Weatherproofing with a plastic bag

A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
the idea.

Does anyone use this kind of thing? Are there any products like it? If I
were to make my own, the only tricky bit would be the mounting of the
circular glass in the side of a bag. Any ideas on how that could be made to
work?
--
The email address used to post is a spam pit. Contact me at
http://www.derekfountain.org : a
href="http://www.derekfountain.org/"Derek Fountain/a

Derek Fountain asks:
couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to
weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole
cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the
hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such
that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd

need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis
of
the idea.


Does anyone use this kind of thing? Are there any products like it? If
I
were to make my own, the only tricky bit would be the mounting of the
circular glass in the side of a bag. Any ideas on how that could be
made to
work?

Try porters.com. Look up Pelican camera protector. $29.99 plus
shipping.

Derek Fountain wrote:
: A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
: proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole cut
: in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
: The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
: sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
: Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such that
: it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
: need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
: the idea.

: Does anyone use this kind of thing? Are there any products like it? If I
: were to make my own, the only tricky bit would be the mounting of the
: circular glass in the side of a bag. Any ideas on how that could be made to
: work?

I have done something similar on several occasions for quick, short term
weather shielding (and for theme park "log" rides). The trick to sealing
the front element is to cut a hole in the bag that is the same size as the
filter and then secure the opening to the filter ring with good water
resistant tape (electricians tape works good). This will work best if the
front barrel of the lens does not turn with focusing or zooming functions.
To help the "slippery" problem, just position the bag with the opening
down. Your hands can come up from below, into the bag and gripping the
camera on the normal grips. With some bags it is possible to stretch the
plastic across the eyepiece and secured with a rubberband, allowing you to
look through the bag material and into the viewfinder. Be sure to use some
type of filter on the front of the lens to keep water penetration of the
lens itself to the minimum, and to keep water spots off the primary lens.

I only use this method for quick, short term, water protection. It works
for the few min I want to use a camera in wet conditions. Long term use
(for half an hour or more) would not be recommended. If you want a longer
or more repeted use, an underwater housing would be the next step. I
expect that if you are not wishing to take photos but just to protect the
camera durring a rain storm, simply placing it in a ziplock bag and
sealing the top tightly around the protruding neck strap MAY be enough to
safeguard from all but the most heavy downpour.

Randy

==========
Randy Berbaum
Champaign, IL

"Derek Fountain" wrote in message
eenews.net...
A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole
cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such
that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
the idea.


Not recommended with zoom lenses!

"Derek Fountain" wrote in message
eenews.net...
A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole
cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such
that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
the idea.


Not recommended with zoom lenses!

"Derek Fountain" wrote in message
eenews.net...
A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole
cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such
that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
the idea.

Does anyone use this kind of thing? Are there any products like it?

I used to do this as an emergency measure for my camcorder. A couple of
years ago, I broke down and bought a rain cape from EWA-Marine. It's a
clear PVC bag with an optical-glass port on the front. The cape comes with
a screw-in retaining ring that is attached to camera lens. The ring mates
with the port and holds the lens flush with the optical glass.

I've used the rain cape numerous times.

If you'd like to see it, I have a section about shooting video in the rain
on my website which, while not yet open for business, has the page on
foul-weather shooting up. It has pictures of the EWA-Marine product, as
well as a couple of video clips in which it was used.

www.ruyitang.com/weather.htm

(Please stop by again in a couple months when all the material is up).


If I
were to make my own, the only tricky bit would be the mounting of the
circular glass in the side of a bag. Any ideas on how that could be made
to
work?
--
The email address used to post is a spam pit. Contact me at
http://www.derekfountain.org : a
href="http://www.derekfountain.org/"Derek Fountain/a

A hot glue gun should hold a filter in place onto a not too thin plastic
bag.


"Derek Fountain" wrote in message
eenews.net...
A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole
cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such
that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
the idea.

Does anyone use this kind of thing? Are there any products like it? If I
were to make my own, the only tricky bit would be the mounting of the
circular glass in the side of a bag. Any ideas on how that could be made
to
work?
--
The email address used to post is a spam pit. Contact me at
http://www.derekfountain.org : a
href="http://www.derekfountain.org/"Derek Fountain/a

Derek Fountain wrote:
A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
the idea.

Does anyone use this kind of thing? Are there any products like it? If I
were to make my own, the only tricky bit would be the mounting of the
circular glass in the side of a bag. Any ideas on how that could be made to
work?

I might work, for a while. Can't recommend it as a thing to do
frequently, but should work in a pinch.


--
Ron Hunter

Derek Fountain wrote:
A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
the idea.

Does anyone use this kind of thing? Are there any products like it? If I
were to make my own, the only tricky bit would be the mounting of the
circular glass in the side of a bag. Any ideas on how that could be made to
work?

I might work, for a while. Can't recommend it as a thing to do
frequently, but should work in a pinch.


--
Ron Hunter

On 4/1/05 2:36 AM, in article
s.net, "Derek Fountain"
wrote:

A couple of years back I heard something about how it's possible to weather
proof a camera with a plastic bag. The gist was a clear bag with a hole cut
in it, and a UV filter or some other piece of glass mounted into the hole.
The camera was put into the bag (which has a sealing mechanism of some
sort, like a freezer bag) and the lens screwed into the filter. Voila!
Camera safe from the elements but the lens is fixed in a position such that
it can "see out". I guess it might be a bit slippery to hold, and you'd
need a way for the shoulder strap to get out, but you can see the basis of
the idea.

Does anyone use this kind of thing? Are there any products like it? If I
were to make my own, the only tricky bit would be the mounting of the
circular glass in the side of a bag. Any ideas on how that could be made to
work?

Take a look at these bags - I have no connection with the company.
http://www.ewa-marine.com/english/index.htm
Chuck