Condensation forming inside body/lens

I've been wondering if anybody has actually HAD problems with this before when shooting out in the cold... do you have condensation problems when bringing your rig to the warm indoors from the cold outdoors?

I'm going on a trip to Lake Louise, AB next week, and will probably bring my gear. Naturally, this is something that I am worried about. It doesn't hurt to seal the equipment in plastic bags when they come inside, but like my question says, are there any documented problems from people NOT doing this?

I've never had a problem if I just leave the equipment in my bag and I don't open the bag for about a half hour. I have noticed some exterior condensation if I do open the bag, but never inside. I have a Domke F-2, so it's not like my bag is sealed in any way,but it keeps the temperature pretty even until it can warm up, and that does well enough for me.

Put your camera in to the large zip lock bag before entering warm area.
Give it some time, say, 30 minutes, to reach room temperature before you take your gear out.

I do that all the time with my XT.

MegaHurtz wrote in post #2349796
I've been wondering if anybody has actually HAD problems with this before when shooting out in the cold... do you have condensation problems when bringing your rig to the warm indoors from the cold outdoors?

I'm going on a trip to Lake Louise, AB next week, and will probably bring my gear. Naturally, this is something that I am worried about. It doesn't hurt to seal the equipment in plastic bags when they come inside, but like my question says, are there any documented problems from people NOT doing this?

I've had this happen ONCE. That scared me so now I leave it in the bag as mentioned prior or use the plastic bag trick.

If you wear glasses and they fog up when you come in, so will your camera if it gets down to the outside temp ( or at least below the indoor dewpoint). This can be deadly to your camera and it is not covered under warranty.

J.

I seldom bother putting my camera and lenses in plastic bags, but I never undo the zipper on my camera bag for an hour or so after coming inside from the cold. The idea is to avoid contact of the cold camera and lenses with warm, moist air until the they have warmed up. A good camera bag should restrict the interchange of air with the outside well enough.

I had one incident where condensation put me out of action. I was photographing a cross country ski race and one of the competitors dropped out and asked me to turn his number bid in to the officials. Without thinking I opened the door to the timing hut and handed them the bib. Instantly condensation formed on all the glass surfaces and froze. I could not clean the frost of the lens and viewfinder and could not shoot any more until I had a chance to put everyting back in the bag, take it inside and let it warm up before opening the bag. Then I could wipe the moisture off the external glass surfaces, but had to wait overnight until the interior surfaces were free of moisture.

This happened to me some time ago when photographing tropical plants under glass. An ideal combination, VERY high temperature + VERY high humidity! On returning to "normal" temperature and humidity, the camera completely fogged up. I returned it to it's bag and after 30 min or so over a cup of coffee, it had returned to normal. BIG sigh of relief!

John T wrote in post #2350990
This happened to me some time ago when photographing tropical plants under glass. An ideal combination, VERY high temperature + VERY high humidity! On returning to "normal" temperature and humidity, the camera completely fogged up. I returned it to it's bag and after 30 min or so over a cup of coffee, it had returned to normal. BIG sigh of relief!

It should have happened when you entered the high temp, high humidity area rather than when you left that area.

Gerhard

twotimer wrote in post #2351235
It should have happened when you entered the high temp, high humidity area rather than when you left that area.

I suppose it happened the way I explained because it was a hot summers day - with low relative humidity.

I had condensation occur inside my 85 f/1.8 when taking it from a cold, dry condo out to a warm moist poolside environment... just the opposite of cold weather to warm indoors, but the same effect. I believe it was because of all the dense cold glass on that lens which didn't warm up as quickly. The the camera didn't condense. I switched to my 50 f/1.8 and kept shooting. It took several hours in a dry environment for the condensation to evaporate, and with no ill effects.

Same here: when shooting in a swimming pool both my 50/1.4 and 100/2.0 developed an 'instant soft focus' effect, because the insides of the lens fogged up. Took about an hour in the sun to get it out.

Well I had the true test today... for those who know the area, I am at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, and today I went hiking and dragged both bodies along with me all the way up to Devil's Thumb. I had no problem taking the bodies from the warm indoors to the cool outdoors (I couldn't say today was particularly cold). I had both bodies out of my bag and on my neck for most of the trip, and again no problems. By the time we reached the top, it was quite cold, and still the cameras performed flawlessly.

I just got back about half an hour ago (still resting my sore feet), I made sure to put the cameras in my bag before I brought them indoors, so I will have a look at them shortly. Of course, I am aching to look at (and post) the pics as well

I've had a problem with condensation on my sensor. It formed a small water stain type thingy. I thought it was dust for the longest time, kept trying to blow it out with a rocket blower, then I decided to do my first sensor clean, this is when I realized it was a moisture mark. I didn't remove it nor did I move it. Dust would have moved, this faded slightly, but remained.
I regularly shoot in sub-freezing temps and this was the only time I had the problem. I follow all the guidelines above and they work great

I think by bringing your camera out of the cold into your car after your car has been sitting in the cold for awhile, that while the car is gradually warming up there shouldnt be a problem.

Have you ever seen your car windows actually fog up when you first turn on the defroster? That is not what you want your lens and camera to do. You might be OK if you kept the camera away from the defroster and heater vents.

ScottE wrote in post #2384498
Have you ever seen your car windows actually fog up when you first turn on the defroster? That is not what you want your lens and camera to do. You might be OK if you kept the camera away from the defroster and heater vents.

If you keep your camera in the bag in the car and let it warm up as the inside of the car warms up, you will be just fine. I do this every week when I'm out skiing - have for years - and it works great.

You an also rapidly dehumidify your car (turn on the AC) which lowers the dewpoint. In point of fact, most cars do that when the temp is above freezing and you run the defroster, some cars even do that when it is colder than freezing (read your manual).

It is all about dewpoint. If your camera is colder than the dewpoint of the ambient air, and if it is exposed to that ambient air, it will fog.

J.