camera naked and vulnerable into a wet environment, seriously consider changing your mind. If you absolutely must, then consider taping over the joints and gaps where modules and batteries are attached. Also seal over any unused sockets.

( You may end up with sticky goo to clean off afterwards.)

When a drop lands on a joint, it wicks in a long way.

Paint the plugs and sockets after assembly with Holts Ignition Spray if it is still available or hair setting spray. This is far from ideal. It may confer some protection as it will go where the water may creep and set somewhat before you start operating..

Seal the cable entries into the shells of plugs with silicone sealastic or similar.

On one venture where we were caught by rain, the SI2K got a lot of water on the front because of the need for lens changes etc. We were forced eventually to swap camera heads as the sensor itself because fogged between the OLPF and sensor face which is neither a good look nor good for the camera for that matter. It was a dreadful miserable overnight shoot in intermittent rain.

The Epic/Scarlet arrangement for cooling with an airduct appears to isolate the internal electronics from the environment so the internals should be well protected. However every electrical connection in and out has the potential to cause an internal fry-up if wettened by slop or splash, especially with electrically conductive saltwater.

If a proper weather enclosure is not seen to be affordable, that notion should be seriously re-examined because of the not inconsiderable investment made for the camera already. However if the stinge-factor is compelling, then you may find larger roasting bags more helpful than soft rippable plastic. You can see through them too

I have gaffered the carefully cut-out corner of a bag around the front rim of a lens, let the front element take its chances and focussed from within the bag.

Plastic food gloves taped or glued into the bag through carefully cut holes are helpful for getting at lens and camera controls. Cut the hole undersize and roll the cut edges of the bag and edge of the gloves out for taping or gluing edge-out.

The proper enclosure is best but anything is better than nothing. Take care to wipe your bag or enclosure down before removing. There's not much point to protecting the camera if you are only going to fill it up with a big spill from the enclosure itself as you take it off.

 

[Jason Comparetto]

Just do a test without the camera. See how the water splashes when a cannonball hits the water. take a sheet of a paper or a piece of cardboard and examine how much water landed on your sample piece. You also have to add a margin of safety because water can move in unpredictable ways. * I've shot next to and above pools with the Epic and Red One *

 

[Shane De Hoog]

I've got my camera wet several times. I was standing near a pool when some idiot decided to jump into the pool. Camera got splashed but survived fine. Other time my raincover wasn't completely covering the camera and the 5" Touch and top got really wet. Still works fine.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

Get a SPLASH housing, in the 6k range, still not cheap but far less expensive then Underwater Hosing and far less expensive then having to buy a new camera if you dropped in to the water...

http://www.splwaterhousings.com/

http://www.equinoxhousings.com/