Op/Tech 18" SLR Rainsleeve for Digital & Film Cameras with Lenses up to 7" Diameter, 18" Long.

I bought a pack of these sleeves to use when shooting outdoor sports in the rain. I'm not a pro photographer and couldn't justify the expense of the superior Aquatech rain gear. I needed something small and light that fits in my camera backpack and keeps me shooting during poor weather conditions I occasionally encounter.

If you do a lot of shooting in questionable weather and can justify the $200 cost, the Aquatech is obviously a better solution. But for $6, the Op/Tech sleeves are hard to beat in a pinch, particularly for casual photographers.

The sleeves are large enough to cover most all but the largest of the pro telephoto lenses. It fits my D300 with battery pack and 70-200 2.8 with room to spare. The sleeve has a hole in the rear - just remove your eyepiece cover, stretch the hole over the eyepiece, and replace the cover to hold it in place. The sleeve has a drawstring closure in front that holds very securely to the lens hood. The plastic is transparent and thin enough to allow operation of all the controls right through the sleeve (vs, sliding your hands up inside). It's a very usable solution, although it does make adjusting the zoom a bit more difficult. But again, this is intended to be more of an emergency or occasional rain solution.

I've spent endless hours shooting football games in the rain and the protection provided is excellent. As long as you don't poke a hole in it, your equipment will stay dry. I'm able to reuse them multiple times.

Pros: Very low cost, stores anywhere, excellent protection, low tech ease of use, able to see all of the camera's controls, works with tripods and monopods.

Cons: Takes a few minutes to put on and get adjusted, makes accessing some controls a little awkward (but not impossible), far too long for short lenses.

Bottom line: Excellent emergency protection during occasional bad weather for cameras with larger lenses. Those using smaller lenses should look for another solution.

While obviously far from a U/W housing, for a couple of dollars, this little glorified plastic bag does a really good job! The cinch around the lens opening works well, and accommodates a 70-200F4 on a Canon 40D with plenty of room to spare.

If one is careful to not tear the opening designed for the eyepiece, this device can be used many times, although this is the apparent weak spot, so be gentle putting this on and taking it off.

I have used this in a pretty bad rain storm, and it kept the camera and lens body dry, although conditions got so bad, I couldn't keep water off the lens face, and gave up.

Could you make this with a giant zip lock and a rubber band? Sure, but for the low cost to buy these, I have one in each of my camera bags just in case.