My housing keeps fogging up!!

[taylerr]

I am relatively new to underwater photography and in the last couple of dives I have had trouble with my housing fogging up. It generally tends to happen in the last part of my dive (luckily) so I do manage to get a few good photos. Today I put one of those dampness absorber sachets in my housing but it still fogged up.

I have a Canon Powershot s70 and am diving in water that is about 14oC and usually with a flash as well.

Can anyone provide some tips for me to stop this happening.

Thanks in advance

Rebecca

 

[Dive-aholic]

Dive in warmer water.

Seriously, you can try submersing your housing in a bucket of similar temperature water prior to the dive. Put it in there as soon as you get on the boat. I don't know if that will help much. I haven't heard of fogging up that far into a dive.

 

[alcina]

When you use your flash heat builds up in the housing.

Add more packs to help with the moisture thing and it should help with the fogging issue.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I hadn't had the fogging issue here in Puget Sound USA... but I did have that problem over in Hawaii and I didn't have any moisture absorbent packs with me.

So I put my camera in the housing but left it open and placed it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Opening the freezer I then quickly closed the housing while it was still inside the freezer compartment.

The result was zerp fogging.

Another trick I used was to hold the open housing in front of an air conditioner for a while before closing it.

 

[Snowbear]

Another trick I used was to hold the open housing in front of an air conditioner for a while before closing it.

Somehow I don't think those who use the 'swamp cooler' type of evaporative air conditioners should use this trick :11:

Anyhow - as Pug noted, the fogging thing hasn't been a problem here in the frozen (yes, frozen - it was -9F here last night :ice: ) north.

When I was in Palau and got my only silica pack wet it became a problem. My solution was the opposite of Pugs - I warmed up the camera and housing with a hair dryer set on low and held about 4' away from the camera for about 10 minutes. I then closed it up and took it diving. No foggo.

 

[taylerr]

Dive in warmer water.
QUOTE]

Ha - thanks for the useful advice. If anyone has a job for me somewhere where the water is a lot warmer than in Wellington I'd like to hear it!!

Yeah I am confused as to why it fogs 30 mins into the dive - but I will give these suggestions a go. Someone else also suggested trying anti-fogging stuff but I am not sure if that would stuff up the lens so I think that may be a last resort fix!

 

[alcina]

Yeah I am confused as to why it fogs 30 mins into the dive - but I will give these suggestions a go. Someone else also suggested trying anti-fogging stuff but I am not sure if that would stuff up the lens so I think that may be a last resort fix!

It fogs up as heat builds inside the housing when you use your flash.

Do not use the antifog stuff on your camera lens

 

[kapula]

I second alcina's opinion. Don't use antifog stuff on your camera or housing lens. Even if there's just a slight possibility of them damaging try all other options first. I have c-8080 with a huge pt-023 housing and I haven't had fogging problems but once in Croatia. Try to seal as dry air inside your housing as possible. Some blokes shoot air from their octo to their housing just before sealing it up. Others seal it in aircon room. Since you are using your internal flash it's the moisture you need to get rid of. If the air inside your housing is perfectly dry there shouldn't be any fogging issues. Try sealing it in dry air and add as many moisture munchers as you can to see if it made the trick.

If you try filling your housing with bottled air be careful not to blow your o-ring off It kinda brings new moisture issues if you flood your housing

 

[EvaL]

Hi, I use a Canon A520 with housing and strobe. Haven't had any fogging problems with 15 dives in Cozumel. Aside from recommending you use silica pack and opening your housing in air-conditioned room, another thing may be to turn the camera on only when you are about to shoot. Depending on the camera, leaving it on can cause heat build-up, which can fog up the lens. This may be the reason why it fogs up later in the dive. Dive safely.

 

[AndyT]

Using the silica gel packs is a good idea but try assembling the camera & housing the night before you go diving - the silica needs time to work. I also try to do it in an air conditioned environment . On the way to the dive site I keep the equipment in a beer cooler with a small ice brick to keep the temp down, especially in summer.