Condensation Question

[HockeyMomNH]

I remember reading on here recently someone's suggestion about how to keep your lenses from fogging up on humid mornings. Of course, now that I am getting ready to pack up my gear for our trip this weekend I can't find it.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I remember something about plastic bags...

 

[TigerLaw]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1413123&highlight=condensation&page=4

 

[zackiedawg]

Lots of tricks...mainly you need to worry going from cold air to warm humid air (like an AC room to Florida summer outdoors!). Putting the camera in a bag can help, as well as wrapping it in a towel when it's indoors. Dessicant also helps - buy some, or steal some from shoe boxes or other sources - put it in with the camera when coming indoors and storing it. However, fogging is a big problem even when you don't have much condensation or moisture - the inside of the camera stays very cool while the outside gets warm fast, and the lenses fog over badly.

My primary technique, living down here in Florida where cold-to-hot transitions are inevitable nearly every day, is to put out my cameras and lenses where they can be exposed to the heat and humidity about 5-10 minutes before I'm ready to leave. If at a hotel at Disney, for example, I'll put them on a balcony if I have one, or in the window where they get some direct sunlight. Any condensation that is going to temporarily fog up the camera has time to burn off before I need to start using the camera...as the inner parts that are cold slowly adjust and get warmer. Turn off the blasting cold air, let the camera be in the sun, open a door if need be...I've even gone down and placed my camera bag in my car at Port Orleans French Quarter because I had no balcony I could safely put my gear on and the sun wasn't reaching in the window...the car was hot, and I could lock it - and it was only 5-10 minutes while I was getting ready to leave.

 

[HockeyMomNH]

Lots of tricks...mainly you need to worry going from cold air to warm humid air (like an AC room to Florida summer outdoors!). Putting the camera in a bag can help, as well as wrapping it in a towel when it's indoors. Dessicant also helps - buy some, or steal some from shoe boxes or other sources - put it in with the camera when coming indoors and storing it. However, fogging is a big problem even when you don't have much condensation or moisture - the inside of the camera stays very cool while the outside gets warm fast, and the lenses fog over badly.

My primary technique, living down here in Florida where cold-to-hot transitions are inevitable nearly every day, is to put out my cameras and lenses where they can be exposed to the heat and humidity about 5-10 minutes before I'm ready to leave. If at a hotel at Disney, for example, I'll put them on a balcony if I have one, or in the window where they get some direct sunlight. Any condensation that is going to temporarily fog up the camera has time to burn off before I need to start using the camera...as the inner parts that are cold slowly adjust and get warmer. Turn off the blasting cold air, let the camera be in the sun, open a door if need be...I've even gone down and placed my camera bag in my car at Port Orleans French Quarter because I had no balcony I could safely put my gear on and the sun wasn't reaching in the window...the car was hot, and I could lock it - and it was only 5-10 minutes while I was getting ready to leave.

Great tips. Thanks!

Here is the info for that link above. It is the tip that I read before but couldn't find. Thanks to Geoff M for the following...

If you've been to WDW in the summer, you know what I'm talking about! You leave your nice cool hotel room and 5 minutes later get your camera out of the bag/case/fanny pack/etc. and "Presto!" the front of the lens fogs up, as does the viewfinder... and the surface of the camera "sweats" moisture. You can't take a picture for a couple of minutes until all of the fog disappears. If you wipe it off of the lens, more just takes its place.

This is due to the "cold" camera hitting the hot humid Florida air. Until your camera's temperature is close to the ambient air temp outside, that suckers gonna fog up. In some cases the condensation can cause electrical problems with equipment (I had a camera once that would refused to turn on for a while if it developed severe condensation). Here's a simple way to avoid this...

1) Before you leave your room, place the camera in a ziplock bag.
2) Place it in the camera bag or other carrying case, but leave the zipper cracked so air can get inside it easier. This will prevent the case from acting like an insulated cooler. With the case cracked for air, any condensation that develops as the camera warms up will form on the outside of the ziplock bag.
3) When you pull the camera out for the first time, make sure the camera doesn't feel "cold" in the ziplock bag. If it does, let it warm up inside the ziplock for a couple of minutes before you pop the seal.
4) Once the camera is no longer chilled, you can pull it out without fear of it fogging up.