It may come as a surprise but the Canon G9 is not waterproof, in fact if you look down from the top and look at the diopter adjustment wheel you can see into the camera (easier to see when the camera is on)
Now the easy way to deal with this is to use a the Canon waterproof case WP-DC21, but its some what over the top for occasional bad weather.
Last year on a protest march from the Climate Camp to BAA’s offices, it was raining, and raining a pretty young journalist took pity on me and gave me her umbrella and I suddenly realised the potential in keeping camera and lenses dry when it’s raining. Not all my problems were solved though, as I was using a Nikon D2x DSLR it requires two handed use so as to date I have not invested in an umbrella as yet.
However the G9 is usable one handed; you can zoom, focus and alter nearly all the options one handed, with perhaps the exception of the print/shortcut button and ISO dial (both can be accessed by tilting the camera and using a finger that holds the umbrella) so its time to go and by an umbrella.
One type of umbrella I don’t recommend is the big golfing ones, they are very unsteady in the heavy wind which will be hard to handle the G9 or throw you off composing your picture. My recommendation is the small collapsible ones that will fit easily into a spare space in your Laptop bag, messenger bag, camera bag or any other bag you carry
It is also a good idea to keep a polythene bag with you to store the G9 in, keeping it dry if your bag gets drenched!
4 Comments
February 13, 2008 at 4:54 am
Hmm… yes… I remember that. In fact it stuck in my mind so much that a coupla months ago I invested in a “mini umbrella” (intended for campers presumably) from Millets. Cost about six quid.
Comes with its own nice little cover, is real lightweight and folds down to about 7″/8″ long.
“Just the job” thought I…. ’til I got it home and discovered the handle simply not long enough to stick anywhere useful (whilst holding a camera) and still have sufficient headroom.
So if you find an alternative that works it’d be nice to hear about it.
February 13, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Well, interesting you should ask!
The one the journalist had was only about 6″ long and I thought it would be ideal as it is easy to drop in a camera bag, but can’t find one.
A further note, is that some years ago I was looking for an umbrella to use as a make shift hide for wildlife watching/photography and to keep dry while doing it using fishing umbrellas from Argos http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&langId=-1&q=UMBRELLA&pp=20&c_1=1|cat_9555568|Fishing|9555569 but they appear to be wider than a golfing brolly, but not by much.
The one with the drop down sides looks versatile for doing art nude shoots in the Landscape as a versatile changing room, some have guy lines to peg it out, but the ones I have seen in the market are a lot longer and bigger, and the details in Argos are a bit scant, to compare. There are also shelters like this one for example http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0742722/Trail/searchtext%3EFISHING.htm that could be good for an early morning start waiting for Dawn (again) But as soon as I find one ill let you know
P.S fishing clothing is really good if you have to sit around for long time in cold, damp weather; it’s what it was designed for, but a bugger if you start walking, as you get too hot
February 13, 2008 at 8:57 pm
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&langId=-1&q=UMBRELLA&pp=20&c_1=1|cat_9555568|Fishing|9555569 that link again?
February 13, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Bugger ! sorry looks like you need to copy and paste it……