Condensation - To worry or not to worry

Hey folks - Just wondering how seriously you take the warnings about condensation and whether you really put your camera inside a ziploc baggie when you take it from one temp extreme to another.


It's quite cold here in NYC, low 30s during the afternoon, and for early morning when I'm usually out shooting, it's in the low 20s. But I haven't yet wrapped my 40D in plastic or taken any precautions at all. I use a couple different camera bags but that's it as far as protection.


Am I playing a dangerous game here?. Is it bound to happen (condensation inside the cam/lens) and if it does, is it fatal? Or does it just dry on its own and it's not really a big deal?


Thanks for any thoughts you'd care to share...!

I just spoke with professional snowboard photographer Tim Zimmerman (website in the works) via twitter (whether you like twitter or not, you have to admit, that's pretty cool :) ) He regularly contributes to TransWorld Snowboard magazine and has shots in other snowboard mags as well. He said that he does indeed let his bag warm up to room temperature before opening it to avoid condensation. I'm taking his advice. He's been in the extremes shooting out in waist deep snow. I think he knows what he's talking about.


Personally, I didn't know about the ziplock trick last winter. This winter, I'll be taking ziplocks for my lenses and camera body. The way I see it, five minutes MAXX spent bagging your gear to protect your multi thousand dollar investment. Sounds like a deal to me haha.


-Rodger

Gotta side with Rodger here and say take the baggie when going from one temp to another.





I spend a couple months traveling around to climb every summer and have been several places where it's reasonable to expect summer to blizzard conditions in a single day. If I have room for the camera stuff, the body goes into a ziploc with a couple packs of silica gel (if you don't have any, I highly suggest getting some) and the lenses go in padded pouches with another pack of gel.





On another note, going from 20 --> 30 degrees isn't really much of a swing and probably won't cause issues. However, if you're going from inside to 20 degrees in one shot, then you might want to worry a bit.

I forgot to add: going from inside to outside wont cause condensation. It's going from outside to inside where the air can hold alot more water. Bring cold glass into warm air, and the water from the air clings to the glass. You're fine going from inside to outside though :)

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Originally Posted by Rodger

I forgot to add: going from inside to outside wont cause condensation. It's going from outside to inside where the air can hold alot more water. Bring cold glass into warm air, and the water from the air clings to the glass. You're fine going from inside to outside though :)
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That is right. I have been shooting at a temperature about 0 F a good number of times. There is no problem to bring the camera from inside to outside. But if I don't keep my camera in the bag from outside to inside, I can see severe condensation happening at the surface of both camera and lens right away. So I would suggest to always keep the camera inside the camera bag for some time before taking it out when coming in from outside.

Invest in multiple packs of reusable, color-indicating silica gel, and ziploc bags. Get the kind that have the sliders, they are more expensive but they are so much easier to use. Just slide and it's confirmed closed. No crazy pressing and testing your recollection of basic color theory.


Another advantage of ziploc bags--carry spares in your pack--is that they protect your gear if your pack gets wet or dusty. Pelican cases are the ultimate solution but they don't go everywhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rodger

I forgot to add: going from inside to outside wont cause condensation. It's going from outside to inside where the air can hold alot more water. Bring cold glass into warm air, and the water from the air clings to the glass. You're fine going from inside to outside though :)

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I had the opposite experience recently, though the science is the same. My wife and I took a quick mini-vacation in New Orleans, and going from the air-conditioned hotel room to the sultry humidity of the French Quarter downtown, my camera's lenses were fogged over thoroughly. I have a couple of large silica gel packs in my bag, but nothing can absorb that much humidity that quickly, so I had to wait for 10-15 minutes for my lenses to come to temperature before I could get any clear shots.

Thank you all very much for your responses. It seems the consensus is, "why take a chance? It's so easy to prevent." That works for me!


I am still curious though - what are the consequences of condensation? I suppose it depends on where the droplets form. I hate to think of water getting inside the electronics of my camera - but in a lens, wouldn't the water eventually just dry and basically leave no trace? (although come to think of it, the water in the air is not exactly distilled - it's probably full of impurities that would leave traces...)


In any case, thanks again for your comments. Whatever the consequences are, it sounds like it's enough of an issue that the pros take precautions against it - I might as well follow their example.

You pretty much answered your own question: depends on what's in the air. Nowhere on earth are you going to find perfectly clean water in the air and water spots on the inside of optics are not so easy to get rid of. Always better to play it safe.





P.S. If anyone knows of somewhere on the planet where condensation is completely pure (read: distilled) water, I know a few chemists who would pay dearly for such knowledge. ;-)