GoPro Anti-Fog inserts

[rdog]

Alright...they're only 15 bucks US but do you need the anti-fog inserts for the GoPro? I would be using it with the GoPro dive housing and diving 30' to 60'.

Any advice would be a big help.

Thanks!

 

[diver_dj]

I've had fog issues with the GoPro without the inserts. I don't know if others have though.

 

[Sakoboy]

I had fog issues with my GoPro in Cozumel a couple of weeks ago, wish I would have had inserts with me.

 

[Bratface]

I have never had a problem with fogging. I don't have air conditioning so maybe that is why. Anyhow, I cut a piece of my car chamois and put it in my camera housing. I'm not sure if it helps or not because fogging has never been a problem for me and I'm not sure how I would go about testing it. Anyhow, it's cheaper. My primary reason though was to check for leaks in the housing as the chamois would become wet.

There are plenty of answers regarding fogging that I have read such as having your camera at air temperature when putting it in the housing instead of being in an air conditioned hotel room. You could do a search on scubaboard or Google it. There's plenty of information out there that should offer a solution.

 

[300winmag]

While somewhere like Mexico, The trick is to NOT open the door while outside or where ever there is humidity. I only open it in my hotel room with the AC on and have never had any issues with fog. Mind you I only have 12 50min dives on the Hero2.

From Another source:

The camera and housing have some moisture in them that they absorb from the air. Once the housing is closed and the camera starts heating up by it's normal operation, that water vapor "turns loose" and starts condensating on the coldest possible surface: the inner surface of the housing. There are things you can do to keep this from happening:

1. Anti-fog inserts: These are a must. Besides the GoPro brand, there are other third party options that are made of the exactly same material, please check on eBay under "fogfree inserts". They are made of silica embedded paper and can absorb a lot of moisture. Can be reused many times after being "baked" to evaporate any moisture that was absorbed. Don't fold them!
2. Store the camera somewhere dry: By dry, I mean, as dry as possible. It will keep it from absorbing more and more moisture. Mine stays in the housing all the time (unless when charging), with the fogfree inserts in there. I replace the inserts by "freshly baked" inserts before I use.
3. Avoid opening the housing: It will let moisture in, as simple as that.

 

[rdog]

Thank you to all for the replies.....$15 US is a very small price to pay to ensure good video.....well as good as my GoPro can do:>) Gonna go with the inserts as my oldest son will dive for his first time in Nov and I can't mess it up.

Thanks again.

Woof

 

[Marty Cerven]

For the cost I think they are a must have, you can get others but no cheaper and if using the lcd its hard to find anything else to fit. If your gopro fogs up you may as well have not bothered to bring it. You may end up losing footage to fog and spending more money in the long run looking for alternatives.

Make sure you dont keep them exposed to open air as much as possible and after a few uses give them a quick bake to ensure they are never saturated as they wont work once they are. I had fogging issues first time I used a gopro underwater and since then ive used some small silica gel packs or the gopro anti fog when since using the lcd with no fogging issues.

 

[300winmag]

"small silica gel packs" as in them small packs with the a hundred balls in them? How do they work? how long could one use them for?

 

[Marty Cerven]

I got them in a dive shop a while back, they are re-usable by baking them too but i went over a year using them with no need to bake them. I also keep all my antifog in sealed ziplock bags or in a sealed housing to avoid exposure to open air to make sure they are never over saturated between uses.

The only issue is that even though they are quite small the only way they fit into the gopro housing is by removing the battery cover and placing them in with the battery. These were made by sea & sea and are pretty handy even saved a camera from a minor leak once as the bag absorbed the small amount of water that got in. They cost me about $20 and are a pretty good option if not using a bacpac.

When using the LCD they dont fit into the housing so thats why I got the gopro ones as they fit in beside the camera and I use 2 of those per gopro. Both methods do the same job but the gopro ones need baking much more often.

 

[300winmag]

Good to know, thanx.