Humidity?

[fieldmouse3]

I'm getting more and more interested in nature/wildlife photography, and I plan on taking my DSLR to the zoo to practice as soon as I have one. I was wondering, though, how I can protect my camera from the moisture and the humidity in the rainforest house? I don't want to skip it, since there are some colorful birds and plants that I'd like to capture. I also don't want to damage my camera...any suggestions?

 

[GryffinSong]

I don't know how damp the rainforest house is, but I've taken my SLRs into the rainforests in Guatamala, and I had no problems. The biggest thing is that it'll probably fog up when you first get in there, and you won't be able to take any pictures for awhile. Unless you want all your photos to look like they were taken in the fog!

When I've been vacationing in the Caribbean, I found that everytime I left my air conditioned room, my camera would immediately fog up. So I'd leave it sitting out on the deck for fifteen minutes or more before I wanted to use it. Just keep an eye on the lens and you'll be able to see when it clears up.

Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[fieldmouse3]

So the fog won't harm the camera itself? I'm not really concerned with fog if it won't do any damage...I used to wear glasses, and I had the WORST time keeping them clear enough to see when I was in there. I guess if you didn't have any problem in the real rainforest, I shouldn't have any at the zoo.

 

[GryffinSong]

I'm not an expert, so I can't guarantee it. But it never caused a problem for my cameras.

Good luck!!!

 

[Boss_BlueAngels]

Be careful because that condensation happens INSIDE your camera as well! The proper technique for situationsn like that is to keep your camera in its case and let it warm up to the temperature in the more humid area.

Also, any time you go from cold to warm condensation is going to occur. I've spoken with many digital shooters who have had to replace components in their camera because the condensation ruined the electronics in their camera.

 

[cristianna]

Be careful because that condensation happens INSIDE your camera as well! The proper technique for situationsn like that is to keep your camera in its case and let it warm up to the temperature in the more humid area.

Also, any time you go from cold to warm condensation is going to occur. I've spoken with many digital shooters who have had to replace components in their camera because the condensation ruined the electronics in their camera.

What Boss wrote is VERY accurate. I've had luck, but won't make any guarantees, with opening the camera bag and let it sit. After ~8-10 minutes pull it out and let it sit again. More or less what you need to do is gradually introduce the new environment temps. And it goes both ways: cold to hot and hot to cold.