camRade raincover for the Canon C300 / C500

I’ve used my Canon C300 for almost a year now.

It has been in many different locations. Anywhere from hot 40 degress Celcius countryside up to -22 degress Celsius on peak mountains. And it never let me down.

But I was also lucky, as most shots were during dry weather conditions. But there was this “50 years is not enough” project where I had to film outside in a massive snow storm.

Since the C300 is not weather sealed, I had to build a protecting cover in a hurry and also used some umbrella for additional protection.

This worked out at this specifc shoot, but was far from being really practical. Working without seeing what you are doing can’t be a good thing ^^

So I thought it would be time to get a raincoat which is really designed for it.

We already use a camRade cover for our JVC HM-100, which works out to do for what it is designed for.

So I went ahead and ordered one for the C300 too.

The camRade raincover for the Canon C300 / C500 is big enough to cover a full C300 setup (attached handle with open monitor on top and microphone).

camRade Canon C300 raincover left side

camRade Canon C300 raincover top

There are clear windows on all the important places.

In case you need direct control access you can open various Velcro opening,s to get your hands on to it without grabing from bellow.

camRade Canon C300 raincover back side

Included in the package you also get two different lens shields.

A short one which is more then big enough for a Canon 24-70mm

camRade Canon C300 raincover front

And a really large one which is so long, that  its about ready to protect a double size Canon 70-200mm .

I’d preferd a slightly shorter one, but this way it will even work for the real long lenses.

camRade Canon C300 raincover / long lense cover

What do I think about it?

I didn’t used it out in the rain yet. So my opinion is only made of a dry test.

Likes:

– The cover fits pretty well and doesn’t sit to tight (better then the JVC HM-100 one)- It covers all the important places

– You can reach and get direct access to any important controll

– The lens protection layer does a good job protecting the sensor area when changing lenses outdoors

– Build quality is good and the cover comes in a nice bag to stow away

– Additional strap on the lover side to secure against wind lift or movement from bellow. So the cover should stay on it how you place it

– Direct access to the hand grip. So you can take it off a tripod and start shooting hand held right away

Dislikes:

– The only monitor option is on top. So you cant use it on the side

– Heat might be a issue in really hot locations but I think it should work out well, as the cover isn’t to tight and fully open on the lower side

– Limited access to covered lenses (But hey..same goes for the rain ;o)

I think it will do a great $200 job to protect a Canon C300 / C500 investment. There might be some Velcro locks that will allow for a few drops to reach the inside from time to time. But it really is just a rain cover and not a dive housing.

Probably I will never have to use it since I got one now, but if i will get into a bad weather shooting situation I’m well prepared now to protect the Canon C300 and still be able to control the camera with direct access to all important places.