Camera Foggin during dive

[nusspli]

My camera, particularly, tha lens, has been fogging during my dives and I am unable to take pictures. The air temp is ~80 and the water temp. ~ 55-65. Even on dives >1 hour, the lens does not clear up.

Any suggestions? I'm going to Mexico next week and I don't want this to happen there.

Thanks
J.

 

[XJae]

Do you have an internal flash?
Do you put it in the camera bucket when you get on the boat?
Some people use little packs of silica gel to absorb the moisture.
I haven't been having that problem.

 

[nusspli]

I have both an internal & external flash on my MX10. I usually put my camera in a bucket only when I'm doing a boat dive.

 

[wb416]

nusspli once bubbled...
My camera, particularly, tha lens, has been fogging during my dives and I am unable to take pictures. The air temp is ~80 and the water temp. ~ 55-65. Even on dives >1 hour, the lens does not clear up.

Any suggestions? I'm going to Mexico next week and I don't want this to happen there.

Thanks
J.

One thing that I've seen work effectively is flushing air for 5-10 seconds from your 2nd stage reg into the U/W camera housing while holding it ready to close. This helps displace the humid air that will later condense on the lenses. (Air from your SCUBA is usually dryer than the ambient air, unless you dive somewhere like New Mexico or Arizona )

I've seen this done many times by a friend, and I also do it on my new UW unit that I've had a couple of months. The one time I forgot... guess what... it fogged!

Using this method I've successfully dove on humid 90°F days and took photos in 40°F water (below the thermocline).

Good Luck!

Bob

 

[ReyeR]

nusspli, fogging is caused when moisture trapped in the air space of the housing condenses on the glass port due to a difference in temperature inside and outside the housing.

See this thread for an extensive discussion with plenty of tips.

One thing that I've seen work effectively is flushing air for 5-10 seconds from your 2nd stage reg into the U/W camera housing while holding it ready to close.

You'd better be sure the regs are dry!

I actually have a device (a nozzle) that attaches to the BC inflator hose that does this. The only problem I found was that where I setup my camera there wasn't a tank and also meant I'd have to have my first stage/regs with me. Second, when we started using it my buddy's setup flooded. Now this could be a coincidence (she had dived a year with it before using the blower) but the thought of using high pressure air and the possibility of blowing lint/sand/hair uncontrollably around after I had cleaned the o-rings wasn't very appealing to me. We have stopped using it since then. But like I said it might just be coincidence. Just my 2c.

 

[notabob]

Couple of things you can do...

First, try using silica gel packs. You can either buy them in your LDS ($$) or go to your friendly neighborhood shoe store, and ask for a handful out of the boxes. Seemed to work for me.

Second option, is to try and seal your housing in an air conditioned room. With the naturally dry & cool air, you won't need to worry about getting water from a wet reg or whatnot into the housing. I've been doing that, and it seems to work for me really well so far. I have never had my housing fog up, even when I use the built-in flash for almost every shot.

Hope this helps!

-Roman.

 

[XJae]

Isn't the MX-10 a purley underwater camera?
No "housing".

 

[nusspli]

It takes pictures above and below the water, but I wouldn't recommend it for an everyday camera. Yes, it does not really have a housing, at least one that can be removed. The watertight 'housing' opens up to the camera inside, that opens again to insert the film.

My concern with fogging is that there must be water contamination inside the camera, which could ultimately ruin my camera, or at least require professional repair.

 

[Dee]

nusspli once bubbled...
My concern with fogging is that there must be water contamination inside the camera, which could ultimately ruin my camera, or at least require professional repair.

I'm leaning towards that explaination myself. I still have my old MX-10 and I can't see any way the lens could fog unless moisture had gotten into the guts of it to start with. I'd take it in for servicing now before the problem got any worse or caused other problems.

 

[PacNWdiver]

I put my camera in a cooler filled with cold water before I head out. I bring the whole cooler to the beach or on the boat. I only get it out just as I'm ready to dive. If it's hot out, I see the lens imediately cloud, but it clears up the second I submurge.

After I get out of the water, the camer goes right back in the cooler.

Good Luck,

John