desiccants what is the best method

[bakravitz]

I now have a nice camera and lens collection. Im concerned about humidity. What is the best way to use desiccants?

[krispix]

Hi Bernie,

This is not normally a major problem unless you're putting your equipment through some pretty gruelling conditions.

It could be an issue if you take your camera from a warm (and moist) environment into a very cold outside location. This could result in condensation on the lens surfaces etc and might even get into the insides. If you're doing that it would be better to acclimatize the equipment beforehand. However, in these conditions, no amount of desiccants are going to help. They're really only good for storage purposes.

If that's what you want then get some Silica Gel. It comes in small packets and just toss a few in your camera bag. Once a year or so warm them up in an oven (about 50 C/120 F) for an hour to dry them out then you can re-use them. Go down to your friendly camera shop, I'm sure they'll have plenty lying about.

[Kodiak]

What is the best way to use desiccants?

When ever I have to work in an hostile humidity environment, I store my gear
in individual "zip" bags with 2 little sachets after removing most of the moist
air from the bag. Just remember that given conditions will saturate the desiccant
fairly fast.

[Manfred M]

Bernie - are you experiencing any specific issues; i.e. mould or other fungal issues with your optics?

North-East Massachusetts is not a part of the world where I would expect you to be having an issue. This tends to be more of an issue in tropical climates than temperate areas. I did look into this before heading to the tropics (condensation issues with video gear); but ended up living with it.

Bottom line; if you are going to store your cameras in a dry environment; you need a sealed box that prevents moisture penetration as well as a descicant that tells you that it needs to be replaced or "rejunvenated" by heating it in an oven. Just Google desscicants; lots of options available.

[Shadowman]

Try McMaster Carr in the U.S. for small quantities.

www.mcmastercarr.com

[Manfred M]

If that's what you want then get some Silica Gel. It comes in small packets and just toss a few in your camera bag. Once a year or so warm them up in an oven (about 50 C/120 F) for an hour to dry them out then you can re-use them. Go down to your friendly camera shop, I'm sure they'll have plenty lying about.

Your "once a year number" looks rather suspect; they don't last nearly that long unless you don't open the (small and sealed) storage container all that often.

[lukaswerth]

I have used silica gel a lot for different purposes in (analog) photography. It turns pink when it gets saturated with water, and blue again when it is heated in an oven at 50-60 degrees Celsius. If you use it in a camera bag, it has to be air-tight like a Pelican-box, and if you regularly open and use the camera, the silica will turn pink in a day or two. I therefore think it is of little practical use except when intentionally pulling down humidity in a bag in which equipment will be stored for a while. But I have just lived through a pretty humid environment, as it is the Monsoon season just ending here in Lahore, and I have been going out with my equipment which I store where we run our AC. The AC pulls down ambient humidity significantly, and you don't need silica gel in such an environment.
I once upon a time had fungus developed in my lenses, but that was - back in the late 80ties - when I had lived for 2 1/2 years in a South Indian village, with no access to an AC. At that time, I got the fungus stopped by placing my lenses into the full sun, but it was, of course, still a financial loss and a pain in the ass. But back then it was difficult enough to take care of proper drinking water; managing a supply of silica gel was out of question.

Lukas

[Wayland]

I take my gear out in some pretty rough conditions but I never bother with silica gel, it just doesn't last long enough.

The biggest issue I have is taking my kit bag from Arctic outdoor conditions into heated tents or cabins. A problem even if the camera is in a bag.

What I did was make some small bags by cutting up a large micro-fibre travel towel and stitching it up on a sewing machine. This material can soak up a serious amount of moisture.

My working practice is to put the lens or camera into a micro-fibre bag and then into an individual PU nylon dry bag with as little air in as possible before moving from cold to warm environment.

The gear tends to stay dry bagged until going out into the cold again so it is best to remove any batteries that need charging or cards that need downloading first and putting them into a separate micro-fibre dry bag combination so that they can acclimatise before the bag is opened.

Using this method I have never suffered the sort of condensation problems that seem to plague other photographers on the same expeditions.

