Going to Singapore for a week - Corrosion concerns

[JFG]

Hey everyone, 

Next Tuesday 8-3-24 I'll be flying to Singapore for a week and  hopefully I'll get some good photos. However with the humidity being 80% plus and prospects of rain 🌧..  I decided to take my M50 Mark II, EF-M 15-45mm and EF-M 50-200mm lenses along with a few bags of silica gel in my camera bag 😆   After reading Trevor's answers to a post on, "in camera corrosion" it made me think twice 🤔   

Thanks Trevor  ! 😊 

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

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@JFG wrote:

Hey everyone, 

Next Tuesday 8-3-24 I'll be flying to Singapore for a week and  hopefully I'll get some good photos. However with the humidity being 80% plus and prospects of rain 🌧..  I decided to take my M50 Mark II, EF-M 15-45mm and EF-M 50-200mm lenses along with a few bags of silica gel in my camera bag 😆   After reading Trevor's answers to a post on, "in camera corrosion" it made me think twice 🤔   

Thanks Trevor  ! 😊 

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Biggest issue in a high humidity environment is going out of air conditioned buildings. If you are in a 70 degree building and walk outside to a warm humid environment you will get condensation forming on (and in) your gear.

If you can't avoid the transition it is best to keep the camera in a ziplock type bag till it warms up.

[Tronhard]

Well... I didn't mean to spook you out of enjoying your vacation photos! 

If you are there in the really wet season there might be some small risk, but given you seem pretty careful with your gear, as long as you don't subject it to actual rain, and maybe keep a gel pack in your camera bag, as you suggest I would not be in too much risk. Most hotels have aircon, so you should be ok in there.  If you have a good camera bag with a rain cover you should be OK on trips out, especially if you stay under cover when its raining.

[Tronhard]

The question for the other thread was the environment within which it was used and it's usage history, which we really don't know.  Unless completely soaked or a wetting from seawater, the biggest threat is likely from exposure over time to a wet or humid environment.

[JFG]

You didn't spook me but you did reminded me how humid and wet it can get in that part of the world.  Last year when I was there it was so humid that my lens kept fogging up on me.  So I decided this time to take my smaller camera and shoot with as it also takes great pics👍  Besides, it's not the arrow but the shooter !   😀

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

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@JFG wrote:

Hey everyone, 

Next Tuesday 8-3-24 I'll be flying to Singapore for a week and  hopefully I'll get some good photos. However with the humidity being 80% plus and prospects of rain 🌧..  I decided to take my M50 Mark II, EF-M 15-45mm and EF-M 50-200mm lenses along with a few bags of silica gel in my camera bag 😆   After reading Trevor's answers to a post on, "in camera corrosion" it made me think twice 🤔   

Thanks Trevor  ! 😊 

---

Biggest issue in a high humidity environment is going out of air conditioned buildings. If you are in a 70 degree building and walk outside to a warm humid environment you will get condensation forming on (and in) your gear.

If you can't avoid the transition it is best to keep the camera in a ziplock type bag till it warms up.

[JFG]

Hi John,

You're right, I couldn't agree with you anymore.  The transition between an airconditioned environment to a warm humid enviroment creates condensation in a flash.  The ziplock bag is a good idea 💡  

Thanks John

[wq9nsc · Accepted solution]

Just exercise normal care and enjoy your trip (INCLUDING photography)!  I bought a M6 M2 a few years ago purely for travel and it has gotten damp more than once while hiking in the pacific northwest rain forests and it hasn't had any issues.  I

I shoot quite a few swim meets and that is truly a high humidity environment.  I use my 1 series gear for these meets which is well sealed.

If a camera is getting sensor corrosion: it has been used or stored damp for an extensive period of time, has been exposed to a corrosive environment (NOT just normal air and humidity), OR Canon has a sensor design issue with some of their newer gear and since we haven't seen more reports of that hopefully the latter isn't the issue.

Theft or damage due to dropping are far more likely than a moist environment creating a problem.  Because sensor heating can be an issue with sustained sensor activity, a mirrorless camera should be far less prone to sensor damage from humidity 🤣

Rodger

[jrhoffman75]

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@wq9nsc wrote:

Just exercise normal care and enjoy your trip (INCLUDING photography)!  I bought a M6 M2 a few years ago purely for travel and it has gotten damp more than once while hiking in the pacific northwest rain forests and it hasn't had any issues.  I

I shoot quite a few swim meets and that is truly a high humidity environment.  I use my 1 series gear for these meets which is well sealed.

If a camera is getting sensor corrosion: it has been used or stored damp for an extensive period of time, has been exposed to a corrosive environment (NOT just normal air and humidity), OR Canon has a sensor design issue with some of their newer gear and since we haven't seen more reports of that hopefully the latter isn't the issue.

Theft or damage due to dropping are far more likely than a moist environment creating a problem.  Because sensor heating can be an issue with sustained sensor activity, a mirrorless camera should be far less prone to sensor damage from humidity 🤣

Rodger

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I should have been more clear. It's not corrosion I would be concerned about, but I've been with folks that didn't take precautions and had the lens and mirror (not a concern with mirrorless) fog up and take a while to clear. While that is happening camera is out of commission.

[John_SD]

"Theft or damage due to dropping are far more likely than a moist environment creating a problem."

Correct. Theft would be more of a risk in the tourist areas than in residential areas or old town, which in my view is where the better photography opportunities are anyway. YMMV. 

[John_SD]

I don't know what any of these people are talking about. We have family members living in Singapore and have visited several times, and I had zero problems with "camera corrosion." Worry less about corrosion and more about spending time away from the Boat Quay and other tourist areas and more in Kampong Glam, Little India, and Katong. The real Singapore.