WA conversion lens fogging

[randini]

I have a Sea&Sea wide angle lens made for the PT-009 housing I got from the S&S closeout page a few months back and am using it on the Fantasea housing from my Coolpix P4.

The other day while I was diving at Punta de Tralca (central Chile) my lens started fogging. I'm sure it was the lens becasue when I noticed the fogging on the screen, I turned the camera around and could see the silver dollar sized disk of haze on the inside of the lens. I removed the lens and the housing's lens port was fine.

Obviously I can't toss any silica gel packets in it, and don't know of anything that I could apply to the outside of the lens that would keep it from fogging on the inside.

Anybody have any ideas on how I can keep it from happening again? Also while I was in the water, the outer most rubber ring was loose, as though I would be able to screw it off (so I just tightened it back down). Should I try to unscrew it in a nice dry area (like a walk in fridge) and see if I can purge any humidity from inside the lens?

 

[Codiak]

You could take the lense to a local camera shop and see if they can "seal" it for you.

 

[seaducer]

As long as there is no moisture in the housing to begin with, your best bet is to soak the camera in a bucket of water as close to the same temperature as where you will be diving in. I find that having my camera on a hot deck and then getting into cool water creates foggy lenses. I had this problem in Belize, but have since corrected with "syncing" the temperature before hand.

Good luck

 

[JackConnick]

I think you are on track in trying to open up and dry out the lens Randy. You might try putting it in a plastic bag with several silica gel packets in the sun. Then seal it up and see how it goes. Try to keep the camera and lens out of direct suna nd cool before you dive may also help.

Jack

 

[randini]

You could take the lense to a local camera shop and see if they can "seal" it for you.

Thanks, but that's not really an option down here in Chile. There aren't many photo shops around, and AFAIK, no UW ones.

As long as there is no moisture in the housing to begin with, your best bet is to soak the camera in a bucket of water as close to the same temperature as where you will be diving in. I find that having my camera on a hot deck and then getting into cool water creates foggy lenses. I had this problem in Belize, but have since corrected with "syncing" the temperature before hand.

Good luck

Good idea. I hadn't thought of that. I think it was kind of warm before I got in the water with it, even though I did keep it out of direct sunlight.

And BTW, it's not the housing that's fogging, it's just the WA lens attached on the outside of the housing.

I think you are on track in trying to open up and dry out the lens Randy. You might try putting it in a plastic bag with several silica gel packets in the sun. Then seal it up and see how it goes. Try to keep the camera and lens out of direct suna nd cool before you dive may also help.

Jack

That's kind of what I was thinking. I'm even thinking of putting it in a drying oven we have in the lab, but I want to make sure I can set it to stay under 95 deg F. That's probably a few degrees cooler than it would get in a Ziplock in the sun here, but I'd be able to leave it in overnight. I'm gonna try seaducer's idea first though. I don't want to tear it apart if I don't I have to. I'm going to put my rig in a cooler filled with local seawater during the boatride out to the site.

I learned the sunlight problem a while back with just my housing before I even had the lens. I always keep my rig out of the sun.