Condensation

SteveC · Oct 17, 2006

I recently built a housing for my digital camera, which worked fairly well, but I did get some condensation inside. Do I need to add some kind of drying material to prevent this?

Thanks,
Steve

jpcpat · Oct 18, 2006

You can, but a lot of people use a tank to blow in super dry air.

Kim · Oct 18, 2006

You can get sachets of dessicant to put inside the housing.

AUTiger · Oct 18, 2006

I bought a bunch of desiccant packs from the link below. The 2g size works great. Pop a fresh one into the housing each day and the fog will stay away. Make sure you don't catch the pack in the o-ring seal - that's a quick way to flood your housing.

Sure, you can try to blow dry air or load your housing in a dry air conditioned environment, but the its not really worth the effort to save 30 cents a day.

Desiccant Source

Museum/Preservation websites sell desiccant packs for a lot cheaper than photography websites and its the same thing. Some folks buy bulk desiccant and make little nylon (pantyhose) pouches of their own. Its not worth my time to do that.

David

Dave C · Oct 18, 2006

I second what AUTiger said. When I got a digital camera 4 years ago, I had condensation problems when I first used it in a housing to take UW photos in the Caymans. In fact, condensation ruined several potentially good pictures. After that, I bought the silica packets from the same source that AUTiger recommends (Preservation Station), and I have had no further problems.

Fastmarc · Oct 18, 2006

That a great link. Thanks for sharing.
This is something I have been thinking about, though it has only been a problem once when I had to open my case in between dives. I figured that if I find myself in that position again, I will start the car and allow the a/c to cool the interior, then open the case inside. That air should be reasonable dry.
I will order some of these packs though.

mislav · Oct 18, 2006

I've only recently recommended the very same thing to a videographer that had massive condensation problems with his camera housing and he blew me off saying it would suffice to keep the housing off of direct sunlight.

He listened to his own advice on a next dive and had condensation problem again. Ah, well...

Larry C · Oct 19, 2006

Keeping fresh dessicant in the housing is essential. Also, if you can, seal the housing in your air conditioned hotel room (or car as mentioned). In Cayman last week, my UW camera was fine with these provisions. My topside camera fogged the lens on one dive boat. My glasses fogged every time I walked out of the room. Hmm maybe a mask with dessicant inside for those walks outdoors? It also helps to put the camera in the water bucket between dives to keep cool. Just watch out that some clod doesn't toss their video rig on top and whack it into the flood zone.

Bill51 · Oct 19, 2006

For my larger video housing as well as toolboxes and other enclosed areas on the boat I buy these reusable silica packs. They’re even good to put in plastic box with food on a boat to keep it fresh.

http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/t...uery.ctx=silica&backto=/agcatalog/results.tam

skynscuba · Oct 19, 2006

I started using dessicant packs, and all of my fogging problem disappeared. I ordered the smallest ones, part number 3492T11 from McMaster, http://www.mcmaster.com They change color when used, and can be dried and reused repeatedly. Just bake them in an oven at about 75C/175F for an hour, or until the indicator color changes back from pink to blue. Don't try to speed it up by going higher, or they will pop like popcorn! Put the baked ones in a ziplock bag until you are ready to close the camera case. I used 3 of these tiny ones in the case with my Canon point and shoot. They come in sealed packs of 10 for $2.35 plus shipping.

Condensation

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SteveC

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jpcpat

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Kim

Here for my friends.....

AUTiger

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Dave C

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Fastmarc

Just drifting along...

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Larry C

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