tturner Loc: Savannah Ga

Now that spring is near, that means the "condensation" season is upon us. For those of us who live in the south, that means the condensation that forms on your lens when you go outside on a hot day.

The solution that works for me is to seal my camera in a zip lock bag outside for about an hour, this allows the air inside the bag to acclimate to the ambient air. Of course this requires a bit of prior planning. This also helps reduce the possibility of fungus forming inside the lens.

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Good info, Thanks :D

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I am going to say that the lens is also well protected inside a camera bag if you wait a reasonable period of time before reaching for it outdoors.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Yep, that is true.

In fact anything that prevents the warm moist air from touching the cooler camera will work. Wrap it in newspaper, your jacket, a camera bag, or a plastic bag. You can even put the camera into a deep box that is open at the top, and as long as there is no air flow it will be okay.

But... there is a huge difference in how long it takes the camera to warm up to ambient temperature (or at least above the dew point) which allows you to then use it safely. In a box, it might be hours, and in a camera bag it might be nearly as long. In fact a ZipLoc bag is not very good because it is hard to get all the air out, and air is very good insulation that keeps the camera cool longer.

The best is to put the camera into a kitchen sized plastic trash bag, then squeeze all the air out, and give it a twist to seal it. Put the bag in a warm place with good air circulation. Not down behind the seats in a car, not into a box, and probably not into the trunk either (unless the car has been sitting in the sun and is very warm).

The thin plastic, and the lack of air inside, make the kitchen size trash bag the best solution. Typically the camera is warm enough in only a few minutes. With a small enough camera one can also carry around one or two plastic grocery bags from a store, either the type for carryout or the type to put veggies in, and that will work great too.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

This is great advice, and you are to be thanked for your bringing to us. However, for most of us we are coming out of that season (winter). I have recently put my dry-bags back into storage, not needed now. Not only does the camera need to be cared for in this manner but the lenses do also. That can be a serious problem when using some of our more "out-sized" lenses, Big Siggs, Tammys, some Nikons and a few big whites from Canon. I know many shooters in this area leave most of their gear in their vehicles and just retrieve cards and batteries. Worked for me till the dog protested loosing sleeping space. A critic lies anywhere.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Condensation comes and goes providing there is air circulation.

Instrumentation in boats almost always contain a breather hole and if they show condensation it evaporates quickly.

I've been shooting for over 50 years and have never taken any precautions. I go in and out of the house to shoot from the deck in all seasons and haven't had an issue so far.

jimq Loc: Cape Cod, MA

Something that has worked for me is to turn on the light in your oven and "bake" the camera and lens for an hour. The oven light will get the temp up to 90 or so and won't hurt anything.

EdM Loc: FN30JS

yep, plastic bag works.. we have the same problem up north when returning inside from a cold day... it just limits the amount of moisture to that present in the air inside the bag... if you are a real purist (I am not even close), put some desicant in the bag, you can find little parcles of it in Rx containers..

zundapp5 Loc: Portugal

Good trick;

Fill nitrogen inside of lens and camera!

EdM Loc: FN30JS

Good idea, since we almost never use the oven (micro instead).. not to shabby a place to store the camera anyway.... if you have $5k+ worth of camera and someone breaks into the house, would probably be fairly safe there. cameras are right up there with jewelry, portable and easy to fence and not near as hard to carry as a TV.. GBG

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Is this a joke? If not- cooking a camera is not a good idea. 90 degrees would not be a problem, but ovens are not so accurate. Much to easy to fry(or in this case bake) the camera

Kobuk Loc: Roseville, CA

I have to do this every year on my trips to the Pantanal as it is very humid and a bit cooler in the early morning when we go out, so I put lenses in zip locks with desicant and It works well. If we don't it takes some time to dry the lenses out. One time we came across a Jaguar and could not get any good shots so I learned my lesson.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Dead-serious! I've done the same thing once or twice.
You don't turn on the oven, only the oven-light!! Got nothing to do with the oven accuracy.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

:thumbup:

If it really gets wet, hasn't anyone heard of microfiber? A simple wipe of lens glass and eye piece, and your done. Chances are the lens would need a good cleaning anyway.

Silverman Loc: Michigan

Question to all;
I live in Michigan,a DSLR Newbie, so under what conditions must I be concerned about wrapping my Nikon D3300 Camera in a Garbage bag or into a Ziplock Bag?
From Cooler Air Conditioned house to Hot Humid summer Air?
From Warm heated House to Cold Frigid outside Air?
Thanks in advance for your informative advice.