Condensation on filters and lens

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macs

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Rich
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I was out this morning in the Peak District for a sunrise but had a real trouble with condensation forming on my filters and at one point on the front of the lens itself.

Is there anything that can be done to prevent this or any tricks that people use to help stop the build up too much?
 
Temperature difference.
Acclimatise your camera, filters and lenses to the ambient temp.
A soft dry cloth is handy.

It tends to happen the other way around: coming in from the cold to a warm room.
Make sure you raise the temp of your equipment slowly to avoid moisture forming inside the electronics. Not nice.

I don't remember it happening to my equipment, and I've used my cameras down to minus 26C on a glacier.
 
kendo1 said:
Temperature difference.
Acclimatise your camera, filters and lenses to the ambient temp.
A soft dry cloth is handy.

It tends to happen the other way around: coming in from the cold to a warm room.
Make sure you raise the temp of your equipment slowly to avoid moisture forming inside the electronics. Not nice.

I don't remember it happening to my equipment, and I've used my cameras down to minus 26C on a glacier.
Click to expand...

That's what to do. It is the basic defence against condensation.
 
If I know I'm going to be out early in the morning I leave my camera gear in the garage overnight. Usually works unless its really cold.
 
You can try various types of heating too - from dedicated heater dew bands for telescopes to a couple of those chemical handwarmers tied to the lens barrel with an elastic band.
I have a dew band and it works wonders but needs a separate power supply (12v battery) and a controller to regulate it properly
 
Try putting your gear into an airtight plastic bag, Ziplocks work well, leave it in the bag 15/20 minutes in the colder air to give it chance to acclimatise then remove it, works 95% for me

Simon
 
Gaz J said:
If I know I'm going to be out early in the morning I leave my camera gear in the garage overnight. Usually works unless its really cold.
Click to expand...

As said unless you're confident your gear is insured in the garage I wouldn't recommend that.

I do keep my gear in the boot, rather than in the cabin, particularly in winter when the heaters will be on in the cabin.
 
As above, it's the temperature differential. It's more common when you take the camera out of a warm environment (house or car) into the cold in the UK; but we get it other way round too in Africa. Going from a oool, airconditioned, environment into + 30 degrees of heat causes condensation, and it's a lot worse at the coast where it's humid in summer.
 
The chances of someone breaking into the garage on the odd occasion that the gear is in there is pretty remote. The garage is integral to the house, has a motion alarm in it and in addition the gear is kept on those odd occasions in a van vault fastened to the floor of the garage, said van vault then goes into van in the morning. So it's probably safer than in the wardrobe in the house.

Do I look stupid? :) No don't answer that.
 
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