Gear Review – Think Tank Hydrophobia® 70-200

As an outdoor photographer who lives and works in Wales, it’s fair to say I’ve seen a fair amount of rain! I’ve never been one to baby my equipment, I mean; it’s a tool for the job, in any weather. I’ve also never really bothered with rain covers as all of my kit I’ve used in dust, snow, hail, torrential rain, literally dripping off it and it still performed so why the need? However there comes a time where you should accept to do things properly so I had a good scour of the internet. Other than using a carrier bag and a rubber band, I thought something better made should be and that’s when I came across the Think Tank Hydrophobia.

There’s plenty of photographers I know already using and singing the praises of these covers, so I thought what the heck, let’s give them a go! Best place I found to get them from was the Clifton Cameras website (http://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Think_Tank_Waterproof_Shell) A long standing company and one who I’ve ordered from before, so happy to buy again. The version I picked was the 70-200 cover. Most of my shooting is done on the move, however I find that when I’m covering motorsport or sporting events I generally have my 70-200 lens on my camera body and relatively, standing in the same area throughout shooting. The 70-200 version is made to be universal for any camera body so you’ll need to add on the eyepiece to suit your camera (http://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Think_Tank_Accessories) Mine being the 5D Mark 3 so I opted for the EP-20.

As usual, ordered in the afternoon and it was with me the next day. The cover arrives in its own little pouch to keep it nice and tidy in your camera bag.

On opening the rain cover it’s a real odd shape at first but very well designed.

First thing is to undo the zip part and put the camera & lens in, fastening the strap around the lens barrel.

This is so you can use the built in strap to carry your camera over your shoulder and it’s still completely water-tight.

Tip: I never have my camera strap on my camera but would imagine if you kept it on at this stage it would tangle up on the inside, so best practice to remove it when using the cover.

Next is getting the eyepiece out – remove your standard camera eyepiece ready to receive the Think Tank one. Here it shows the EP-20 attached without the rain cover, and also after.

I found getting this to fit through the circular hole quite tricky at first, mainly due to the Canon Think Tank eyepiece being rectangular. The rain cover is probably more suited to the circular eyepieces of Nikon cameras. However, after taking it on and off a few times; it’s easy now, so probably just that the foam was stiff as its new.

This helps to create a water-tight seal and also there’s a flap that can be positioned closed or open for when shooting.

As you can see with it zipped back up, you can still access your lens and continue to hold your camera correctly with access for your left hand; or a tripod/monopod.

Using the velcro fastening on the end, creates a tight hold around your lens hood. This takes a while to adjust the strap to the perfect length for your lenses circumference, but once done then there’s no need to change it thereafter.

There’s also a built in pocket that holds the equivalent of a shower cap to go over the open end.

And also a place to store your original eyepiece when using the cover, or to store your Think Tank eyepiece when not in use.

Thanks to the right hand pocket you can still hold your camera as normal and get to your controls, plus the screen is still very visible through the window on the back.

and the test, it’s very waterproof!

Summary

It’s a great bit of kit which anyone who spends a long time outdoors shooting in all weathers should have in their camera bag. It is pricey, especially when you add on the eyepiece for further cost but at least you can be safe in the knowledge that your gear stays dry and functional in all weathers. Whilst shooting with it also keeps your hands warm and out the weather, which is another plus point in inclement weather.

Here’s a good example of whilst the competitors and photographer (me) were completely soaked, the camera stays lovely and dry.