Travelling to Singapore - Camera humidity/No seals

[Frankieplus]

I'm travelling oversease soon and will be stopping off in Singapore for a day. mainly hanging around the airport. I heard it's hot and humid there. Is it?

Will this affect my 5D? All this reading about the camera not having seals is worrrying me a little bit.

Also, what are some situations where you need seals in your camera? Eg: Shooting wildlife, shooting near the water. What type of photographer definately needs weather seals.

As a general rule, what should I do in humid situations? I was thinking of putting the camera in a sealed plastic bag and some silica gel in there as well. Would this create an 'ideal' moisture free environment for the camera?

I bet these questions sound stupid. Sorry if they do, this is my first DSLR and I'm a bit worried about it


-Frankie

 

[Lord_Angelus]

Singapore is not really that hot to spoilt the cam.

Just beware of rain

 

[Peanuts]

I am most definitely not speaking with experience, but on a recent trip to Thailand, I was warned about humidity, and brought a collection of silica gel. When not in use, I always put my 350D in it's bag, fully zipped up, with the silica gel and never ran into any problems. I may be wrong, but I do believe the 5D is 'sealed' (Correct me if I am wrong), though if you are planning to be outside for long periods of time, it wouldn't hurt to bring a special rainproof bag for your camera gear (The name of any such items are escaping me as of right now).

Sorry for not being more helpful. Have a wonderful trip.

 

[Frankieplus]

I am most definitely not speaking with experience, but on a recent trip to Thailand, I was warned about humidity, and brought a collection of silica gel. When not in use, I always put my 350D in it's bag, fully zipped up, with the silica gel and never ran into any problems. I may be wrong, but I do believe the 5D is 'sealed' (Correct me if I am wrong), though if you are planning to be outside for long periods of time, it wouldn't hurt to bring a special rainproof bag for your camera gear (The name of any such items are escaping me as of right now).

Sorry for not being more helpful. Have a wonderful trip.

I don' tthink the 5D is sealed.

I have a question. For humidity, Is it a good idea to put a DSLR in a zip lock plastic bag with silica gel in it? Or is it better to do it your way in a zipped up camera bag?

I've been doing some reading on the net and I'm getting mixed views. I stumbled on the Domke bag and it says this:-

'[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Still, canvas is a "breathable" fabric, so the air in your Domke Bag stays dry even in the most humid environments'.

The above quote from the Domke site is making me think that maybe we shouldn't seal our cameras in a bag?

Real confused...


-Frankie
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[Rob]

Generally speaking it depends on what you're doing. If you were to seal the camera in the field into a bag, then you're sealing it in with the moisture - however, if you put the camera in the bag in a low-humidity environment (like an airconditioned room) then it'd be fine.

I'd recommend the following (assuming you're staying in an airconditioned hotel): Leave the bag open and the camera out overnight. In the morning, put the camera in a plastic bag with some silica gel. Go out and when you start shooting, tuck away the plastic bag. Shoot normally for the day and when you return, open up the bag and put the camera out.

The 5D has partial weather sealing - not full like the 1 series. I'd be astonished if a couple of days use on holiday would affect it. That said, avoid changing lenses too often in the field and let everything dry out as often as possible.

Rob