electronic humidity control cabinets
May 30, 2020 18:48:13 #
thinking of purchasing one of these for day to day storage of my cameras and lenses. please advise. Which one might be better, and WHY "RUGGARD or SIRUI? I would appreciate any input, sooner than LATER. sales end tomorrow night. BOB P.S. is the concept laudible and legitimate????
May 30, 2020 19:59:41 #
Do you value your camera equipment more than anything else in your house?
I won't get one. I've kept all my gear in camera bags in the closet since 1972 and never had a problem.
Now if I didn't have A/C, I might think about a method to keep high humidity away.
I won't get one. I've kept all my gear in camera bags in the closet since 1972 and never had a problem.
Now if I didn't have A/C, I might think about a method to keep high humidity away.
May 30, 2020 20:22:37 #
Longshadow wrote:
Do you value your camera equipment more than anything else in your house?
I won't get one. I've kept all my gear in camera bags in the closet since 1972 and never had a problem.
Now if I didn't have A/C, I might think about a method to keep high humidity away.
I won't get one. I've kept all my gear in camera bags in the closet since 1972 and never had a problem.
Now if I didn't have A/C, I might think about a method to keep high humidity away.
Agree 150 Percent
May 30, 2020 20:29:21 #
digit-up wrote:
thinking of purchasing one of these for day to day storage of my cameras and lenses. please advise. Which one might be better, and WHY "RUGGARD or SIRUI? I would appreciate any input, sooner than LATER. sales end tomorrow night. BOB P.S. is the concept laudible and legitimate????
I am a Gitzo and Sirui tripod user. Not into Rugged.
May 30, 2020 20:31:57 #
Longshadow wrote:
Do you value your camera equipment more than anything else in your house?
I won't get one. I've kept all my gear in camera bags in the closet since 1972 and never had a problem.
Now if I didn't have A/C, I might think about a method to keep high humidity away.
I won't get one. I've kept all my gear in camera bags in the closet since 1972 and never had a problem.
Now if I didn't have A/C, I might think about a method to keep high humidity away.
Air conditioning by function dehumidifies already. Unless you live in a very humid climate or at high elevation I don't think it's worth it.
May 30, 2020 20:38:02 #
digit-up wrote:
thinking of purchasing one of these for day to day storage of my cameras and lenses. please advise. Which one might be better, and WHY "RUGGARD or SIRUI? I would appreciate any input, sooner than LATER. sales end tomorrow night. BOB P.S. is the concept laudible and legitimate????
I have a Ruggard I'm very happy with but can not advise which is best.
One bit of advice I'll give is to consider what and how you will store your kit. I based one of my choice criteria on wanting to be able to place my largest camera fitted with either my 80-400 or 70-200 plus a 1.4 TC inside, facing front to back.
It worked out this was possible with the volume capacity one I purchased but would not have been with the next size up if I remember correctly.
May 30, 2020 20:50:49 #
If you get one for your camera, you may as well get additional cabinets for your television, computer, radio, printer, smartphone and whatever other electronic devices of value you have. Why stop at camera equipment?
Personally, I don't bother with humidity control cabinets. If I ever did get one, it would be for expensive cigars or fragile historic relics only. Not electronic devices - they can handle a little humidity just fine.
Personally, I don't bother with humidity control cabinets. If I ever did get one, it would be for expensive cigars or fragile historic relics only. Not electronic devices - they can handle a little humidity just fine.
May 30, 2020 21:05:13 #
a6k
Loc: Detroit & Sanibel
Keep in mind that an electro-mechanical device to remove humidity is a mini air conditioner and as such moves heat from one side to the other. In so doing it uses energy and that also ends up as heat in the ambient air around the box.
It is not absolute humidity that is a problem for delicate stuff but, rather, it is relative humidity. That can get complicated but the trick is that cooler air cannot hold as much water vapor. That's why air conditioners have drain pipes. It's also why conditions in houses in the north are very dry in winter because the ambient air outside has little moisture in it (in absolute terms) and when it's heated to room temp. then the relative humidity gets as low as in a desert.
When I toured India in summer, I would notice that as soon as I left my air conditioned room and ventured out into the tropical conditions the camera would instantly fog up internally and externally. Food for thought.
Another way to remove humidity is chemically. There are materials which will pull out the moisture in the air and hold it. Eventually you have to refresh the chemicals by baking them at around 212+ degrees F for a couple of hours. I use a device like that to keep my aircraft engine from rusting and it works extremely well. But it's necessary to do the periodic work. The good new is that it does not create the fog hazard that I described above.
Anyone that is interested in the chemical approach can PM me. Some of my friends have DIY rigs like mine that work just as well.
It is not absolute humidity that is a problem for delicate stuff but, rather, it is relative humidity. That can get complicated but the trick is that cooler air cannot hold as much water vapor. That's why air conditioners have drain pipes. It's also why conditions in houses in the north are very dry in winter because the ambient air outside has little moisture in it (in absolute terms) and when it's heated to room temp. then the relative humidity gets as low as in a desert.
