topic inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Tue, 23 May 2017 16:39:49 GMT

hello!! I have a Canon 7D, and typically use my sigma 24-70 lens on it. I moved to NC from MI six years ago, and I do a ton of beach shoots. This time of year, same thing...i put my camera in my car overnight before a shoot, make sure no AC, typically get to the shoot early and set the camera outside next to me for a half hour. Should be good right? NOPE. Getting low to the sand is like putting my camera over a pot of boiling water steam. instantly fogs up on the inside and out. Yesterday, i was standing doing a family shoot. started out okay, I could tell by zooming in on the images that the skin was a bit grainy from the moisture in the air. Then half way through the shoot, camera was totally fogged up on the inside, even more than the outside of my lens. Humidity was 80 percent yesterday and this coastal area of NC often gets "waves" of high humidity and ocean mist that the camera only tends to pick up. But nothing subsided the inner fogging of my camera, until i walked back up to the parking lot. This happens every summer and quite honestly, this never happened in Michigan and im about fed up with it, lol. any advice?

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

kvbarkley — Tue, 23 May 2017 18:24:49 GMT

Sounds like you have moisture in the lens. You might have to send it to SIgma to be dried out.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Tue, 23 May 2017 19:27:42 GMT

thank you. i think i figured it out finally after four years. Called a camera shop back home where i used to live, he said when using zoom lenses in severe humidity, when i "zoom" i could be actually pulling that air into the lens/camera body. Makes sense i guess.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

RobertTheFat — Tue, 23 May 2017 19:43:28 GMT

@KellyLynne1968 wrote:
hello!! I have a Canon 7D, and typically use my sigma 24-70 lens on it. I moved to NC from MI six years ago, and I do a ton of beach shoots. This time of year, same thing...i put my camera in my car overnight before a shoot, make sure no AC, typically get to the shoot early and set the camera outside next to me for a half hour. Should be good right? NOPE. Getting low to the sand is like putting my camera over a pot of boiling water steam. instantly fogs up on the inside and out. Yesterday, i was standing doing a family shoot. started out okay, I could tell by zooming in on the images that the skin was a bit grainy from the moisture in the air. Then half way through the shoot, camera was totally fogged up on the inside, even more than the outside of my lens. Humidity was 80 percent yesterday and this coastal area of NC often gets "waves" of high humidity and ocean mist that the camera only tends to pick up. But nothing subsided the inner fogging of my camera, until i walked back up to the parking lot. This happens every summer and quite honestly, this never happened in Michigan and im about fed up with it, lol. any advice?

Condensation collects on objects that are cooler than their surroundings. So cooling down the camera in your car overnight, then bringing it into a very humid environment, may be exactly the wrong thing to do. Try leaving it in the house all night, then warming it in the sun before the shoot to drive off any moisture that's in it. You want it to start off as dry as possible and warmer, not cooler, than the environment at the beach.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

RobertTheFat — Tue, 23 May 2017 19:46:37 GMT

@KellyLynne1968 wrote:
thank you. i think i figured it out finally after four years. Called a camera shop back home where i used to live, he said when using zoom lenses in severe humidity, when i "zoom" i could be actually pulling that air into the lens/camera body. Makes sense i guess.

Right, and if the lens is cooler than the air, water will condense in the lens.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Tue, 23 May 2017 19:51:09 GMT

well my camera stays in my car overnight if i have a beach shoot, or i put it outside hours before. So does it make sense that it could be the zoom lens just pulling in moisture by the simple act of zooming?

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

RobertTheFat — Tue, 23 May 2017 20:17:54 GMT

@KellyLynne1968 wrote:
well my camera stays in my car overnight if i have a beach shoot, or i put it outside hours before. So does it make sense that it could be the zoom lens just pulling in moisture by the simple act of zooming?

Unless it's foggy (i.e. the humidity is 100%), any moisture pulled in will be dissolved in the air. It should not condense if the inside of the lens is warmer than the air. I think you're letting the camera cool down in the car overnight and then not giving it enough time to warm up in the sun.

When you were in Michigan, did you ever take pictures outdoors on a cold day; then when you came in, your lens fogged up? Same principle.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

diverhank — Tue, 23 May 2017 20:21:34 GMT

@KellyLynne1968 wrote:
well my camera stays in my car overnight if i have a beach shoot, or i put it outside hours before. So does it make sense that it could be the zoom lens just pulling in moisture by the simple act of zooming?

There is some of that but the fact remains that if the lens is of the same temperature as the ambient air, there should be no condensation. In high humidity condition such as described, usually people put the camera/lens in a sealed plastic bag and wait until the temperature equalizes. The temperature in the car is a lot cooler than outside and by leaving it there overnight you effectively have cold-soaked your equipment big time...

