Scott Jones

The other day I commented that of the five Grand Prix rounds I’ve covered so far this season, it has rained at four of them, Qatar, Germany, the U.K., and Indianapolis. It rained at Donington last year, too, when the only wet weather gear I had was a parka and an umbrella. Fortunately I was with friends who shared umbrella duty so we could all get some shots as it poured down. But that experience showed me that I really needed to be self-sufficient in wet weather, so this season I’ve carried a couple of things that have made all the difference. When I’m shooting track images, I usually have a long lens on one body and my Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8on the other. Though I like to be able to swap for my 14-24mm lens now and then, if it’s raining I just stick with the long lens and the 70-200 to avoid changing lenses in the wet. For the long lens, I use the Think Tank Hydrophobiarain cover.

This season I’ve seen people using several other products intended to do the same thing as the Hydrophobia, but what makes it unique, and better IMO, is that you put it on when you think it might rain, and if it does, you are covered up in less than a minute.

Two Velcro straps keep the end of the cover attached to the end of the lens, and when you want to cover up, you loosen the red bungie cord and pull the rest of the cover over the camera. The Hydrophobia comes with an eyepiece that makes installing the cover very quick, and it has a sealed zipper to close up to keep water out as you use the camera. The back of the cover has a plastic piece so you can see the controls and LCD screen. Your arms slide inside covered sleeves so you can get to all your controls without getting wet. There’s a space beneath the camera for mono- or tripod. Planning ahead is the trickiest part of the Hydrophobia, because if you don’t put it on ahead of time, you’re in the same boat as the guys with other rain covers, trying to get the protection on as the rain is falling on your gear. Once you find yourself in the rain, the Hydrophobia works great, and shooting in the rain is simply no big deal. The only trick becomes keeping your camera lens pointed down so rain doesn’t fall on the outer element. If the weather clears and you want to be done with the cover, you can either take it off, or tuck it back into its storage position and be ready if it rains again. The only problems I had with the Hydrophobia were that the eyepieces would get wet and difficult to see through, and sometimes I’d get a bit of condensation inside the back plastic piece, making it difficult to see the LCD screen. But if you have to shoot in the rain, a bit of condensation is WAY better than having a soaking wet camera and lens. The Hydrophobia could be improved a bit by having a Velcro flap to cover the eyepiece when the camera’s not in use. The flap would keep the eyepiece dry, and Velcro would allow you to open or close the flap as needed. The Hydrophobia costs $150 (no matter where you buy it, as Think Tank Photo is a no discount company), but if you need to use a long lens in the rain, it’s worth every penny. My solution for the body with the 70-200mm lens was much cheaper, and while not nearly as slick, still better than nothing. The Op/Tech Rainsleevecomes in a package of 2 for only $5.

This is just a plastic tube, more or less, with a drawstring at the end of snug it on to your lens hood, a small hole for the eyepiece, and a slight angle in the middle so the plastic hangs down a bit when installed. It only takes a minute to put it on, so I usually had one or two with me and installed one as needed if it started to rain. The good points about the Rainsleeve are that it’s cheap, easy to install, and better than nothing when it’s raining. It probably fits a compact body fine, but when I’m at the track I have Nikon MB-D10 battery packs on both the D700 and the D300, which makes each body quite a bit bulkier than what OpTech appears to have had in mind with this product. The fit is so tight with the MB-D10 installed that there’s not much room to operate. But it does work and is a lot better than letting a bare camera get soaked. Optech makes a version for cameras that have a flash installed, and it would be nice if they made one for larger bodies, such as the D3 or those with the large battery pack attached. Of course, when I’m working in the wet or dry I’m usually wearing my Think Tank bags, which have their own waterproof covers. And I carry my old standby, a small umbrella, in the bag that sometimes holds my 70-200mm lens. I get some looks for carrying an umbrella, but if you DO have to change CF cards or something, an umbrella can sure come in handy out there.