Rain gear

F

FOTOG

Member
Ok, OK its not that important to most...until you need it.
We are going from Panasonic SPC 700's to the new HD PX800's.
I'm trying t figure out what rain gear to buy for them. Although the "old" ones we have will work, they are 7 years old and have cracks(not so good for rain).Besides that, there are 3 pieces, the Velcro lens shield and a rubber strip to "seal" the top up. Needless to say, the idea is great, but the parts aren't together anymore.
All joking aside, we need something that is user friendly but protects the investment the station is making.
Not sure the body armor for 24/7 is the way to go, but Ive never used anything similar so I just don't know.
What are you using/used and were happy with?
 
S

satpimp

Well-known member
Wrap That Rascal!

We use the PortaBrace Camera Body Armor for everyday. In most cases they stay on the cameras all the time. They are expensive but have protected generations of cameras in our fleet. In stormy weather, from hurricanes to daily tropical thunderstorms, we have used all manner of protection. The current store bought favorite among the crews seems to be the Kata RC 1. When it's really gonna be wet most still use garbage bags, gaff tape and zip ties. They rig for foul weather and then pitch the whole rig when it's time to come in and dry off. Most of our hurricane work is rig it, secure it and stay hot through your shift, dry out. Avoid or correct fogging and repeat as necessary. If its several crews at one spot, one camera will often stay wet while the others will be "dry" or at least not bunkered in the weather. We fight with rain a lot here. It always wins. Anything you can do to make your fleet more robust can only be good.

Several years ago I demoed a rain cover that was attached to a high speed rotating lens cover. The lens which shed water had been developed for Formula One coverage. It was like peering through even the worst rain like a face mask does under water. Too expensive for most day to day local news stuff, but wow did it perform well. It was made by Spintec and was available with or without an attached camera condom or just the spinning lens. It was remarkably quiet as well. Our housecats like to see the lens being wiped. Makes them feel like they're getting their money's worth.

Good luck with the new cameras. It'll all be better in the new format.
 
Necktie Boy

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
+1 on the PortaBrace Armor. Always protects the camera. When rain or dust is around, the cover is there to use. Protected my camera from heavy rains when I couldn't use a roof to protect the camera and me.

Don't forget that PortaBrace will customizes it. My rain cover is made larger to take two shotguns mounted.
 
R

Run&Gun

Well-known member
I'm freelance and own all of my own gear. Spending a few hundred dollars per camera for day-to-day and rain protection is a no-brainer. Especially when you consider that at any point in time you may be running around with over $70k on your shoulder(OK, maybe not as much now, especially in local TV…).

Every ENG camera that I have, has been and is protected by Porta-Brace. Both of my Betacams had Shoulder Cases(actually still on them in the closet), my tape VariCam has a Shoulder Case and both of my P2 Vari's have highly customized Camera Body Armour Cases that I had them design/modify specifically for me(Ken Barry who used to be over the Custom Dept. was awesome). All of my rain covers are Porta-Brace, as well. I tried Kata rain covers in the past, but I like the PB better.

Even though the solid state gear is a lot more resistant to moisture, humidity and temps than the old Beta/tape days, it still pays to protect your gear. If you take care of your gear, it will take care of you.
 
Tv Shooter

Tv Shooter

Well-known member
The Petrol brand has gone away. Vitec bought Petrol a few years ago, and has been thinning out the product line (including that rain cover).

All the Petrol stuff remaining has been rebranded Sachtler.
 
svp

svp

Well-known member
Tv Shooter said:
The Petrol brand has gone away. Vitec bought Petrol a few years ago, and has been thinning out the product line (including that rain cover).

All the Petrol stuff remaining has been rebranded Sachtler.
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That really sucks because I have Petrol rain covers and camera bags and I think they were the best on the market. Hate to hear they sold out to Vitec.
 
R

Run&Gun

Well-known member
Vitec has been gobbling up companies for years. Some of the companies/brands they own: Anton Bauer, Vinten, Sachtler, Oconner, Manfrotto, Gitzo, Avenger, Kata, Petrol, Litepanels, smallHD(acquired late '14) Parallinx(just announced), Teradek and Bexel.
 
