Condensation in Housing

[sydney-diver]

Hi,

I'm looking for advice as to why my camera steamed up when I hit the water and what I should do to prevent it. It was my first dive with the camera in the housing (I've previously taken the housing to 20m with tissue to check for leaks). I suspect that leaving the camera in the sun whilst I was gearing up my be the problem as it was very bright on Sunday, the condensation also cleared as soon as I got out of the water. It's a basic Canon Ixus camera in an Ikelite housing.

Regards

Dave

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Hi,

I'm looking for advice as to why my camera steamed up when I hit the water and what I should do to prevent it. It was my first dive with the camera in the housing (I've previously taken the housing to 20m with tissue to check for leaks). I suspect that leaving the camera in the sun whilst I was gearing up my be the problem as it was very bright on Sunday, the condensation also cleared as soon as I got out of the water. It's a basic Canon Ixus camera in an Ikelite housing.

Regards

Dave

I think you answered your own question as to why/how it happened.

Condensation occurs due to the humidity of the air inside the housing and the temperature differential in the ambient environment compared to inside the housing. Control those two factors and you can minimize/eliminate condensation inside your housing.

Along those lines, here are some tips:

• Make sure that all of your o-rings maintain a water-tight seal. Replace the main o-ring at regular intervals or if you see that the o-ring is becoming deformed/nicked in any way.
• When possible, before closing the UW housing, work with your rig in a dehumidified, i.e., A/C, environment.
• If possible, do not open your UW housing in between dives. This will probably be determined by how long your batteries last and how large your storage card is. On a typical 2-dive boat excursion, I'll assemble my camera rig at home and won't open it until my dives are done for the day.
• Minimize heat build-up inside the UW housing by turning off your camera when not in use.
• Pre-dive, keep your assembled UW housing in the shade.
• Pre-dive, equilibrate your UW housing in cold water (at the temperature of the water in which you will be diving, if possible).
• Place one or more moisture munchers inside your housing. If you carry out the other precautions, then you won't have to mess with moisture munchers at all.

This is just what I've found in my experience. Good luck with everything. Let us know what worked out for ya...

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I frequently used to dive in alpinbe lakes where the surface temp in summer may be 90 degrees with reasonably high humidy with water temps bewlow 100 fee of maybe 35 degrees. To avoid condensation isues, I put a couple small bags of silica gel in the housing with my camera. It absorbs any moisture and prevents any condensation from forming. Keep them in a sealed plastic bag or waterprrof container, and heat them to 150 degrees for 20 minutes or so in your over or a toaster oven to renew them after they have absorbed their limit of moisture.

 

[Codiak]

The following works well for me

1. Silica packets for your local dive or camera shop

2. Defog on the lens area

3. Setup the night before

 

[sydney-diver]

Thanks everyone, I'll look out for Silica I'm sure there's some in the shed in all the packaging left over from Xmas I did assemble at home but the camera was in direct sunlight for 15mins or so and it the sun was pretty intense (I've got the sunburn strip to prove it).

 

[Larry C]

In tropical climates, keeping your camera in a six-pack cooler or similar insulated environment between dives can also save problems. I find that my fogged pics usually happen on commercial dive boats where I have to bring my rig up and leave it with the deckhands while I put on my fins and wait in line to take the big step off. If you notice it fogging underwater, you can hold it port down for a while, and it will usually disperse to places where it won't ruin your pics. Another source of steaming can be the heat generated by using the camera's built in flash repeatedly. Agree with previous post. In tropics, I load everything in the hotel room and use moisture munchers. I've still had it fog after sitting on the deck in the sun after I hand it to the deckhand, though. Try to wait till the last second to hand it over and use the rinse tank and put it in your cooler immediately when you get out. Another issue with loading the camera in a hot area is I've had the housing refuse to open when I got back to the hotel room-it was vacuum packed.

 

[damage]

To avoid condensation isues, I put a couple small bags of silica gel in the housing with my camera. It absorbs any moisture and prevents any condensation from forming. Keep them in a sealed plastic bag or waterprrof container, and heat them to 150 degrees for 20 minutes or so in your over or a toaster oven to renew them after they have absorbed their limit of moisture.

never heard of it and sound very hepful (I was about to trow 5 bags of silica gel), just one question: can you put them in the microwave?

 

[bkotheimer]

Like many underwater photogs, I get my packs from The Preservation Station. Some of theirs are rechargeable and others they recommend just replacing when they're done.

 

[Scotttyd]

I use the silicia packs from prescription bottles at work - most pharmacies probably through away hundreds in a typical week. If you have a RPH friend, ask them to save some.

 

[Wookie]

And for those heavy leak days, and when your silica gel packs aren't available, I have seen great success with folks using tampons or maxi pads.