Ueli Steiger: Rain Deflectors

From American Cinematographer, Monster Mash by David E. Williams (June 1998)

With artificial storms forecast throughout the Godzilla shoot, rain deflectors were essential in order to ensure the sharp images needed for the ensuing digital work. These devices typically incorporate a high-speed rotating optical glass disc mounted in front of the lens, which throws the water off via centrifugal force before the image is blurred.

"We had every rain deflector in the world on this show, and none of them worked very well. Panavision had several versions, including a little one for the Steadicam. We also had a deflector which blasts water right off the lens using compressed air. It works well for about 10 seconds before the air valve freezes shut. It's also very noisy. This was another reason to use zooms. Switching lenses would have required us to continually remove and reattach the rain deflectors, which takes far too much time."

- Ueli Steiger