Focused

Focused

Well-known member
So instead of going to NAB I should look at just swinging thru a Vitec office?

Didn't know they got Bexel. That's pretty big.
 
R

RyanD

Member
I'll toss my two cents in...Porta Brace seems to be the last "good guy" out there right now. Our shop ordered our custom armor/rain slicker kits and we got them in less than a month for 13 cameras. They work great! The armor is non-obtrusive and has clear vinyl parts for all of your level adjusters or ND filter switches. It covers all of the good bits. The pouch on the side holds the rain slicker BUT can come off if it feels too bulky. All in all it's great gear for under $800 (usually). It's a lot less to pay than a whole new camera...
 
R

RyanD

Member
I'll toss my two cents in...Porta Brace seems to be the last "good guy" out there right now. Our shop ordered our custom armor/rain slicker kits and we got them in less than a month for 13 cameras. They work great! The armor is non-obtrusive and has clear vinyl parts for all of your level adjusters or ND filter switches. It covers all of the good bits. The pouch on the side holds the rain slicker BUT can come off if it feels too bulky. All in all it's great gear for under $800 (usually). It's a lot less to pay than a whole new camera...
 
tarzan

tarzan

Well-known member
I know this is a diversion from the main topic, but one thing I've never understood is: If car companies can make cars that are waterproof enough that water doesn't get into the passenger compartment, trunk, or engine compartment of the car when it rains, why can't camera companies just freakin' make cameras that are waterproof to begin with? We shouldn't have to have "rain gear" for our cameras. Same thing is true of houses: If the construction is solid, water from a simple rain storm won't get into the house. You never hear homeowners talking about "what kind of 'rain gear' should I get for my house?"
-And did I mention Timex watches? Nobody ever talks about having to get "rain gear" for their watch. Most good quality watches are either water proof or water resistant to the point where they can withstand being fully immersed in water without being damaged.
 
The Thing on The Sticks

The Thing on The Sticks

PRO user
tarzan said:
I know this is a diversion from the main topic, but one thing I've never understood is: If car companies can make cars that are waterproof enough that water doesn't get into the passenger compartment, trunk, or engine compartment of the car when it rains, why can't camera companies just freakin' make cameras that are waterproof to begin with? We shouldn't have to have "rain gear" for our cameras. Same thing is true of houses: If the construction is solid, water from a simple rain storm won't get into the house. You never hear homeowners talking about "what kind of 'rain gear' should I get for my house?"
-And did I mention Timex watches? Nobody ever talks about having to get "rain gear" for their watch. Most good quality watches are either water proof or water resistant to the point where they can withstand being fully immersed in water without being damaged.
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Add still cameras to that list too generally speaking the good ones should not have a problem with water unless you submerge them. The cheap ones good luck but a Nikon D4 is pretty resistant as long as you don't take it underwater.
 
canuckcam

canuckcam

Well-known member
tarzan said:
why can't camera companies just freakin' make cameras that are waterproof to begin with?
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All the new broadcast cameras have vents and fans to deal with the heat - the XDCAM 700/800s run really warm. But Panasonic made a great workaround with their CF-31 rugged laptops - the entire internals are sealed but a fan blows through a chassis-wide heatsink so if rain or dirt cruds up the area, blast water through the channel and/or replace the fan.

The old cameras were fairly sealed, I'm talking the BVP-series. Enough that I've heard stories of cameramen smuggling stuff in cameras - no idea if that's true though! But because all those cameras were discreet-board based, you can take out everything until you're left with just enough to power up the camera and get an image in the VF. :)
 
svp

svp

Well-known member
Actually, the bodies of the cameras and the viewfinders can keep out light rain fairly well. The biggest reason for "rain gear" is the lens. Even the slightest bit of water on a lens can be really bad. That and the XLR inputs. Even with rain gear I've had the "ghost zoom" happen more often than I'd like when the servo gets wet.
 
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