Photography Thailand Forum

[Paul Whitehead]

Can anyone offer any tips on using filters (and even lens') in extreme humidity?

My problem is that when taking out the camera and lens in an extremely humid environment (i.e. the jungle) my filter stack (multiple filters on top of each other) gets condensation which causes me a to find a sunny spot to dry it out.  I cant imagine theres a temperature difference between outside and inside my bag but may be between the air humidity inside the stack and outside (even after clearing the stack I seem to get the same problem 30 minutes later when bringing out the camera again).

Has anyone similar problems or solutions?

cheers

[David Salmanowitz]

I keep a bag of Pec Pads handy, which are lint free ultra soft non-abrasive wipes--or at least the package says so. I have used them for years to clean filters , lenses, ... Sometimes I find double or triple bagging can make a difference, but there is no assurance as sometimes it does not as well. On a boat in Indonesia last March every time a friend left the air conditioning inside the boat to go outside with his Nikon SLR his filter fogged. Every time I went outside with my Canon SLR the filter did not fog. We could not figure that one out at all--obviously it has nothing to do with the brand of camera. I was razzing my friend it was the cheap filters he used, where I was using higher quality ones--but I have had those fog as well. Anyway, the temperature fluctuations will usually fog lenses and filters quick enough--but a quick wipe with the disposable Pec Pads and all is usually well. I believe they come in two different sizes, the 4" x 4" (10cm x 10cm) are the ones I use.

[AmazingThailand]

You get the condensation because your equipment gets cold, probably from the AC in your hotel room.  My trick to avoid this problem is to keep my gear in the bathroom and keep the door closed.  Most hotels do not have any AC in the bathroom, so this room does not get nearly as cold as the rest of the room.  Rarely do I have a condensation problem, or if condensation does occur it is slight and evaporates very quickly.

[Paul Whitehead]

Unfortunately (for me probably  :-\ ) I use a tent