Advice please for photographing in Hot humid country

pragmatist

pragmatist

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Matty
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I am Visiting family in Singapore in April and while i have lived in South east Asia in my early days i have never taken a DSLR.
I am looking to photograph landscape there and in vietnam but have heard some absolute horrific stories of Circuit boards frying and moisture ruining everything. Any advice from people who have photographed there will be much appreciated.
 
-Rob- said:
Your 5D MkII should be pretty well weather sealed so I don't think moisture should be much of a problem but I suppose if it's very hot and moist then you may suffer a bit.

Were the horror stories you've heard from people with pro spec cameras?
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Yes it was on a website featuring pro photographers. In all honesty it's put me off taking my gear as i don't quite know how my insurance would cover it if the worse happened. I have heard some tips such as using plastic bags to help acclimatise your gear before taking it out but we are talking serious humidity here.
 
Your Canon is a fairly up-market model so I wouldn't worry unduly...
If you're going into the highlands (I'm assuming you're heading into the Annamese Cordillera) there are a few basic precautions to take - along with as many zip-loc plastic baggies as you can carry...
Silica gel sachets are a pointless waste of time, unless your kit-bag is hermetically sealed. The silica will simply absorb moisture from the air, get saturated and stop working. But if you happen to use a Peli-Case or similar air-tight hard-case, then silica gel sachets are a great idea - just pop them into a zip-loc baggie when not being used to prevent them getting saturated. They can be dried out in an oven and re-used.

Take lots of cloths to wipe stuff down with - a toothbrush to dig grime out of the rubber grips and from around switches and a small paintbrush to get dust and minor clag off the body and lens exteriors.

Take a couple of carabiners to keep kit off the ground when camping-out.

Don't step on punji-stakes - Charlie is still out there...
 
You can't be too careful...a cocktail-stick can do some fearful damage...
 
In the humid countries I've visited the only problems I've had have been stepping outside in the morning from a cool air-conditioned room in to the hot humid air. Judging from the time it has taken for a video camera to come back to life on shutting down because of the dew sensor, an hour or so is needed to acclimatise. So you've either got to put your camera in an airtight plastic bag before you leave the room and once outside wait an hour for it to warm up, or else keep it out of the cool room and in the heat and humidity.
 
I have travelled extensively in the Far East and I really don't think you need to be worried about this. Most DSLR's operating temperatures are up to 50*c and it never gets to that in most far east countries. The only issue I have faced is condensation on the viewfinder when stepping out from an airconditioned room to the streets, but that is only temporary and has never affected any pictures (good advise from MisterE about the plastic bags

I would be more concened about keeping myself hydrated properly so drink plenty of water and just have fun without worrying what may happen to your camera! Have a great trip.
 
I'll be moving to Qatar for two years in few months and the temperature regularly exceeds 40C. Where can one purchase these zip bags? I know the higher end Canon are more resilient to the elements but I only have a Canon 500D, the kid lens and the 24-105L. Would you have to put the body and all the lenses in a bag to acclimatise them?
 
It's rarely a problem with dry heat like you have in Qatar - humidity is the killer...

Might watch it a little bit going into very cold air-conditioned areas though...
My kit never suffered from adverse effects in either Iraq or Afghanistan (and southern Iraq was VERY humid in September, unbearably so).

Going from cold, dry areas to warm, moist areas, like we have here in the Winter months is far more damaging to kit than hot, dry deserts...

Just watch the LCDs don't get fried...
 
Thanks Arkady,
I feel reassured. I'll try to keep the gear in a room with no air conditioning to allow it to be in as close to ambient temperature as possible.
 
MisterE said:
In the humid countries I've visited the only problems I've had have been stepping outside in the morning from a cool air-conditioned room in to the hot humid air. Judging from the time it has taken for a video camera to come back to life on shutting down because of the dew sensor, an hour or so is needed to acclimatise. So you've either got to put your camera in an airtight plastic bag before you leave the room and once outside wait an hour for it to warm up, or else keep it out of the cool room and in the heat and humidity.
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Take note of this. We shot a wedding in a very humid country, and it did take a whole hour to stop the lenses steaming up and misting outside, once they left the air con rooms
 
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