Under more normal conditions, my lenses and cameras are still stored in the same micro-fibre bags but loose inside my camera bag. This soaks away any light rain or sea spray that could otherwise cause issues. I carry a small loose towel for wiping down in case I get any major soakings.

The bags do weight a few ounces and add a little bulk but it also means I don't panic ever time I open my bag in the rain.

[davidedric]

+1 to those who say that it doesn't last long enough.

I used to use it when storing metallurgical samples in laboratories. They were generally in sealed and evacuated glass vessels, so you could see what was going on, and you didn't have to take the lid on and off more than a few times for the gel to change colour.

Dave

[William W]

. . . What is the best way to use desiccants?

1. research the topic and ensure that you have an absolute necessity, before using any desiccant sachets
2. if you do choose to use them, make sure that the gear and sachet is in a sealed chamber
3. ensure that desiccant sachets are regularly dried out

Added note – most troubles that I have seen happen come from people not rigorously adhering to points 1 and 3.


WW

[shreds]

One other thing to mention is that the silica gel is quite scratchy to lenses and little sachets are prone to ripping. Not good at the bottom of your camera bag even in places like Iceland.

[DanK]

I live in eastern MA, and I never use any dessicants storing my gear here. I just put everything in a cabinet. The cabinet doors don't seal, so there is a bit of ventilation. On the other hand, that room is air conditioned during the worst of the summer weather. I have never had a problem.

I spend part of the summer in the Adirondacks, which can be extremely humid, and there I do pay more attention. When I am not going to use the equipment for a long time, I store it in a sealed Pelican case with two Pelican canisters of silica gel. If the colorant Pelican uses is accurate, I get 1-2 weeks before the stuff needs to be dried out. They recommend 350 F, so I just throw it in a toaster oven for half an hour.

[csa mt]

"It could be an issue if you take your camera from a warm (and moist) environment into a very cold outside location. This could result in condensation on the lens surfaces etc and might even get into the insides."

My experience also is bringing cold equipment back into warm conditions, causes condensation.

[nimitzbenedicto]

One other thing to mention is that the silica gel is quite scratchy to lenses and little sachets are prone to ripping. Not good at the bottom of your camera bag even in places like Iceland.

Aside from silica gels, my fotog pals and I use dried rice.
( just a spoon or so inside baby's used clean socks , tied up with rubber bands)

HTH

[krispix]

Your "once a year number" looks rather suspect; they don't last nearly that long unless you don't open the (small and sealed) storage container all that often.

Hi Manfred,

I did preface this with 'Storage'. Obviously, if you're going to keep opening the container that you're storing in, it's not going to last very long at all. The point is that if you're storing your kit in the attic until your next summer holiday, then properly sealed, once a year should be adequate.

[Manfred M]

Hi Manfred,

I did preface this with 'Storage'. Obviously, if you're going to keep opening the container that you're storing in, it's not going to last very long at all. The point is that if you're storing your kit in the attic until your next summer holiday, then properly sealed, once a year should be adequate.

With that clarification, I would agree with your comment.

The only "gotcha" is the samples that the camera shops have lying around. If they have been sitting out in the open for a day or two, they will have become hydrated and therefore useless unless they are regenerated by heating them to 120 °C (250 °F) for two hours.

[DanK]

The point is that if you're storing your kit in the attic until your next summer holiday, then properly sealed, once a year should be adequate.

Let's get back to the OP's question. He is in eastern Massachusetts. In that climate, there is no reason to use a dessicant to store camera equipment over the autumn, winter, and spring. It's a cold climate, so the heated air inside is quite dry. The only time a dessicant would be even relevant in deciding how to store equipment in this climate is between mid- or late June and early September.

Bernie, I really don't think you have to do anything other than protect it from accumulating dust, or being disturbed by curious children or clumsy dogs. If you are going to leave it unused for a long time, you might want to take out the main battery as well, although I usually forget to do this. At times of peak humidity in the summer, you might consider something more, if your house is not air conditioned. If it is, I wouldn't worry about storage then either. Just my opinion, but I have a lot of equipment stored loose in a cabinet, and I live not far from you.