Humid Conditions

K

KO_Promo

New member
Does anyone have a suggestion for shooting in humid conditions? I live in Florida and it's nice but the humidity is through the roof.

I recently got came back from a sports shoot and here's what went wrong. I got there and took my camera out of a pelican case and went to set it up and the red moisture light went on and I couldn't do anything. After waiting two hours the error light didn't go off and I had to shoot with my consumer Panasonic camera. It's quite comical that a $600 camera got the shots and my DVX couldn't get the job done. The problem stayed there from 10 to noon. I just don't know what to do.

Should I start packing a hair dryer in my run bag? When this problem happens and run it on just the air function? Or should I start packing it differently?
 
Re: Humid Conditions

Because the Pelican case is air tight, your really need to have a packet of Silica Gel in there to keep things dry in a place like Florida.

I think Pelican gives you a Silica Gel dehumidifier with your case (you know those little packets you get in electronics that say "Do not eat" on them). If you still have it, put it back in your Pelican case. If you don't... you can order it from Pelican or pick some up at your local florist (no, seriously!) or craft store.

--Jud
 
Re: Humid Conditions

I was forced to use MII for awhile, notorious for humid tape stops. you can:

1) Throw a towel over the camera.
2) Switch to a Portabrace, codura has great wicking power.
3) Avoid switches to an from air conditioning without a rest.
 
Re: Humid Conditions

Thanks Jud,
I have the big Silica Gel pack in my case... that's not it. It's weird that it didn' t adjust itself to the climate in two hours. I'll try taking it out of the case sooner.
 
Re: Humid Conditions

There is only one rule: never use a camera while it is *colder* than the ambient temp. In *dry* ambients it can stand a few degrees. In humid ambient only start when it has at least the ambient temp. If you need it urgently warm it up by powering on, using hairdryer, put it in the sum...And remember tapes don't have a dew detector but they will stick (even when yr cam's dew detector shows OK) when they are not at ambient temp. Entering with yr cam and tapes in a cooler (airco..) area is never a problem, whatever the rel humidity is in this area.
 
Re: Humid Conditions

Also, keep in mind that in a place like Florida, a Silica Gel pack will quickly absorb all of the water that it can, and become completely useless. If it is truly silica gel (and not one of the other kinds of water absorbers), it can be regenerated by baking (but not in the plastic bag it is in). You can also buy either the packets, or just the crystals.

http://www.dehumidify.com/ProdDisc.html sells some that are in packaging designed to be reactivated. They even have indicators showing when that is needed.
 
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