This falls under the “useful and affordable” category. Any time I can spend less than $10 on useful camera gear I’m happy.
Earlier this week I was out shooting in the the snow for several hours. In the past I’ve stolen my wife’s shower caps to use as makeshift rain covers for my camera and lenses, which work in a pinch, but not very well. Needless to say, I spent more time adjusting the shower cap than I did shooting. Time for a real rain cover.
So I headed to my local camera shop, Norman Camera. They carry a wide variety of protective covers for cameras and lenses, including some very nice covers by Kata and Pelican. I was debating on spending $59 on the Kata when I came across another option. Enter the OP/TECH RAINSLEEVE. At a cost of only $6.95 I was little skeptical, I mean you get what you pay for right? Maybe not in this case.
When I got home I was pleasantly surprised to find that the small package contains not one, but two disposable rain sleeves, which should last quite awhile if properly maintained. The sleeve is designed with a universal opening for most eyepieces, and it works well with my D200, although it occasionally needs to be repositioned. No more squinting through plastic to try and see my viewfinder! The size is great as well. I had no problems using the sleeve on my Nikon D200 with RRS L-Bracket, and the sleeve easily accommodated my 105 Macro lens and my 300 F4 with TC-17 Teleconvertor attached. It folds up and easily fits into my Kata backpack without adding any bulk or weight, another bonus. You’ll have to make a small hole in the plastic if you want to use it with an external flash, but that shouldn’t be an issue.
I used it this morning during a heavy snowfall and it protected my camera and lens as advertised. Try one out if you think you might be shooting in inclement weather any time soon.