Viewfinder fogs up alot - tips?

[FlyingSquirrel]

I tend to sweat a lot, and then when I go up to the viewfinder on my camera it fogs up rapidly, and I can't see what I'm trying to shoot (generally wildlife)

I've found that removing the camera rubber eyepiece helps a little, so some air can flow in there, as does *trying* to not plant my face right up against the viewfinder, and *trying* not to breathe in such a way that my breathe rises up into the viewfinder. I say *trying" with all of these, because I am usually carrying around a lot of heavy equipment, sweating, panting, crawling for low shots, etc, and all of this just makes things really difficult. You can imagine the frustration when a bird comes by and suddenly I can't see it due to the condensation in the viewfinder.

Usually I end up trying to wipe the fog out of the viewfinder with my gloved finger tip. (I hate doing this because I know it can damage the viewfinder). The only other solution I can think of would be to use some kind of anti-fog chemical, but I don't know if this will damage the viewfinder material / coating, or make it cloudy and unusable.

Any tips?

Thanks

[NorthernFocus]

I hate it when that happens! Over time I've come to the conclusion that most of the fogging comes from the breath. And most of that when I lift my head to look over the camera. When looking through the viewfinder it helps to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth and purposely blow downward. And rather than lifting straight up to look over the camera, I try to move to the side. I don't do anything with defog coatings etc. It's just part of the territory. Don't breath on the camera

[Adrian]

You can purchase anti fogging sprays that motorcyclists use to keep vizors clear in cold weather. In my experience (as a motorcyclist) they are effective for a while.

Consider wearing a face mask (as frequently used by Japanese when they have colds) when shooting. This will stop you breathing on the glass.

[Texas Dave]

cat crap.

[Manfred M]

I've often wondered if "Sea Drops"; something I use on my mask when scuba diving would work, but then the technique is to apply the Sea Drops and then rinse the mask by immersing it in water. Probably not the best thing for a camera, though...

I find that I use a technique similar to Dan; i.e. controlled breathing to try to minimize the issue. I also find that shooting in vertical / portrait view reduces the problem because my nose clears the camera body and there is less warm, humid breath near the viewfinder. The only "issue" I haven't resolved yet is transpiration; i.e. when I am perspiring a bit from the face after exertion and trying to take a picture in the cold (for instance, when I am out showshoeing and am doing some shooting).

[loosecanon]

In cold weather I also try to keep the camera less chilled so as to reduce condensation from warm moist breath and sweat. I use reusable hand warmers in the camera bag, seems to help, and the camera and lens are not quite so cold when handling without gloves.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Thanks for the help, everyone. Good advice. I will try some of the techniques mentioned, notably trying to breathe away from the camera, and looking to the side instead of over the rig. It will just take more conscious effort, a challenge when the action is happening. This weekend I am planning to take my ghillie suit for a spin in the marsh. Should be interesting to avoid breathing on the camera in that mess!

[GrahamS]

Strange how certain cameras seem to be prone to this problem and others not. I have a Canon Eos 30e that fogs up instantly in any weather, any season, regardless. Yet none of my other Canon bodies, film or digital, fogged up quite as readily. Could it have something to do with the eye-relief distance?

[rpcrowe]

A friend, with whom I lost contact, was a butcher who wore eyeglasses. His glasses would fog when he went in and out of the walk-in refrigerator. He used a wax-like substance that he said prevented/minimized the fogging.

I never followed up on this since I was seeking a way to prevent my camera lenses from fogging and did not want to put this substance on the lens element.

I did a google search for eyeglasses anti fog wipes and came up with these hits...
https://www.google.com/search?q=eyeg...sm=93&ie=UTF-8

[FlyingSquirrel]

Thanks for the additional comments and help.

Ambient temperature will definitely affect it more than anything (cold weather = more fogging because I'm hot and sweaty)
Certainly a viewfinder with a deeper recess will fog more, due to less air movement. That is why I remove the viewfinder rubber eyepiece, which helps.

Definitely avoiding breathing on the viewfinder and trying to keep my eye away a bit is helpful. I went on a shoot yesterday, experienced minimal fogging, partly because of trying these techniques, and partly because it was not extremely cold out. I was wearing a ghillie suit and sweating a bit, which presents some additional challenges, including yarn and vegetation blocking my vision a bit. Still worth it!