My camera keeps getting Fogged!!!

[TennisCoach]

Hello Guys, let me start by saying that I am new to diving and to UW Photography. I am having a problem, my camera is foging up and it happens towards the end of the dive. I am using one of those little bags to absorb the humidity but stil it gets foged. Any advise.

Thank you
CC

 

[fppf]

First, put your camera together in a room with AC, it will have lower humidity.

Those desiccant bags don't last for ever and they can only absorb so much.
Go to a hearing aid store and ask for a jar of desiccant that is used to store hearing aids ($10). Then go to a fabric store and get some mesh to make little bags. This stuff can handle a lot more moisture, it has indicating beads to tell you when its spent, then through it in the over for a recharge and its good to go again.

 

[Nemrod]

Ditto, and those bags are good for only one use.

N

 

[The Kraken]

What fppf said.

When ever I plan to shoot, I try to make sure that I've opened the housing in a cool, dry room, let it normalize and then close it.

Haven't had a problem . . . . . . yet.

the K

 

[bleeb]

If there's no air con handy, I've also purged the housing inside a large transparent plastic bag using dry tank air. I'd imagine this could be particularly handy on a boat.

I believe there have also been comments posted here on SB that some batteries seem to put out more humidity than others if the camera is left on for a long time, although it's also been theorized that this might be the heat from the camera driving out moisture to be recondensed onto the colder housing and that you may not want to leave the thing on for the entire dive.

 

[TennisCoach]

Hey Guys, I want to thank you all for your help. Now I see what the mistake was. I opened the camera in the boat to change the batteries and that is what caused the problem. I will put the camera together the night before in my house when is cold and dry.

Thank you Again.

 

[AndyT]

I also try to keep the camera cool before going into the water. I use a small beer cooler with some ice bricks in it.

 

[fppf]

Number one rule, never open the housing on a boat!
Someday, it will haunt you!

 

[herman]

Number one rule, never open the housing on a boat!
Someday, it will haunt you!

AMEN! My camera is never opened except in the room, way too much chance of flooding it on a boat.
I prevent fogging by installing the camera in the housing, cranking down the AC to make sure the compressor is working and let the cold dry air blow into the housing, drying it and the camera, then close the housing while it is still in the airstream. So far, all my fogging problems have gone away since I started doing this.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Number one rule, never open the housing on a boat!
Someday, it will haunt you!

Somehow we managed to change rolls of film between dives back in the day. I have even changed film in a sit-on-top kayak, while still in a wet wet suit and with hair dripping wet. Back then we even religiously lubed o-rings every time, occasionally with nose grease!

If the fogging is happening late in the dive, perhaps it is heating up from unnecessary use. Is the internal flash firing ttl every shot? Are you reviewing or erasing images during your dive?

I don't have access to AC, I never use the little packages, I occasionally open the housing on the boat, and I never have issues with fogging.