lens fogging in humid climate

[matseski]

I have been traveling around Malaysia and Singpaore for the past few weeks and have been experiencing a problem whenever i leave my hotel room. My lenses immediately fog up and take 10-20min to clear up, regardless of what I do. I have read suggestions of keeping your camera equipment in car or other non airconditioned place, but that is not an option for me. I have missed several good shots as a result. Does anyone have a solution to this problem?

Thanks

 

[IlSan]

What you could try is, to keep your lens in a ziplock bag, and only take it out once outside.
In addition, try to keep the lens in the bag warm, thus avoiding it completely fogging up.

Living in HK for a few years now, the problem is well known to me, especially in summer.
I tend to keep the lens in a small bag inside my suitcase for example to keep it warmer than the rest of the room is.

 

[Big Mike]

Condensation will form when warm humid air comes into contact with cool objects. Obviously the climate is humid over there and when you bring your gear out of the air conditioned room, it's cool. Thus, it collects condensation. I have the same conditions here, but in the winter. Taking gear from outside into a warm house can cause condensation as well.

The solution is to allow your gear to warm up, before it's exposed to the humid air. As mentioned, a zip-lock style plastic bag is ideal. Seal the bag before leaving the cool area and allow the gear to warm up before opening the bag.
Of course, the cooler it is, the longer it will take to warm up, so maybe don't turn the air conditioning up so much.

Also, you should avoid keeping your camera gear closed up with too much humidity. For example, open the camera bag when you do get back into an air conditioned environment. I always keep desiccant (silica gel) in my camera bags to absorb a bit of moisture.

 

[Mike_E]

If you were a Nikon type () you'd know about this. Nikon | Fog Eliminator Cloths (3-Pack) | 8073 | B&H Photo Video


:thumbup:

 

[IlSan]

Fully agree with Big Mike on the silica gel - nothing better!!

One other thing you could try, not sure where you'd buy them though, is a little dehumidifier for bags. Sounds wicked, but they actually have them.

Their about 10cm on 15cm and about 8cm high, work up to 200ml of fluid and suck the moisture out quite well. Of course, they would only be suitable for a larger bag due to their size.

 

[desertdave]

A small satchel of rice works well also for keeping moisture out. My advice to you is get out there earlier and allow time for your equipment to acclimate. (inside the ziplock bag) I have had the same problem in Dubai. When I get out of the taxi my gear immediately fogs up. The only real solution is to wait it out.

 

[NateS]

Been very humid here in missouri too lately and I've been having this problem as well. I usually just sit there and fan my front lens element and I can see it slowly working it's way clear from condesation. I am probably going to pick up one of those portable pocket sized (battery powered) fans and see if blowing the fan on the element will clear it more quickly.

I also have problems with the viewfinder fogging up when I put my face up to it. I guess the moisture from my face causes it to fog up...it does this off and on the entire time I'm shooting in the humidity...this is more annoying as it doesn't just go away and stay away like the front element does after a few minutes.