Photography The section to share and discuss photos you took and talk about camera gear.

Cold camera question

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Dec 3, 2020 | 05:30 PM
  #1  
Frodo's Avatar
Frodo
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,438
Likes: 590
From: Tellico Plains Tennessee
Default Cold camera question

I have concerns about bringing my cold camera indoors after being out in the cold for a while. My concern is that warmer moist air might cause condensation inside the body or lens and damage the mechanisms.

Years ago, I was camping out over the weekend on a local river. I was using a 35mm SLR. All the pictures taken Saturday were properly focused and exposed. Sunday's pictures were all blurry and over exposed. A local camera shop said the shutter and lens both had a sluggish operation. Long story short, it was humidity that gummed up the works.

So, now when I have a cold camera I put it and all lenses used inside it's bag before going indoors and let it slowly warm shielded from the warm moist air. Anyone else have problems? Anyone else take precautions?
Reply
Old Dec 3, 2020 | 11:24 PM
  #2  
Nitro-C5's Avatar
Nitro-C5
Moderator
25 Year Member
St. Jude 15 Year Donor
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 17,119
Likes: 3,757
From: Charlotte NC
Cruise-In IV Veteran
Cruise-In V Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'25
Default

Originally Posted by Frodo
I have concerns about bringing my cold camera indoors after being out in the cold for a while. My concern is that warmer moist air might cause condensation inside the body or lens and damage the mechanisms.

Years ago, I was camping out over the weekend on a local river. I was using a 35mm SLR. All the pictures taken Saturday were properly focused and exposed. Sunday's pictures were all blurry and over exposed. A local camera shop said the shutter and lens both had a sluggish operation. Long story short, it was humidity that gummed up the works.

So, now when I have a cold camera I put it and all lenses used inside it's bag before going indoors and let it slowly warm shielded from the warm moist air. Anyone else have problems? Anyone else take precautions?

Yes, this has happened to me several times over the years. The key is to gradually change the temperature (acclimate your gear) as much as you can to reduce this issue. Below is a link to a very good simple article on the issue of Camera Condensation:

https://creativeraw.com/preventing-camera-condensation/
Reply
Old Dec 4, 2020 | 06:39 AM
  #3  
Frodo's Avatar
Frodo
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,438
Likes: 590
From: Tellico Plains Tennessee
Default

Thanks for the link. It confirms my concern for condensation and my method of limiting its occurrence. A lot of amateur photographers, and I'm an amateur myself, don't think about things like this.
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To Cold camera question





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:09 AM.

story-0
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-2
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-3
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-4
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE
story-5
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

Slideshow: 10 Important Corvette 'firsts' that every fan should know.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 17:02:16


VIEW MORE
story-6
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

Slideshow: Should you buy a 2020-2026 Corvette or wait for 2027?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 10:08:58


VIEW MORE
story-7
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor

Slideshow: 2027 Corvette lineup vs the world.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-24 16:12:42


VIEW MORE
story-8
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!

Slideshow: 10 major Corvette problems from the last 20 years.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-14 16:37:05


VIEW MORE
story-9
5 MOST and 5 LEAST Popular Corvette Model Years in History!

Slideshow: 5 most and least popular Corvette model years.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-08 13:25:01


VIEW MORE