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Water everywhere - how best to protect camera and lens?

I

IndiePaul

Hi

We have a few bathroom scenes that involves some water being flung around. We want the camera to be close in on the action.

I was thinking about getting this to protect my lens and camera:

Ruggard RC-P18F Rain Cover for DSLR with Lens up to 18" and Flash (Pack of 2)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/893960-REG/ruggard_rc_p18f_18_rain_cover_for.html

But my partner and co-director wants to use a screen - eg maybe plastic or perspex that is very clear. Has any one used something like this before and can you recommend something?

Our budget will not stretch to a waterproof housing, and that degree of protection would be a bit of overkill.
 
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How small is the space you are working in?
How much water will be used?
Lenses you currently own?
Ceiling height?
Is it an action scene?
What is your budget?

If you can, I recommend backing up as far away as you can, and zooming in. For a short I did, I stood in a hallway, and zoomed until it looked like I was right there with the characters.

Audio and lighting are also things to be taken into consideration. If the ceilings are not high enough, and the space is not big enough for the boom op to walk around in, then... ADR and lots of Foley? Also, you probably couldn't use a lav because of the water and (if the characters are moving around) clothes rustling.

I think your camera will be fine with that weather/water cover, but I would worry about audio and lighting. I hope you find your solution, or someone has better advice for you. Good luck! :cool:
 
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It entirely depends on how close the camera will be, and how much water you expect.

I use either plastic drop sheets or shower curtains cut and taped to size to cover the camera and lens (front of matte box is exposed - lens fronts and filters can be cleaned from drops). I use this for rain protection.
 
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What kinda camera you got? The 7D, for example, is built to withstand a few sprinkles. The T2i, on the other hand, needs to stay high and dry.

That rain-guard looks like a waste of money (unless you thought you'd be using it all the time). For a one-time shoot, I don't see that rain-guard doing anything that a little saran wrap, duct-tape and a plastic bag couldn't do.
 
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Thanks for the helpful advice folks.

To answer some questions:

How small is the space you are working in?
It's a small bathroom with bath. Approx 4m (l) x 3m (w)

How much water will be used?
Water will be flowing, talent fighting. Some splashes will likely head in direction of camera.

Lenses you currently own?
We'll be shooting with a Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 so we can zoom and will try that first. That too was my option #1 but co-director would prefer close-in with maybe some water running down protective sheet in front of lens or a few droplets on the lens - arguably adds realism, scene/action-intimacy.

Ceiling height?
Approx 3.5m

Is it an action scene?
Talent is handcuffed inside tub, fights, water is running hence splashes

What is your budget?
Mostly blown as usual! Ideally a sub $50 solution.

How close to action?
Likely close enough to get some droplets or splashes on protected lens and body.
​

Cracker Funk said:
What kinda camera you got? The 7D, for example, is built to withstand a few sprinkles. The T2i, on the other hand, needs to stay high and dry.
Click to expand...

Canon 6D. It's not as water-tough as the 5D and given the replacement cost I want to play safe. As ChimpPhobiaFilms noted, I also need to be very aware of the other gear too.

Whatever solution we use, I'll post follow-up comments on this thread for others future use/reference.
 
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IMO I think Chimp's idea of shooting from the hallway is the best, but for an additional reason. It's easy enough to keep your equipment dry from splashing water, but are you going to completely wipe down the entire bathroom between shots? What happens if an errant droplet falls from the ceiling at the wrong time and screws up a shot? A droplet rolling down the lens when the water fight is already over might even be easy to miss.
 
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FYI, I've used plastic bags to cover REDs and Alexa's in the rain and it's a perfectly fine solution. I like to have a filter over the lens, so I just have to clean a filter rather than the lens itself if droplets venture inward of the matte box. That's not always possible, but certainly helps. I also carry shower caps that I wrap over the matte box to protect lens/filter from droplets during downtime.

If you're doing more than one take, you'll likely have to wipe down areas that got visibly wet between takes.

I suggest taping the front of the plastic bag to the front of the matte box, because whilst rain is generally a specific direction and angle, splashes can be from any direction/angle.

If it's just a DSLR, wrap a plastic bag around the body and lens barrel, stick a UV screw on or similar on the end and shoot away.

As CF suggests, shooting on a longer lens from further away will help if you're super paranoid about it.
 
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This is just an update in case someone has a similar situation and does a search.

We successfully shot the scene.

The advice from you IT folks was extremely helpful.

One of our solutions involved the use of Optix clear acrylic sheets which are available in just about any DIY/hardware store. We mounted a large sheet and shot behind it (with the lens against it to eliminate light reflections). We covered the camera and lens using clear extra-large freezer/sandwich bags/wraps. The acrylic sheet was great for close-in wet action.

Electricity and water are obviously a deadly combination so we took great care with the lighting, any power cables etc. We had a clear plastic wrapped soft box in the scene but well back so only a few drops (max) would hit it.

Our other lights were the ceiling mounted shower room lights, and a battery powered LED ring light (wrapped in a clear sandwich bag).

We also put towels etc on the floor to stop water movement.

We didn't capture audio for the scene - will do Foley later.

As much as possible, we used the zoom facility of our Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 to film safely as far back from the action as we could.

Our only issue was a field monitor that seemed to overheat due to its plastic wrapping. Switching it off for an hour, cured the problem and it was back working again.
 
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IndiePaul said:
This is just an update in case someone has a similar situation and does a search.

We successfully shot the scene.

The advice from you IT folks was extremely helpful.

One of our solutions involved the use of Optix clear acrylic sheets which are available in just about any DIY/hardware store. We mounted a large sheet and shot behind it (with the lens against it to eliminate light reflections). We covered the camera and lens using clear extra-large freezer/sandwich bags/wraps. The acrylic sheet was great for close-in wet action.

Electricity and water are obviously a deadly combination so we took great care with the lighting, any power cables etc. We had a clear plastic wrapped soft box in the scene but well back so only a few drops (max) would hit it.

Our other lights were the ceiling mounted shower room lights, and a battery powered LED ring light (wrapped in a clear sandwich bag).

We also put towels etc on the floor to stop water movement.

We didn't capture audio for the scene - will do Foley later.

As much as possible, we used the zoom facility of our Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 to film safely as far back from the action as we could.

Our only issue was a field monitor that seemed to overheat due to its plastic wrapping. Switching it off for an hour, cured the problem and it was back working again.
Click to expand...

Congrats! :)
 
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I use a underwater camera for those shots, then get it wet on purpose for effect!

Then people who know how expensive my primary camera is are super impressed (and think I'm crazy, but meh... that's normal)!
 
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Graeme said:
I use a underwater camera for those shots, then get it wet on purpose for effect!

Then people who know how expensive my primary camera is are super impressed (and think I'm crazy, but meh... that's normal)!
Click to expand...

A good call.

I'm going to invest in a GoPro at some point. Our partial drowning scene would be amped up a lot if the camera had been able to go under water.
 
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