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Changing lenses in the humid tropics? (1 Viewer)

Ben88

Well-known member
Does anyone have experience changing lenses in the field in humid tropical forests? Should I be concerned about my camera and lenses fogging up?

I'm thinking about upgrading from a Canon 300 f4 lens to a Canon 400 f4 DO II lens, but that means I'd need a separate lens for wildlife closer than 3 meters (or extension tubes). I'm hesitant to change lenses in the field, but I'm wondering if others have done this without problems.
 
You could get yourself a 100-400 although you will lose some light for forest birding.
If the temperature of your camera and lens is the same as the forest air you shouldn't have a problem should you ?
 
You could get yourself a 100-400 although you will lose some light for forest birding.
If the temperature of your camera and lens is the same as the forest air you shouldn't have a problem should you ?

Yes, but if I change lenses during the day, and it is cooler at night then moisture will condense on the interior of the camera. I see two possible solutions: (1) open the camera at regular intervals, to equalize interior and exterior humidity (probably a bad idea) and (2) do my night walks in the morning (which I usually do anyway) and put the camera in a bag with desiccants while I sleep (would this be effective?).

My main reason for wanting to upgrade is precisely to get more light for forest birding than my 300 f4. No "better" lens has a minimum focusing distance as low as the 300 f4's 1.5 meters - even the 100-400 is worse (1.8 meters) (though I'd be surprised if the optical quality would be "better" at 400mm than the 300 +1.4x is at 420).
 
If the temperature of your camera and lens is the same as the forest air you shouldn't have a problem should you ?

I do not remember having any fogging issues when I went to the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, for 2 1/2 weeks. I had 3 lens I was changing all the time. This was in the "dry" season but it rained pretty much everyday. The humidity was terrible all the time. I carried all 3 lens in a waist pack.
 
I would not worry about this too much. I've spent several months camping in some of the wettest rainforest in the world (the west slope of the Colombian Andes) and we managed to avoid problems with moisture by storing the cameras in a seal-able plastic bag with silica gel to provide a dry environment.
 
A bit extravagant I know but some carry two bodies with a different lens on each so they don't have to detach a lens at any point, just use another camera.


Andy
 
I read a claim that most of the problems with humidity comes from the temperature changes of bringing camera equipment into and out of air conditioned rooms. I live in a tropical island without AC and have not had any problems with my camera and lens (I think I purchased in 2011). I rarely switch lenses though.

Niels
 
Thanks for the reassurance about switching lenses in the field! That makes my decision easier. I rented the 400 DO II over the weekend, and it was great.
 
I do not remember having any fogging issues when I went to the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, for 2 1/2 weeks. I had 3 lens I was changing all the time. This was in the "dry" season but it rained pretty much everyday. The humidity was terrible all the time. I carried all 3 lens in a waist pack.

What waist pack did you use, and would you recommend it?
 
What waist pack did you use, and would you recommend it?

I have the RibzWear front pack.

http://www.ribzwear.com/store/

It worked great for Costa Rica. I have a M43 camera. My camera and all three lens fit in the pack. Additionally, it carried spare batteries, etc. It makes it real handy for quickly changing lenses, etc.. The straps need a better design (mine bought in 2012 so maybe they have been improved) and at times needed my wife's assistance to put them on correctly. I do have to admit I am not the most coordinated of people though.

I have been using a birding best lately when not hiking; just birding, but usually with just my bridge camera with not changeable lens.
 
As mentioned, the only real problem with cameras and humidity/fogging come from the transition to air conditioned, cooler, drier air into hot, humid, moist air, and back again. Once the camera and lenses have acclimatized to the conditions you're going to be shooting in (it's generally a good idea to prepare for this a good hour or so before you need to start shooting, by turning off the AC, putting the camera and lenses on a patio or balcony or open windowsill if secure, and letting it adjust to the outside temperature and humidity)...it doesn't really matter if you change lenses in the field...everything's equalized by then. If you didn't properly acclimatize a lens - say one you left closed in a bag in the room before you left and when it comes out of the bag it fogs up - then you may have issues - but even then, most cameras can stand a bit of fogging and defogging without any real harm - unless it's something happening daily for months on end, where that condensation can start to cause corrosion to parts inside the lens or body, or develop mold if the lenses aren't dried out when storing with some silicon or other similar methods.

As for any dangers changing lenses in the field - just simple precautions such as always powering down the camera when changing lenses (it's not a necessity, but cameras that are powered up can sometimes have enough of a static field generated to attract small particles to the sensor), always keeping the lens opening pointed down when swapping lenses, and minimizing the amount of time that lenses and camera are open and uncovered during the swap, should allow you to make all the changes you want or need without any issues. Short of changing lenses in a downpour, or a sandstorm, or covered in floating pollen...brief lens changes with the camera pointed down can be executed many times a day in the field without sucking too much unwanted stuff into the camera body.
 
I read a claim that most of the problems with humidity comes from the temperature changes of bringing camera equipment into and out of air conditioned rooms. I live in a tropical island without AC and have not had any problems with my camera and lens (I think I purchased in 2011). I rarely switch lenses though.

Niels

I second that. I spent 2 weeks in Costa Rica this January in a house without AC and had no problems whatsoever with condensation of water on my camera (I had a fixed-lens superzoom though, so maybe this is irrelevant).

I didn't consider the environment to be very humid, btw.
 
I second that. I spent 2 weeks in Costa Rica this January in a house without AC and had no problems whatsoever with condensation of water on my camera (I had a fixed-lens superzoom though, so maybe this is irrelevant).

I didn't consider the environment to be very humid, btw.

Most folks with condensation issues have the a/c in the vehicle turned on while driving to the birding location (to avoid mosquitos etc). As mentioned earlier, about an hour before, roll down the windows a bit. I've had these issues with all equipment (binos, spotting scopes, all cameras) whether sealed or nitrogen purged or not but equalising the temp smartly works well.
 
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