Here’s the perfectly designed (and named) product for photographers afraid of getting their lenses wet — the Hydrophobia Rain Cover. The cover, which fits 300-600mm lenses, was announced during PMA by Think Tank Photo after 18 months of development. If you think that’s a long time to spend designing a rain cover you haven’t seen this product yet.
Though many waterproof lens covers have been released before, the cool thing about this model is how quickly you can deploy it. When bad weather is threatening, photographers can pre-mount the Hydrophobia Rain Cover ($150) on the front of their lens, and then pull a red cord to unfurl the rest of the sleeve when the first raindrops begin to fall.
Along with protecting your long glass, the rain cover fits over your entire camera body and provides a sealed, visible workspace for your hands if you need to change batteries and memory cards; check settings on the LCD screen; or switch from shooting horizontally to vertically.
To see videos of the Hydrophobia Rain Cover in action, including a blooper reel, check out this link on Think Tank Photo’s website.
Dan Havlik is Technology Editor at PDN Magazine and Editor of DemystifyingDigital.com. For more professional photography news, visit PDNonline.com.