Please help !! CONDENSATION WORRIES

During the past winter I have had a big problem with this.
Having to transport my equipment from one site to another with the variance in temp that it inevitably entails, I end up with condensation forming on the exterior and (far more worryingly) interior elements of my lenses. Undecided
At present I am only able to cure this with the gentle application of warm air from a small hair drier.
This takes time and I'm sure that it will, in the long-run, not be exactly beneficial to my equipment.
CAN ANYONE PLEASE ADVISE ME?

There is a very easy and inexpensive way to stop condensation problems. Condensation forms when the temperature of the equipment is less than the dew point. In winter this happens often when shooting outdoors and moving indoors. In summer it happens when the equipment is in a cool air conditioned room and moving outdoors into high humidity.

To keep condensation from forming simply keep the warm moist air away from the cold equipment. A Ziploc bag works fantastically for this. Simply place your camera and lenses in the bag, seal it up, and condensation will not happen. When entering the humid area, let the equipment warm up for a few minutes before removing them from the bag and all will be fine. The time needed is dependent on how cold the equipment is and how humid the room is. The colder the equipment and the more humid the room, the longer the time it will take.

You can also keep your equipment in your camera bag especially if its relatively sealed but as camera bags are rather well insulated, it could take quite some time, sometimes an hour or more, for the equipment to warm up depending in the insulating properties of your camera bag.

If you are headed in and out of buildings all day, such as at a zoo in winter, where it is warm and humid indoors I have found that adding one of those hand warmer packs inside the Ziploc bag greatly reduces the time needed before you can expose the camera and lenses to the humid air without condensation.

gjl711 wrote in post #17906767
There is a very easy and inexpensive way to stop condensation problems. Condensation forms when the temperature of the equipment is less than the dew point. In winter this happens often when shooting outdoors and moving indoors. In summer it happens when the equipment is in a cool air conditioned room and moving outdoors into high humidity.

To keep condensation from forming simply keep the warm moist air away from the cold equipment. A Ziploc bad works fantastically for this. Simply place your camera and lenses in the bad, seal it up, and condensation will not happen. When entering the humid area, let the equipment warm up for a few minutes before removing them from the bag and all will be fine.

You can also keep your equipment in your camera bag especially if its relatively sealed but as camera bags are rather well insulated, it could take quite some time for the equipment to warm up depending in the insulating properties of your camera bag.

If you are headed in and out of buildings all day, such as at a zoo in winter, where it is warm and humid indoors I have found that adding one of those hand warmer packs inside the Ziploc bag greatly reduces the time needed before you can expose the camera and lenses to the humid air without condensation.

Awesome idea man! Shooting in southeast texas the humidity is terrible here in the spring and summer. I never thought of this. Will be great for wedding season.

Thank you J.J. for your prompt reply. I'll have to get a bag and try that.
Andy

I've had the problem both ways. I use to live in Illinois and shooting outdoors in the cold and coming in would always result in condensation. Here in Texas it's the opposite. I see something in the backyard, grab my camera and head outside, and instantly the lenses fog up. At least here in Texas, if the equipment is stored in a Ziploc already, you head outside and leave the Ziploc with camera and lens in the sun for a minute or two and it heats things up quick with no condensation.

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gjl711 wrote in post #17906767
A Ziploc bag works fantastically for this. Simply place your camera and lenses in the bag, seal it up, and condensation will not happen.

Hmmm. Sounds like it would work great. But many of those who shoot birds and wildlife have big lenses. How do you find a Ziplock bag big enough to fit a hooded Sigmonster, or a 400 f2.8?

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Tom Reichner wrote in post #17906806
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Hmmm. Sounds like it would work great. But many of those who shoot birds and wildlife have big lenses. How do you find a Ziplock bag big enough to fit a hooded Sigmonster, or a 400 f2.8?

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Tough problem. I'll ask the Channel 12 weather girl what she would do. ; )

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17906806
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Hmmm. Sounds like it would work great. But many of those who shoot birds and wildlife have big lenses. How do you find a Ziplock bag big enough to fit a hooded Sigmonster, or a 400 f2.8?

