Flying in light snowfall

[KevinD]

Went out for a short flight in light snowfall. Short because I have vague concerns about water getting inside.
But the lens cover/filter did get wet, causing an optical issue.

1) Has anyone improvised some sort of visor to shield either (a) the lens, or (b) the entire gimbal?
As any Mavic series allows interchangeable filters, there is potential to attach something but only if negligible weight.
A shield over the gimbal would avoid weight concerns; maybe make something from a discarded plastic milk bottle.

2) Any personal experience where snow/rain/fog got into your drone and caused a problem?
I'm flying a Mav4; the motors are certainly not "sealed" but I also do not think they are vulnerable to short flights in dampness.

 

[MS Coast]

1) Has anyone improvised some sort of visor to shield either (a) the lens, or (b) the entire gimbal?
As any Mavic series allows interchangeable filters, there is potential to attach something but only if negligible weight.
A shield over the gimbal would avoid weight concerns; maybe make something from a discarded plastic milk bottle.

Anything like that would substantially degrade the camera images and video, like rain and melted snow do.

 

[Cafguy]

There is no difference between a short flight or a long flight..The risk exist..There are products in the form of sprays that you can purchase to help to waterproof a Drones Electronics wise, But a DJI encased in plastic is much more difficult to deal with. Gimbal and Camera wise I have not seen or heard of anything that can negate Mother nature other than Good planning.

 

[hank970]

Maybe stretch a wide rubber band around the seam between lens cover and lenses?

 

[MS Coast]

Maybe stretch a wide rubber band around the seam between lens cover and lenses?

That would still leave the problem of rain and snow on the outer surface of the cover.

 

[hank970]

That would still leave the problem of rain and snow on the outer surface of the cover.

There are two issues: 1) concerns about water leaking into the optical train or camera mechanisms and causing damage, and 2) water drops forming on the cover and degrading image quality.

It might be possible to seal some, but not all, mechanisms to reduce the potential for water damage or functional impairment, but there's no sure way to prevent water from striking the lens cover when flying in the rain or snow. A product like Rain-X might discourage the formation and retention of image-degrading droplets on the cover when flying on a rainy or snowy day.