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Tue, 23 May 2017 20:30:50 GMT

no, trust me its outside for a long time . yesterdays shoot, it was in the MIDDLE of the shoot that the inside of the lense started fogging up. now clouds were moving in, and covered the sun, it happened right after that. ive been shooting professionally for 13 years, so im good about giving a camera time to acclimate to temps. But this stuff, this is weird.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Tue, 23 May 2017 20:34:35 GMT

im going to try a prime down there. i ran this past some other pros, some said "that shouldn't happen" and some said "yeah i had that issue with zoom but not with prime. And I do not use prime so ive ordered a nifty fifty just to see if that solves the issue. It is very frustrating!! i use silica packets and everything, have just not found an answer.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

diverhank — Tue, 23 May 2017 20:44:21 GMT

Weird is right...no clue what could have caused it. Usually the inside of a lens gets heated up a lot quicker than ambience therefore there should be no condesation unless it's been cold soaked.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Tue, 23 May 2017 21:01:04 GMT

humidity at almost 90 percent, and dew point super high, it was high tide, so those major waves were probably sending their own moisture into the air. But like i said the minute those storm clouds rolled it, bam...total fog up in lens. ill have this cheapie little prime in a few days, man i have high hopes, thanks yall for trying to help me tho!!

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

RobertTheFat — Wed, 24 May 2017 00:36:38 GMT

@KellyLynne1968 wrote:
no, trust me its outside for a long time . yesterdays shoot, it was in the MIDDLE of the shoot that the inside of the lense started fogging up. now clouds were moving in, and covered the sun, it happened right after that. ive been shooting professionally for 13 years, so im good about giving a camera time to acclimate to temps. But this stuff, this is weird.

I guess I'm gonna go with KVBarkley's idea, then: the lens must have standing water in it. When the lens heats up, the water evaporates; when it starts to cool down, it condenses again. You'd better hope it isn't salt water.

That's why Canon's bigger lenses are light-colored, isn't it? To keep them from changing temperature as fast? But even Canon doesn't expect a 24-70 to have that problem.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Wed, 24 May 2017 01:59:17 GMT

Well if it was 'saltwater' I would think my lens would have died a long time ago as this has been happening every summer lol. It's a mystery. Just going to try what my camera repair guy said and try a prime instead of a zoom down there and see what happens. Incidentally, after the beach shoot was done they wanted some shots in front of the beach house... concrete... inside digging cleared up for that.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

Waddizzle — Wed, 24 May 2017 09:14:33 GMT

Does this happen with other lenses, too?

A lens, or a camera body, that seems to full of moisture is probably a prime candidate to develop mold and mildew.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

Waddizzle — Wed, 24 May 2017 09:17:25 GMT

@diverhank wrote:
Weird is right...no clue what could have caused it. Usually the inside of a lens gets heated up a lot quicker than ambience therefore there should be no condesation unless it's been cold soaked.

Spending a day in a car trunk, parked in the hot sun, on a humid day could do it. I keep al of my cameras and lenses inside of sealed plastic bags when not in use.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Wed, 24 May 2017 11:46:08 GMT

exactly that is what scares me, im going to have it looked at today.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Wed, 24 May 2017 11:50:00 GMT

yeah i was thinking about that when you guys mentioned the car thing. On the shoot i did the other day, i actually took it from the house, from back in the bedroom which is not air conditioned, then placed it outside to acclimate for quite a long time. So I have no clue why it would fog up internally half way thru the shoot. But is there a possibility, that the times i leave it in the car, especially when im on photo tours and my main "hotel" from place to place is campgrounds, that the warming and cooling that happens in the car has indeed left residual moisture in the lens like the other gentleman said? If so , how do i remedy that? Also, I read that putting it in a ziplock while acclimating outside is a bad idea, creates another thermal barrier. So i literally just set the camera on a table outside. What are your thoughts on that?

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

RobertTheFat — Wed, 24 May 2017 12:28:08 GMT

@KellyLynne1968 wrote:
yeah i was thinking about that when you guys mentioned the car thing. On the shoot i did the other day, i actually took it from the house, from back in the bedroom which is not air conditioned, then placed it outside to acclimate for quite a long time. So I have no clue why it would fog up internally half way thru the shoot. But is there a possibility, that the times i leave it in the car, especially when im on photo tours and my main "hotel" from place to place is campgrounds, that the warming and cooling that happens in the car has indeed left residual moisture in the lens like the other gentleman said? If so , how do i remedy that? Also, I read that putting it in a ziplock while acclimating outside is a bad idea, creates another thermal barrier. So i literally just set the camera on a table outside. What are your thoughts on that?

I'd be more concerned about the plastic bag as a vapor barrier than as a thermal barrier. If you're going to put the camera into a sealed container, it should be when both the camera and the surrounding air are dry and the camera is at the same temperature as the air. If you get condensation inside the bag, the bag can be doing more harm than good.

But the real problem is that the condensation seems to be inside the lens. Lenses are designed to try to keep dust and moisture out, but the suction created by zooming can drive them in. And once they're in, it's hard to get them out. It may help to try to always store the camera in a warm, dry place when it's not in use. Conceivably it could help to zoom the lens a few times when it's indoors. If the zoom action sucks moist air in outdoors, maybe it will suck dry air in indoors.

Re: inside of camera fogging, even when climate acclimated

KellyLynne1968 — Wed, 24 May 2017 12:58:50 GMT

good advice thank you!