Shooting in extreme humidity???

RoRoCo

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All,

I am getting married in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico this August. I fully expect it to be very hot and humid. I am still a newbie in photography and I have not seen shooting in this type of climate. As I am letting someone use my camera to take shots of the wedding....so I have a few questions.

My questions are:

1) Will I have a problem with moisture on my lens esspecially if I move the camera from indoors to outdoors and vice versa (the rooms will be air-conditioned, but we will be getting married on the beach)?

2) Is there anything I can do to prevent condensation on the lens (chemical treatments, simple tricks, etc.)?

3) Should I just have a cleaning cloth around to wipe and shoot...wipe and shoot...?


I shouldn't have a problem applying a treatment to the Hoya UV lens I have on the camera, but I would be weary of applying anything to the main glass.

Thanks guys!
 
Keep the camera away from salt spray as that will leave a residue that could be harmful...but you can wipe it off with a soft cloth if need be.

As for humidity, what you really have to watch out for is condensation. Going from an air-conditioned room out into the hot humid air will be when it will happen. It will not only fog up the lenses but it will get moisture inside and outside of your gear. To avoid this, you need to let the camera warm up gradually. If you can let it warm up while in a sealed plastic bag...that would be ideal. When in Costa Rica, I tried to leave my gear in my camera bag to warm up...but the padding was too much of an insulator and it stayed cool in the bag...which meant that I got a fair amount of condensation when I did open it up. It's not too bad, you just have to let it warm up then give it a quick wipe. But if you can put it in a zip-lock bag before you bring it out of the room...that's the best way to go.

Once it's warm, you shouldn't have much of a problem unless it's really really humid.

I always keep some packs of silica gel in my camera bags to absorbe moisture.
 
Great advice Big Mike. That is the kind of stuff I was looking for :thumbup:

Part of the reason I got the Hoya filter was to protect against the elements down there. I will definately be sure to bring a zip lock and some silica packets with me...

Where can I find Silica packets anyways? If I can't find them laying around.
 
I always get them out of shoe boxes or packaged with electronics or leather etc. You can buy them at camera shops (at a premium) or you can find it (in bulk, I think) at craft stores. I think they use it for drying flowers.
 
I find that humidity can give you a nasty uv haze if you arent careful, so watch out for that.
 

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