Re: [Paddlewise] RFI Opinion on waterproof camera

SeaKayakNH_at_aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 1/17/01 8:34:05 PM, romeug_at_erols.com writes:
> 
> << I would recommend some sort of lens water shedder unless the droplet
> distortions don't bother you. >>
> 
> Gabriel,
>     Does a normal camera shop carry this stuff?  I have the Minolta
> Weathermatic (waterproof / APS / zoom) but the lens always seems to need to
> be rinsed off and the water sticks to the lens cover.  Thanks in advance.

Not a lens or camera expert, but I would be leery of any of the materials
designed to "shed" water off windhsields (such as "Rain-X," etc.).  The
coatings of lenses are specially made to minimize glare.  Other stuff on top of
the anti-glare coatings is likely to make your pictures inferior.  

OTOH, I can endorse the chamois method -- have used this with satisfaction for
a couple years now (on an Olympus WR-90).  Like Erik Sprenne's "wiper" method,
the chamois minimizes damage to the coating.  I was impressed with Erik's **10
years** of wiping, with minimal damage to the lens coating.

FWIW, on the Pentax WR cameras, the surface wiped is actually not the lens --
it is a protective outer layer of glass.  I can see differences in sharpness
(handheld) between my WR-90 and my (old) Pentax SLR, paticularly at longer
focal lengths, and hence disagree with others who say the lens makes little
difference.  Yeah, I know about camera shake ... and how to minimize its
effects.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
chemist
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