Condensation

[Philh]

Sorry,wrong section

[arthurking83]

Sorry Phil, I have no idea either... but usually condensation is formed by the change in temperature/humidity and not just the tmeperature itself(whether hot or cold)
So the moral of this is to acclimatise the gear for a bit, maybe clean the condensation off after some time... maybe 10 minutes or so?.... I have no idea on how long is a reasonable time to wait!

Today I was at the botanical gardens, went into the tropical glasshouse and of course the change in temp/humidity fogged up the lens instantly. I loitered about for about 10 minutes or so, and it seemed to stop misting up. By then I wanted out.. it was way too humid for me. All I did was to wipe the lens with a cloth and it looked fine. Wiping the viewfinder was harder though.

If you have to drive to this point where you prefer to take your long exposure shot, remember if it's cold out and you have the heater on in your car, this could be a factor for the fogging up.

[Philh]

Thanks Arthur, I'll give that a try. Cheers.

[enduro]

I can't see the OP ... been edited ...

anyway,

Occurrence of condensation (dew point) is relative to temp, air pressure and humidity. If the temperature or air pressure drops, then the available humidity (water vapor) condensates (drops from the air) and may form on the coolest subject (milk bottle or your lens).

[Seesee]

I'm guessing this is one of the main factors that creates mould in lenses...or even worse mould on a sensor, something to be wary of I would think.

[enduro]

I'm guessing this is one of the main factors that creates mould in lenses....

Yeap.

In my opinion, one should check for mould on lenses at least twice a year.

[ricktas]

One trick I have heard of is to place the camera, lens etc into a ziplock bag (which you squish around the gear to unsure very little air is captured, when moving from huge temperature variations, leaving the kit in the plastic bag for about ten minutes to 'acclimatise' it. The plastic bag is supposed to reduce the amount of moisture around the camera, as its a limited space, and thus assist in reducing condensation issues. The condensation builds up on the outside of the plastic bag instead.

I haven't tried it myself, but apparently its common practice in Antarctica etc, when going indoors, from the very cold environment or vise-versa.

[Seesee]

Not sure if this is worthwhile or not but after every outing, particularly if it's humid or wintry weather I open all my bag pockets and expose my gear to fresh air and light in hope to kill off or restict growth on any fungal spores.

Some folk say they are useless but I have several of the little silicone crystal sachets in all my kit as well, one can never be too carefull. I have also found that one of the new Cat litter tray products { see picture} is composed of silicone crystal and at less than $20.00 a big bag is cheap as. I intend to put some into largish fine mesh bags and arrange them in my gear bags for extra protection...got nothing to lose.

[ricktas]

I have also found that one of the new Cat litter tray products { see picture} is composed of silicone crystal and at less than $20.00 a big bag is cheap as. I intend to put some into largish fine mesh bags and arrange them in my gear bags for extra protection...got nothing to lose.

Except if you own a cat Colin...The camera bag might become the new 'litter tray'..oopsies!

[Seesee]

Hmmmmm...that would make fungus seem insignificant in comparison

[enduro]

Silica gel will not stop condensation, but will absorb a limited amount of water vapour from a contained atmosphere very well. There are some silica gel capsules on the market (Hal Hen) that can be heated and then reused.

One of the best ways to keep you gear dry when not using it may be to store it in a wooden cupboard where the available moisture can be absorbed. I keep mine in a dust free wood cupboard and always unzip my camera bags.

[Seesee]

I was also reading about making a basic de-humidifier from a wardrobe or the like, simply by putting a low wattage light in the cupboard to keep the air within dry, and light which also deters, or stop mould and fungus........might look into this idea one day.