Preventing Camera Condensation

 

Hi Christopher.

I live in NC and the humidity here is unbelievable all summer. When I take my camera outside, there’s immediately condensation on the view finder and lens. Just wonder — do you know of a way to prevent this or do I just have to leave it outside long enough to resolve itself. Guess I’m wondering if it’s damaging to the camera or lens to just let it condensate like that. I missed several very nice early evening cloud formations backlit by the sun yesterday because of the condensation issue.

Thanks so much!

 

Condensation forms on your lens when you move it from a dry and cool environment to a warmer, more humid one. Examples of this are when you’re traveling in your air-conditioned car for a few hours and take your camera out on a hot and humid day – huge temperature change.

What happens to me more often is during the winter months, I take my camera inside after shooting in 30 F or colder temperatures – I run the risk of condensation if I don’t take the proper precautions.

So the goal here is to try and regulate the temperature change and gradually let your camera adjust, which will avoid condensation all together.

So to answer your question: yes there is a way to avoid camera condensation and it’s rather easy to do.

Before entering an environment that is drastically different from the one you’re in (i.e. bringing your camera outside on a humid day from an air-conditioned home), place it in a plastic ziploc bag and allow your gear to gradually become accustomed to the environment. Typically this change isn’t too long – 20-30 minutes at most, but depending on how substantial your gear is (think a 50mm vs. 300mm prime) and how different the temperatures are, it could take longer.

If you have condensation on your camera already, follow these steps:

 

Don’t detach the lens if it’s already attached – leave your camera be.
Put it in an airtight bag and get as much air out of it as you can. It would also help to put something in the bag to wick moisture away – such as a towel.
Wait until the camera comes up to temperature and all condensation has dissipated.

 

For severe cases where your camera is still taking foggy-looking photos, you may have to work on this for several days. Instead of a towel, it would be better to place silica gel packs in the plastic bag to help dry out all the interior components – make sure you keep the bag airtight though so that the gel packs wick the moisture from the camera.

It’s best to avoid condensation altogether, but only in the most severe cases where much moisture and water has entered the camera will there be any permanent damage…however it is possible in severely humid environments. If your camera is still working, you should be fine – just try to avoid future cycles of condensation.

It’s also important to note that some companies will not do warranty repairs on your camera due to condensation damage, so make sure you use the ziploc bag method.

 

Every week I will answer at least one question on photography and post it here. Have a question of your own? Feel free to contact me and let me know what’s on your mind.

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3 Comments

  1. Pam Wolfe | July 9, 2011

    Christopher, thank you so much for this information. I have been concerned about damage to my camera. I’m so glad there’s an easy solution to it and will follow your instructions tomorrow as I’m heading out into the hot, humid air for my next photo adventure :) .

    Reply
  2. Pam Wolfe | July 21, 2011

    Hi Christopher. Just wanted to let you know I tried your method for preventing condensation in my camera today and it worked perfectly. Since the humidity level was close to 100% today, it was a good test. Thanks again…..

    Reply

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