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Someone bought me some Ziploc brand bags that are approx. 20" x 30". Their intended use is to put large blankets into then smash out all the air, lock up and then place in storage. I don't use them though, not even sure where they are. Maybe the have some that a bit smaller?

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17906806
.

Hmmm. Sounds like it would work great. But many of those who shoot birds and wildlife have big lenses. How do you find a Ziplock bag big enough to fit a hooded Sigmonster, or a 400 f2.8?

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They make them. Look in the part of the store where they sell luggage. My wife is a little uptight about packing and they make large sizes to store and organize garments.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17906806
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Hmmm. Sounds like it would work great. But many of those who shoot birds and wildlife have big lenses. How do you find a Ziplock bag big enough to fit a hooded Sigmonster, or a 400 f2.8?

.

I would think that wildlife or birders wouldn't have that big of an issue because you are not going from a cold place to a hot and moist place very often so the equipment has plenty of time equalize.

Plastic bags are great in that they enable the lens to more quickly equilibrate. If you've got big items, or a large bag of gear, just leaving the bag closed up when you bring it in and letting it sit undisturbed several hours will generally suffice. If you're concerned, get a large plastic bag, a trash bag for instance (Home Depot, for instance, has them in clear) and drop the whole bag in there before you go inside.

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gjl711 wrote in post #17907177
I would think that wildlife or birders wouldn't have that big of an issue because you are not going from a cold place to a hot and moist place very often so the equipment has plenty of time equalize.

Well, I am a wildlife/bird guy. And I love to keep my car very toasty warm - heat on full blast anytime the ambient temperature is less than 55 fahrenheit. And I like to keep my house very warm, too - usually around 74 degrees. So, every time I get done shooting something and get back in the car, my camera is going from cold to very warm. And every time I get home and bring the camera inside it is also going from cold to very warm. So, it actually happens more than one might think - like 10 or 20 times a day during deer photography season (which is mostly car-based), and a couple of times a day whenever I am shooting other stuff. Well, at least from mid-September thru May....the summer months aren't cold enough to cause the condensation problem (unless I am at high elevation, which I am with somme frequency).

Condensation really is a big problem when photographing deer during the November rut. Where I shoot it usually ranges from 0 fahrenheit to 40 fahrenheit. I drive in my car until I see a buck in a photo-worthy situation. Then I stop the car and get my gear out to shoot. After the opportunity is over, I put the camera back in the car and continue along my way, with the heat turned way way up because I absolutely hate - HATE - to be cold when in a car. This is a process that I repeat anywhere from 5 to 20 times a day, depending on how many opportunities present themselves.

Condensation forms on the inside of my lens whenever I forget to wrap my camera/lens up in a have coat when returning it to the car. It happens fast!!! Forget for just 5 minutes and the inside of the lens will be so fogged up that the lens is sometimes unusable for more than an hour. That sucks!

The same thing often happens when photographing Elk in September, which is also very much a car-based type of wildlife photography.

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Make sure you plan accordingly for the extra time needed to warm up gear. I shot a Polar Plunge one year and outside air temp was hovering around 0F (-17C). The large tent was stuffed with people and torpedo heaters. Lets just say all those breathing people raised the humidity levels considerably higher than the levels outside. I almost missed some important photos in the tent due to condensation.

I hung my camera and lens from the neck strap and spun it slowly in front of one of the torpedo heaters to warm it quickly. I was constantly worried about getting the camera too close and melting something. Those propane torpedo heaters put out some DAMN HEAT. Gear was Gripped 7D with 70-200 2.8 MkI.

I would thing for the big lenses a garbage bag would work just as well. The whole point is to keep the humid air away from the cold equipment so anything that does that would work fine.

Well guys, with all these great ideas and anecdotes I'm glad I posted here.
Hopefully others will benefit from my enquiry.
Many thanks for all the advice.
Andy