The Canon 6D is my go to camera for architectural and construction photography – potentially harsh environments full of dust.
The Canon 6D is not weather sealed but provides some resistance against dust and moisture. Dust and moisture are the things that can potentially damage a DLSR. That is why care needs to be taken when using the Canon 6D (and any other camera) in adverse weather and environments. I will tell you how to protect your camera from the elements, and also give you the official word from Canon on this subject.
There are a number of simple things that you can do to minimise the exposure of the Canon 6D to moisture and dust which I will tell you in this blog post.
Not good news then?
So the Canon 6D is not weather sealed, but offers resistance against dust and moisture. In this post I will tell you more about this, and also how you can protect your camera from the elements whatever make and model it is. And what this all means for me and my architectural and construction photography work.
There are some great prop tips in this post. And of course this is all in plain English with no irrelevant detail!
Who am I?
I am Rick McEvoy, an architectural and construction photographer and Canon 6D user based in the UK. I work on construction sites which must be amongst the dustiest environments cameras can be used in.
Let me share my years of experience with you which will help you with the lack of weather sealing of any make of camera.
What is the Canon 6D made of?
The Canon 6D is constructed of a magnesium alloy front and rear body covers and a polycarbonate top cover.
Weather sealing claims
Manufacturers make various claims about weather sealing but you need to check the warranty to see exactly what is covered.
Which is why avoidance is the key to using not only the Canon 6D but any camera in adverse conditions.
No flash
The built-in flash on a camera, as well as being rubbish, is also a moving part and a week point for water ingress. The Canon 6D does not have a flash so another big tick!
What about lenses?
I use L series lenses, which are all weather sealed. There is however always the question of where the two meet though.
What do Canon say about this?
I reached out to Canon and this is what they said.
……….
Well I am awaiting their reply to be honest!
How to protect your Canon 6D from the weather
Why would you need to protect your camera from the weather if it is weather sealed?
Well avoidance is always a good thing, so here are X things that I do to protect my camera from the elements.
1 – Don’t take photos in the rain.
Seriously, I very rarely take photos in the rain. Why is this? Well my architectural and construction clients do not want photos of their completed projects in the rain so I rarely work in the rain.
Problem solved!
I know, there will be times when you need to take photos in the rain so here are some tips from me.
2 – Always use the lens hood
I always, without exception, keep the lens hoods on all my lenses. Why? Lens hoods are the single best way to protect the all important front lens element from impact damage and anything and everything else.
There is no reason to remove the lens hood, so do not do this. Ever.
By the way you can take them off and mouth them in reverse to save room in your camera bag.
3 – Micro fibre towels
Cheap and effective, I always have a a couple fo these with me. If it is light rain you can simply put the micro fibre towel on top of the camera and it will absorb he rain. Fold it over a couple of times and it last longer.
These towels are also great for wiping down camera gear.
Cheap and invaluable!
4 – Buy a rain sleeve.
This is one of the accessories that I have bought that I actually use. I have bought so much stuff that I do not use but this is great for serious rain. Not that you will find me it in it but they are dead handy, cheap, light, take up no room and completely reusable.
5 – Put an umbrella on your tripod
And I am not talking a photographic umbrella no – I don’t have one of them. No I am talking about the thing that you walk around with to keep dry. I have actually done this myself. I used a manfrotto magic clamp attached to my tripod firmly holding my pop up umbrella and it worked a treat.
The photos were rubbish mind as it was raining! But this lash up worked very nicely indeed.
6 – Change lenses under cover wherever possible
I use my Canon 17-40mm lens for 95% of my architectural and construction photography work, so I don’t change lenses often. But when I do I change lenses under cover – this is my hierarchy of cover
- Inside a building
- In my car
- Outside leaning over wearing a coat
These things do not have to be complicated – common sense and a bit of thought normally suffices!
What do Canon say?
Well I asked them. The Canon 6D web page states
“Water/ Dust Resistance – Yes (equal to EOS-1N)”
And this is the reply I got from Canon UK.
“Thank you for your query, I’m afraid that the information on weather seals and how our cameras can cope in different weather conditions is very limited, we compare the current camera with older ones to give people a comparison to look at.
We also advise on the seals used in the body and lenses however due to the fact that the camera and lens are two separate parts we cannot give definite water seal information on them, if they are damaged etc they will allow water in, if there is no lens on the camera body it will let water in etc.
This article explains a bit more – https://www.eos-magazine.com/articles/EOS_feature/weather-sealing-eos-cameras.html“.
OK that is the offical word from Canon UK.
And what about other Canon cameras?
There are varying degrees of weather sealing, but the basic principle is the more expensive the camera the better the chance of it having decent weather sealing.
See above.
What does this mean for my architectural and construction photography work?
Well I have to be careful don’t I?
Construction sites are very dusty places. Thankfully I don’t take many photos in the rain to that is less of an issue to me – my clients don’t want their buildings photographing on rainy days.
Further reading
If you want to know more about the Canon 6D check out this blog post Is The Canon 6D Still Worth Buying In 2020? And if you want to know more about my architectural photography work then head straight over to my Work With Me page.
Foy anything else just goto my Start Here page.
That’s all folks
I feel like I have said enough. Ok written enough. To recap the Canon 6D is not weather sealed but so needs protection from weather, dust and anything else.
Rick McEvoy
#canon6d #canon6dweathersealed #canoncamera #canon