Camera and Condensation

[cruiserjanet]

I will be purchasing a digital SLR camera before our October cruise to the Caribbean. When I was on my first cruise to the Caribbean in 1993, my friend had condensation issues with her video camera. Granted, this is 14 years later and I'm bringing a digital camera. I was wondering if there are condensation issues with a digital camera in the Caribbean? Will I have to wait a certain number of minutes once I get outside before I can take a picture?

[pierces]

Condensation is the enemy of all electronics in the tropics. If you keep your room at human temperatures, your equipment will fog up as soon as you hit the warm, wet air. I lost the shutter on my Maxxum 7i to the Panamanian steambath in 2000 and came home with 14 empty rolls of film. It made good noises and advanced the film, but no exposure at all!

 

You can beat this by putting your equipment in a gallon zip-lock and letting it warm up for 10 min. or so after leaving the room. Another method I started using is putting a reptile terrarium heater in the bottom of my camera bag and plugging it in. It keeps the bag at about 90-95° (which has no effect on your equipment) and I never have a fogging issue.

 

Dave

[Tater1800]

There are several methods to warm your camera. I have used a nite-light and extention cord. Some bathrooms have spot lights by the mirror. The reptile heater sounds like a great idea too. If your camera bag is padded, this will insulate the camera allowing it to warm slowly. The problem is that you can't use the camera for an hour or so.

[cruiserjanet]

Thanks for the help. I didn't realize this is the same for digital cameras as it is for video cameras. I've added a gallon ziploc bag to my packing list.

[S&M in Pgh]

It is mostly a problem of the glass lens being cooled down in the A/c of the ship, then you go out into the 90+ degree heat and high humidity. That causes condensation. You can get anti-fog spray at a camera store. But it does not stop all condensation. I have found that if I keep the camera bag zipped before going out and unzip it about half way when I go outside and let the camera warm up slowly condesation is not too much of a problem. Plus keep a clean lens cloth with you to wipe off any condensation. As a word of advise, take a good lens cleaning kit with you. I have noticed that I occasionally get lots of spray on the lens. And since it is salt spray, it is best to clean them off with a good cleaning solution.

 

Mike

[zackiedawg]

Indeed, condensation is going to get you unless you like to keep your room at reptile temperatures. Above suggestions are excellent - actually far beyond the effort I usually make!

 

Typically, I've had pretty good luck at beating condensation by wrapping my camera in a microfiber towel and stuffing it in my camera bag. I then keep the camera bag in the warmest part of the room - either the closet, or near the window/balcony door where radiational heating gets to it.

 

If you have a balcony, you have the extra advantage of being able to place the camera bag outside when you wake in the morning to let the camera adjust to the outside temperatures. By the time you are ready to go out to the ship or to a port, the camera will have equalized and condensation will have gone away.

 

Use the lens as a pretty good gauge of when the condensation is gone, and it's safe to turn on the camera...if the lens clears up, then the interior temperature of the camera has probably gotten pretty close to the outside, and the condensation will have mostly evaporated. If the camera lens is heavily fogged up from the inside, it's best to not turn on the camera and risk electrical damage.

 

For DSLR lenses or external add-on lenses, you can usually warm them up more quickly by holding the glass and the lens with your hands through a towel - your body heat will usually help equalize the temperature more quickly inside the lens to eliminate the condensation.

[pierces]

The reason I use the heater in my camera case it that the acclimation-in-a-bag method works fine on the lens and eyepiece, but it takes a long time for the internal parts to warm up. The heater keeps my cameras warm all the way through. Most non-pro cameras have minimal environmental sealing and in the steambath that we all seem to want to cruise to, condensation can and will form on the internal workings if there is too much of a temperature differential or too much humidity ("DEW WARNING" on you camcorder anyone?). The internal warming process can be accelerated by turning on the camera and leaving it on for a bit before you go out as this will generate heat from the sensor, batteries and power supply.

 

Just a side note: If you are taking pictures in a cold climate, returning to the warmth of your house/hotel/cabin can raise the same issues.

 

Dave

[Kamloops50]

I had problems with my Camcorder in Oct 06 as we transitted the

Panama Canal . It seems that when it rains most of my problems occured.

If you use a true digital camera (DVD or Memory card ) this problem doesn't seem to occur. I've also had moisture problems on my Camcorder under cold

weather situation (-20oC @ 6000 ft in a helicopter)

[cruiserjanet]

Hum, I was wondering about the true digital SLR cameras because the last time I went to the Caribbean I had a film camera and my traveling companion had a camcorder which fogged up. When we did the Hawaii cruise, we had no trouble with fogging. I assume the Caribbean has higher humidity but I can't remember that far back. If not, then I don't see a problem with fogging/condensation.

[C-Ked]

Dumb question -- do these condensation concerns apply just with SLRs, or also to smaller point-and-shoot digital cameras? Just trying to find out whether this is a problem for large lenses, etc., or also with small compact cameras. Thanks!

[zackiedawg]

It can occur with anything that has glass, or air inside. Cellphone, P&S camera, DSLR, camcorder, PDA, Laptop computer, etc. Hey...it happens to Sunglasses!

 

Basically, it all depends on the atmosphere - how hot it is, and how humid it is. The condensation can occur when the temperature differential is great enough between your inside air and the outside air. Materials such as glass, ceramics, and copper tend to retain temperature much longer than more porous materials like plastics and cloth - so when they are brought outside to a very hot, humid environment after sitting inside for the night in a 70 degree cabin, these parts tend to fog up or get condensation on them from the temperature variation. The moisture is usually on the inside of the mechanism or device, as that is where the temperature takes the longest to equalize - which is why you sometimes can't wipe it off.

 

In rare situations, it can be harmful to the sensitive electronics within the device - but usually it is a thin veneer of fogginess that dissipates over 5-10 minutes. Let the device sit for a while, and it usually goes away.

 

Don't worry too much about it though - even a very hot day may not produce condensation issues - it has more to do with the moisture content in the air, and the temperatire at which you keep your cabin. if you do find your camera fogged when you head outside, just warm it up - hold the case in your hands, sit it outside in the sun, whatever you need to do. It should dry up in just a few minutes with no harm done!