Nikon
WATCH NOW: This Information Could Save You Thousands
WATCH NOW: This Information Could Save You Thousands
#WATCH #Information #Save #Thousands
“Mark Wiemels”
Humidity Meter –
Silica Gel Packs (large) –
Camera Storage (small) –
Camera Storage (large) –
VIDEO GEAR]A Camera – or
A Lens – or…
source
To see the full content, share this page by clicking one of the buttons below |
Humidity Meter – https://geni.us/Z6QMo
Silica Gel Packs (large) – https://geni.us/KWAXut
Camera Storage (small) – https://geni.us/Aqt3N3P
Camera Storage (large) – https://geni.us/VvUr
I got a cheap plastic storage box that has a rubber seal from Home Depot. Then I bought a gun safe desicant thing from Amazon. Not quite as nice as the cabinet, but just as effective and not very expensive.
Anyone who owns electronics and have common sense will have a dehumidifier in their tech rooms. As someone who lives in a sub tropical climate it is basic knowledge. I have 2 dehumidifiers in the house running full time to keep the humidity between 40-50%.
Living in Florida I guess I need to find a new hobby.
😱STORGE!!!! F@K!!!!!
With respect to killing your fungus with UV, it should be noted that glass cuts out most if not all UV, so this isn't a functional solution for fungus on the inside of a lens, unless it's dissembled.
Thanks for this! I didn't know. I live in Mississippi and we get high humidity in the house 3 or 4 weeks, twice a year, fall and spring. It's when we get that great between using the heat and using the a/c. I also have guitars, so I strive for 45-55% for them. I have not noticed any problems with lenses, yet, but I will be checking. I have hygrometers in half the house, so I can keep track of this very thing. High humidity is a lot harder to get rid of than low humidity.
Uvc kills air born fungus in a few minutes, and the ozone kills the the hiding fungus in the shade, but it will also damage you severely, eyes lungs and skin.
Very useful video sir. As you allude, this could help a lot of people who might be blissfully unaware of the threat. I live in the UK, and humidity is less of an issue here generally (compared to say Florida in the USA). That said, I have an enlarger lens that used to live in Japan, and then spent 20 years in a friends attic before I got it. I am pondering sending it off for a repair but I don't actually really need it at the moment. So the incentive is low. Thankfully it is stored in a case, but one other point of note is that fungus can spread to other nearby lenses. So if you do have a fungus infected lens, get it away from the others.
Very interesting video Mark. I have some lenses that are forty years old. I've lived in Fort Lauderdale FL and now in Mobile AL. We have 1 bazillion % humidity in the summers and it doesn't really go away in the winters. I have lenses that I store in camera bags (which I do have silica packs in) and others are on a shelf in my closet. I keep my house about 78 -74 degrees most of the year. I have never had any issues with fungus. Just after watching your video, I pulled out an old Nikor f1.4 50mm that I haven't used in over 22 years. Other than dust on the outside, (I even used my loupe and a pen light), and found no fungus or dust for that matter in the lens or on the glass. So, I would say in an airconditioned space is also good or I may be just lucky.
or buy Boveda packs that you use to keep your cigars, and you can get them as los as 38. So put your stored gear in a large sealed container throw in 2-3 of those packs depending on the storage size, and you will have 37-39 permanently. if it is lower those packs will provide extra humidity, if it is higher, they will absorb the extra humidity. basically you are set
I’ve found an “Revue 4” at my grandma’s attic. She sad I could keep it so I took some photos with this camera. I got the photos developed today and there is a weird big, white, blurry circle on the images. I thought there is something wrong with this very old camera (it’s from the 60’s) but as I watched this I started thinking that the lens could be the problem. I’m sure that the humidity at the attic is pretty high and due to constant temperature changes the lens could be damaged by fungus. I’ll check if the lens is the problem and if it’s the case I’ll look for a new lens. Thank you for this video it cleared things up.
Correct me if I am wrong, but can't you just unscrew the lens and clean it at the first sign of trouble and put it back together? (Yes, with the added risk of actually damaging something or breaking it).
NVM, you answered it later :D.
