Moisture absorbers ??

rooeey wrote in post #10363325
So whats a man to do ??

The first thing is to let us know precisely what your anticipated problem is. You have not explained the expected conditions that you'd like to prepare for. There are ways to deal with moisture and condensation but for us to recommend something, we need to know what we're dealing with.

Even in very humid environments, as long as the gear is stored in a constantly air conditioned setting there should likely be no humidity problem correct?

ZCphoto wrote in post #10363435
Even in very humid environments, as long as the gear is stored in a constantly air conditioned setting there should likely be no humidity problem correct?

If the equipment is warmer than the dewpoint of the air around it, there will be no condensation on the equipment. It's that simple.

The dewpoint is the temperature at which water vapor (moisture) in the air will condense into liquid form.

try searching for a "dry box" if you're really paranoid

Hong Kong is quite humid. Most serious photographers have dry cabinets (electronically controlled).

Short of that you can store it in a sealed box with some silica gel chucked in. Silica gel is VERY easy to get in Hong Kong.

ZCphoto wrote in post #10363435
Even in very humid environments, as long as the gear is stored in a constantly air conditioned setting there should likely be no humidity problem correct?

Air Conditioners dry the air (costing money) yes. They also cool it down, causing this problem...

SkipD wrote in post #10363486
If the equipment is warmer than the dewpoint of the air around it, there will be no condensation on the equipment. It's that simple.

The dewpoint is the temperature at which water vapor (moisture) in the air will condense into liquid form.

So if you go from Air-conditioned areas to humid areas (very common to happen in Hong Kong BTW) you've got a problem because you're cold equipment will condense the water in the air (happens all the time and it one of the major reasons I have lens filters). Often when I get off the bus (air conditioned) my glasses will fog up because they've cooled down).

Generally I chuck a few packets of silica gel in my bag anyway. Why not?!

Stealthy Ninja wrote in post #10364417
So if you go from Air-conditioned areas to humid areas (very common to happen in Hong Kong BTW) you've got a problem because you're cold equipment will condense the water in the air (happens all the time and it one of the major reasons I have lens filters). Often when I get off the bus (air conditioned) my glasses will fog up because they've cooled down).

The best solution, by far, would be to have your equipment inside Ziploc bags while in the colder environment. When you take it to the warmer environment, allow the equipment to warm up to the new temperature before taking it out of the sealed bag. Then there will be no condensation.

Stealthy Ninja wrote in post #10364417
Generally I chuck a few packets of silica gel in my bag anyway. Why not?!

The reason I would not consider trying that is because the silica gel packets will quickly get saturated. They will do little to nothing to keep the air in the camera bag dry, even when they are fresh. Water vapor in the air around the bag will replace that adsorbed by the packets very quickly.

Stealthy Ninja wrote in post #10364417
Hong Kong is quite humid. Most serious photographers have dry cabinets (electronically controlled).

Short of that you can store it in a sealed box with some silica gel chucked in. Silica gel is VERY easy to get in Hong Kong.

Air Conditioners dry the air (costing money) yes. They also cool it down, causing this problem...

So if you go from Air-conditioned areas to humid areas (very common to happen in Hong Kong BTW) you've got a problem because you're cold equipment will condense the water in the air (happens all the time and it one of the major reasons I have lens filters). Often when I get off the bus (air conditioned) my glasses will fog up because they've cooled down).

Generally I chuck a few packets of silica gel in my bag anyway. Why not?!

You might as well carry a rabbit's foot for good luck in stopping condensation. In that sort of humid environment, the silica gel will be saturated in minutes to hours and worthless.

J.

^^ lol you guys.

Next you'll be telling me I don't need a protective filter!

i could do that too. You don't need those in most cases either - but they are a profit leader for camera stores.

J.

These are what Pelican sells, at a lower price.

It's all snake oil. How do you suck all the moisture in the air into that tiny little can and have it continually protect your gear? It only works in the Pelican cases if it is fresh and was sealed in a bag with no water, immediately placed in the pelican case, and then the case sealed. If you open it to access your gear, you lose the absorbency very quickly.

J.

Narwhal wrote in post #10356439
In Brazil: Didai Tecnologia

http://www.e-didai.com.br/silica-gel

Thanks Jim! Exactly what I was looking for. I keep all my gear inside a glass cabinet and I get a nice consistent 25 deg.C and 25-45% humidity. My bags need these silica bags.

Noticed youre in Sydney. I ordered a couple of these a while back, look to be out of stock atm but they should be restocked soon according to their website.

http://www.silicagel.c​om.au …ehumidifier-40-grams.html

Get the color indicating kind so you can be amazed at how fast they get saturated (and useless).

J.