When I toured India in summer, I would notice that as soon as I left my air conditioned room and ventured out into the tropical conditions the camera would instantly fog up internally and externally. Food for thought.
Another way to remove humidity is chemically. There are materials which will pull out the moisture in the air and hold it. Eventually you have to refresh the chemicals by baking them at around 212+ degrees F for a couple of hours. I use a device like that to keep my aircraft engine from rusting and it works extremely well. But it's necessary to do the periodic work. The good new is that it does not create the fog hazard that I described above.
Anyone that is interested in the chemical approach can PM me. Some of my friends have DIY rigs like mine that work just as well.
May 30, 2020 22:31:24 #
rook2c4 wrote:
If you get one for your camera, you may as well get additional cabinets for your television, computer, radio, printer, smartphone and whatever other electronic devices of value you have. Why stop at camera equipment?
"Why stop at camera equipment", some of us don't stop at camera equipment and use dehumidifier cabinets for such other items as hard drives, leads and other items that are affected by moisture and mould, where practical.
rook2c4 wrote:
Personally, I don't bother with humidity control cabinets. If I ever did get one, it would be for expensive cigars or fragile historic relics only. Not electronic devices - they can handle a little humidity just fine.
"Not electronic devices - they can handle a little humidity just fine", but most people don't use one to deal with a "little" humidity.
May 30, 2020 22:43:23 #
a6k wrote:
When I toured India in summer, I would notice that as soon as I left my air conditioned room and ventured out into the tropical conditions the camera would instantly fog up internally and externally. Food for thought.
Whilst fogging of the camera is the norm when coming from an ACd space into a warm humid outside I have never experienced fogging of the camera/lens coming from a dehumidifier cabinet (Ruggard type) into a room that is often around 30 deg C with an RH in the high 90s.
May 30, 2020 23:23:54 #
digit-up wrote:
thinking of purchasing one of these for day to day storage of my cameras and lenses. please advise. Which one might be better, and WHY "RUGGARD or SIRUI? I would appreciate any input, sooner than LATER. sales end tomorrow night. BOB P.S. is the concept laudible and legitimate????
If you really must --the least expensive temp and humidity controlled cabinets are wine fridges. They can be had from about 250 and up. way, way up.
May 30, 2020 23:46:28 #
boberic wrote:
If you really must --the least expensive temp and humidity controlled cabinets are wine fridges. They can be had from about 250 and up. way, way up.
But the Ruggards from B&H go from 199 up and regularly there are exceptional discounts on them. They'll maintain RH at an ideal level for camera gear at ambient temps of 35 deg C RH 97%.
May 31, 2020 06:22:12 #
I'm not qualified to give reviews on one brand name versus another nor can I speak with certainty about the scientific relationship of temperature, humidity, relative humidity, etc. to lens fungus even though I have searched the web as I assume you have. What I can tell you is the price quoted to repair my telephoto lens far exceeded the cost of an electronic humidity cabinet so I bought one. I don't know or care if it is because of the cabinet but I have had no further problems. Because I experienced a problem it was worth a couple hundred bucks to try something that logically might be a solution. If you haven't had a problem only you can decide if the price of "insurance" makes sense. BTW, I live in Panama and I have air conditioning 
May 31, 2020 07:54:20 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
digit-up wrote:
thinking of purchasing one of these for day to day storage of my cameras and lenses. please advise. Which one might be better, and WHY "RUGGARD or SIRUI? I would appreciate any input, sooner than LATER. sales end tomorrow night. BOB P.S. is the concept laudible and legitimate????
I use Ruggard. No reason, I can set it for exactly the level of protection I need, it also has a light on the inside. And, B&H deeply discounts them about twice a year. I signed up to receive their daily specials, it is easy to do.
Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.
May 31, 2020 08:14:36 #
digit-up wrote:
thinking of purchasing one of these for day to day storage of my cameras and lenses. please advise. Which one might be better, and WHY "RUGGARD or SIRUI? I would appreciate any input, sooner than LATER. sales end tomorrow night. BOB P.S. is the concept laudible and legitimate????
In October last year I purchased from Lazada an Andbon AB-30C Dry Cabinet Box with digital temperature and humidity display. It is priced at about $70 plus shipping for the 30L size, but larger capacities are available. It uses 110-220 AC at 3.5W, and has been holding the recommended 40% RH on a continuous basis, with interior temperature of 76 F. The temperature in my apartment is 74 F + or – 1 degree (without air or heat), year around, but the ambient RH here never drops below 70%, and usually is higher. The 30 L size accommodates my Canon 70D and G16, together with Canon lenses 70-200, 18-135, 10-18 and 50 mm (plus a few smaller items). I have been quite pleased with my purchase and consider it very cheap insurance for my equipment.
Loren – in Beautiful Baguio
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