I have had this problem. If your lenses are weather resistant this has not happened to me so far, I keep my lenses in daylight with the caps off. I live in south east asia!
Send the lenses in to a specialised shop every 10 years, I bought a few older Canon EF lenses, and because I have some equipment to do laptop repairs, I took these lenses apart myself, it took me like 2 hours to carefully disassemble one lens and give it a good clean, I had to look up extremely carefully all the chemicals you can use and whatnot, I bought another 50mm f1.2 used that was from 1998, another EF lens and I saw a lot of dust in there and this time I looked up what a certified place would take and for 200 bucks to have them do it in a clean room? Yeah, its no brainer to be honest, and it came back and it was clean and everything worked, they even oiled the motor up and the aperture blades so it was way more quiet then when I bought it.
Needless to say, lenses need service too! Specially 15+ years old ones with dust in there, some of it might not be dust, it could be fungus.
I lost my 24-70 2.8 to this. And Canon denied repairing it because they said the lens was discontinued. Rest in peace my good ol' friend x'(
I bought a sizeable, clip-sealed, plastic, clear container; two digital hygrometers (for inside/outside of container); dehumidifier to fit. Works, constant "dry" environment = $40/£30
I use dry boxes…always.
Awesome info, thank you so much. I live in a high humidity environment near the equator in the South Pacific, and have suffered from this in the past. Finally! You have helped me figure it out. Fa'afetai tele!
Before my current cameras/lenses, I only had an OG Canon F-1 and 50mm f/1.8 FD lens. It's been in the bag for over 2 decades now. I should probably go dig it out and look at it. If the lens has fungus, though, it'll be no big loss as I really only keep it for sentimental reasons. I'll have to look into that dry cabinet in a year or two after I've moved, but I will definitely look into the plastic bin + silica packs as I live in texas. I keep my house very dry all year due to respiratory reasons, so I've been lucky so far.
In Singapore our humidity is 80+, working in a 2nd hand lens and camera store for more than 4 years, Majority of the lenses and camera that does have mold are usually from owners that dont frequently use their camera or lens and store it in a dry box.
I use Damprid containers out here in New Zealand, they are about 500 mm in capacity and you purchase a 4 Ltr container of the damprid fill material. They pull all the moisture out of the air and you need to tip out the contents after a few weeks then refill with the damprid dry material. Very cheap and works well. Have them in my Motor Home as well.
A whole house dehumidifier (along with an ERV) is what I use here in the Pacific NW.
As a builder (who photographs), managing humidity is not only good for photographic equipment but critical for a healthy home and everything in it, including its owners.
Thanks, lifesaver tips 👍
iI did not know this… THANK YOU !!
The only thing I would leave untouched for 2 years is my wife.
Would you maybe make a video on how to do the DIY dry cabinet?? Would be interesting to see how you go about it.
In south east Asia, one week out of dry box guarantee a fungus den. One month even INSIDE dry box (even with controlled humidity), there will be fungus.. need to shower lenses with hard sun rays for 10-15 minutes at least once a month.
Mark, your presentation style has gotten so seamless that I sat through a whole video of Information I already knew just in case you had a tidbit of information I might need.
I’m sure plenty of beginners will appreciate this PSA, and as someone who just picked up 4 vintage lenses in South Asia, it’s got me look at the dust in them with bated breath.
I use a transparent air tight plastic container, orange indicating silica gel, and a similar humidity gauge as in the video. A half teaspoon of the silica gel brings the humidity down to around 30%. You of corse can adjust the humidity level to whatever you want by adding more or less silica gel.
Those who live in desert locations, like me, are not safe all year round, by the way. In the winter the humidity is usually high, so such a storage system should be used.
Finally, you should always carry Ziploc bags big enough either for your camera, lenses or camera bag. That's for when you shoot in the cold and come back inside into a warm environment. You want to place your gear in the Ziploc bag before you come into the warm environment and then leave it in that bag for an hour or so before you take it out. If you don't do that then you're very cold camera or lenses will immediately form water on their surfaces. The same can happen the other way around, if you go from a very hot environment and hot gear to a very cold air conditioned environment, though it's less likely to.
You can buy the silica gel in bulk. That's what I do. It also lasts for many years when used as described.