 Laurie M. Elmer |
Optics Fogging Recently, I was camping and got up before dawn to shoot. As the sun started to rise, I made sure I was in position, camera mounted on tripod etc., only to find that the glass on my lens and viewfinder was fogged. I tried wiping them but they kept fogging back up. Basically, the sunrise was a bust. I have used anti-fog spray on my scuba mask and it works pretty well. I hesitate to use it on my lens though. Any thoughts?
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
need more time for the camera to reach closer temperature to the atmosphere.
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Laurie M. Elmer |
Greg I appreciate your response. The thing is...I was camping, my camera and lenses were with me outdoors, all night. They were in my backpack but the backpack wasn't zippered. The tent flaps were open so the interior of the tent was the same temperature as the outdoors. So, you would think there was no need to adjust to the temperature. I was in a swamp, with high humidity. But, I shoot in these conditions all the time and never had this problem before. It took 45 min. to an hour. (until the sun was high) for the fogging to stop. I was wondering if it's OK to use an "anti fog" product or would it damage my lenses?
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Bob Cammarata |
The fogging you described is due to the moisture saturation in the air, in combination with the dew-point temperature,....(the temperature at which condensation will occur). This temperature medium usually arrives at day-break...(hence, dew forms). As Gregory mentioned, condensation will also occur in a humid environment when two temperature extremes clash suddenly. (Anyone who wears glasses, and has walked into an air-conditioned room on a hot summer day has experienced this.) You could eliminate the fogging by changing the surface temperature of your equipment by a few degrees,...either over or under that of the air temperature. Whichever method you use will be temporary, and you will only have about 10-15 seconds to shoot before things fog up again. It's important to mention, (though I'm sure you probably know), that all condensation should be gone before re-packing your gear to prevent possible damage to internal components. Finally, I'm certainly no expert on lens glass and protective coatings,...but I personally, wouldn't chance using any chemical, anti-fog products on my expensive lenses.
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Joseph O. Boggi |
"Recently, I was camping and got up before dawn to shoot. As the sun started to rise, I made sure I was in position, camera mounted on tripod etc., only to find that the glass on my lens and viewfinder was fogged. I tried wiping them but they kept fogging back up. Basically, the sunrise was a bust. I have used anti-fog spray on my scuba mask and it works pretty well. I hesitate to use it on my lens though. Any thoughts?" I did a search and found this thread from 2004. I had the same problem the other day. Essentially shots before and after the dew formed on my camera were fine. I had been out shooting night shots for some time. As the Dew formed my shots went south. Is there anything to do for this? I went out to shoot in the fog. I suspect that it was not the fog per se but the temperature reaching the dew point. Any advice would be appreciated since I am planning to head out an shoot tomorrow.
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Laurie M. Elmer |
Joseph, Since I posted this original question, I really haven't found a great solution. What does work to some degree is using my Rocket Blower on the front of the lens. It's a pain in the neck and would be especially difficult if you're not on a tripod but it works, sort of. The same thing happens to my glasses, I usually just take them off and hope my auto focus is doing it's job. I don't have the nerve to use the anti-fog stuff I use on my diving mask. If I had an old beater lens I'd give it a try.
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Joseph O. Boggi |
Thanks Laurie It looks like it is just a problem. No big deal. Thanks again.
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