Rain Covers can protect your gear from the elements—not just rain.  Mother nature throws all kinds of corrosive at your gear:  sand, salt spray, snow and dust to name a few.  Think of washing your clothes the last time you shot near the water or in a dusty field.  That same stuff that made your clothes dirty is on your gear!

Your choice of rain covers is all over the board, both in price and in sizes.  From $5 plastic disposable covers to high tech solutions running several hundred dollars, it might be overwhelming as to which one to choose.

The answer to your rain cover can reveal itself with a little analysis of two things:  the lenses in your collection, and why you’ll need a rain cover.  Keep in mind that one size rain cover probably won’t fit all your lenses, and you may find a different rain cover need for different lenses.  Just as you need different lenses for different situations, you may need different rain covers as well.



Take your lenses out of storage and line them up on a table. A quick look will (maybe painfully) remind you of the amount of investment you have to protect.  Grab a tape measure—yes, you’ll need to measure your lenses, both length and diameter.  If you want your rain gear to cover your hood, include that in your measurements.  Keep in mind teleconverters, and add a few inches for them if you use them.  Also, some rain cover manufacturers include the measurements for your camera body, so  measure those as well.  It only take a few minutes to measure, and you’ll want to save this information.

Air travel is more difficult than ever before; it seems carry-on policy, size and weight restrictions, and additional fees imposed change daily. We need to save every ounce of weight and space possible while trying to safely transport our gear to and from location. To this end I had been placing my long lens hoods within my checked luggage, and although I stood them on end, all the hoods exhibit stress fractures from baggage handling.