Lesson of the day...

Todays lesson: When you live in South Carolina are awakened on a humid Mid-June morning by the sound of a cropduster flying at treetop level over your house... Do NOT grab your camera bag out of its air-conditioned room and go running, barefoot, into the backyard!

Doing so, will result in some somewhat unacceptably FUZZY images!

After taking everything apart and wiping it down, its back in its bag with SEVERAL packets of Silica Gel.

Should be ok... Right?

*grrr*

- Derek

Yep, thats always a problem in hot countries where air-conditioning is used.
Main things to check when its dried out is the mirror and sensor to make sure there is no residue.
It should be OK tho.

Agreed. It will be OK.

I hope so; I've had condensation problems for years. Seriously, it should be fine. My biggest issue is coming from very cold outside to a heated house. I've tried going into the basement first and letting everything sit for a while before bringing it up to the heated portion of the house. I've heard the answer is to put the gear in a ziplock bag before a big temperature change. I guess the ziplock bag minimizes the ability of moisture to hit the surface since the bag acts as a barrier. I've never tried it because I've never had a problem.

I generally don't wipe down much other than the outside surfaces. If I do it means streaks on the glass surfaces of the lens.

Any others out there with tips? I'm curious too.

zip lock bag is the way to go.You let the camera reach the temp it's being brought into then open the bag.This way the only moisturethat can condense is what's trapped in the bag which is not much.

rayatphonix wrote in post #5736788
I hope so; I've had condensation problems for years. Seriously, it should be fine. My biggest issue is coming from very cold outside to a heated house. I've tried going into the basement first and letting everything sit for a while before bringing it up to the heated portion of the house. I've heard the answer is to put the gear in a ziplock bag before a big temperature change. I guess the ziplock bag minimizes the ability of moisture to hit the surface since the bag acts as a barrier. I've never tried it because I've never had a problem.

I generally don't wipe down much other than the outside surfaces. If I do it means streaks on the glass surfaces of the lens.

Any others out there with tips? I'm curious too.

Living in Canada I have this problem maybe 9 months of the year and I have to admit I've never... Wiped anything... Or put anything in a ziplock bag... I didn't realize it was a serious thing, I just opened up my camera and let it dry out.

How do you take it apart and wipe it? I have a feeling I would break it if I tried...

Just remember, it could have been worse!

You could have stepped in a fire ant mound while running outside barefooted!

Yeah,,I do that all the time here in Laos especially now during the wet season,,34 degC with 85% humidity or 30 degC and raining..Taking my camera from an airconned car for example outside it can fog up in micro seconds..

One thing I never do is wipe my camera down..Allow it to dry naturally..

LeeSC wrote in post #5737425
Just remember, it could have been worse!

You could have stepped in a fire ant mound while running outside barefooted!

actually... i did that the other day! *sigh* but only one got me!

The darn things are everywhere!

Thanks for the help, everyone!

-Derek

I don't seem to have that problem here in California's San Joaquin valley where it is a cool 89 degrees and 32 % humidity. The humidity would be lower except for the irrigated orchards which surround Exeter.

Wayne

I just picked up 6 large bags of silica gels from work... should keep everything somewhat dry in the insanely humid Louisiana air

Blow-Up,

I don't take anything apart. I'm from WNC and we're simple folks down here. I generally use my shirt or jacket or whatever's handly to wipe the water off the outside of my camera simply because it reduces the time for everything to equalize somewhat. As I thought I mentioned I don't touch the lens because if I do, it'll dry with streaks on it. In any case, I'm sure you don't want to change lenses when water's condensing.

I take my gear out in the rain all the time, so I'm probably not a good example of proper camera maintenance. To date none of my cameras have melted or rusted. The only thing I worry about sometimes is my CF card, but I figure it's solid state so it's probably tougher than I am.