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#1
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Handy tip for camera safety.
A lot of electronics you buy these days, including cameras, have those
little packets of silica "rocks" in them (the baggies labeled "Do not eat") to absorb mositure in shipping and storage. I discovered it's particularly handy to keep one each compartment of my camera bag, especially if I have to pack it in the trunk of the car in wet or winter weather, or when taking the camera out in the cold and then bringing it back inside. It really helps to keep down the condensation. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0532-6, 08/13/2005 Tested on: 8/13/2005 10:43:34 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2005 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com |
#2
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Matt Ion wrote:
A lot of electronics you buy these days, including cameras, have those little packets of silica "rocks" in them (the baggies labeled "Do not eat") to absorb mositure in shipping and storage. I discovered it's particularly handy to keep one each compartment of my camera bag, especially if I have to pack it in the trunk of the car in wet or winter weather, or when taking the camera out in the cold and then bringing it back inside. It really helps to keep down the condensation. But don't forget to dry them out in a warm oven occasionally as the crystals become saturated. A |
#3
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On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 05:44:13 GMT, Matt Ion
wrote: A lot of electronics you buy these days, including cameras, have those little packets of silica "rocks" in them (the baggies labeled "Do not eat") to absorb mositure in shipping and storage. I discovered it's particularly handy to keep one each compartment of my camera bag, especially if I have to pack it in the trunk of the car in wet or winter weather, or when taking the camera out in the cold and then bringing it back inside. It really helps to keep down the condensation. Silica gel absorbs water from the air until its capacity is used up. After that, it doesn't absorb any more water and is useless. But you can regenerate the water-logged silica gel to restore its water-absorbing powers. This is done by heating it to around 150 C (300 F), allowing free air flow around the silica gel. Allow it to cool, covering it quickly so it doesn't start to absorb moisture again. Don't make the cover air-tight until it has fully cooled, lest you collapse the container. This regenerated stuff should be pretty effective, but you are probably going to need A LOT more than you expect. If your camera bag is reasonably well sealed, then think around 250 gram (1/2 lb) of silica gel per cubic foot of space. But a camera bag that is in use is not going to be well sealed, so much more will be needed. If the bag is left open to the air then the silical gel will not serve its intended purpose at all. One of those silica gel packets probably weighs 1 or 2 grams. Basically, silica gel is a useful desiccant in spaces that are sealed off from the outside, but not at all in situations where there is free access to air. Don't let any silica gel dust get into your gear. K.S. |
#4
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You won't need huge amounts of silica gel. Put a few small bags in and
there it is. One won't do a thing, a few will. They won't last too long. Regenerate/change them often enough. Avoid keeping camera bag open more than needed anyway, if you keep it open a lot you'll need constant changing even with huge amounts of silica gel! -- harri |
#5
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I discovered it's particularly handy to keep one each compartment of my
camera bag, especially if I have to pack it in the trunk of the car in wet or winter weather, or when taking the camera out in the cold and then bringing it back inside. It really helps to keep down the condensation. But don't forget to dry them out in a warm oven occasionally as the crystals become saturated. So when the crystals become saturated, you put the camera in a warm oven? Sorry, when I first read it, it actually thought that's what it meant... for about five seconds. Long day. :) --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com |
#6
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With winter coming along here in the northern hemisphere sooner than we'd
like, I was thinking about using some of those chemical hand warmer packets in my camera bag this winter. I never bothered when I was shooting film, but now that I'm taking my 20D out into the elements, I got to thinking that the electronics within might need to be kept a little warmer when I'm out. I believe the batteries aren't too happy when chilled. Any thoughts? |
#8
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In article ,
Brian Baird wrote: In article , says... With winter coming along here in the northern hemisphere sooner than we'd like, I was thinking about using some of those chemical hand warmer packets in my camera bag this winter. I never bothered when I was shooting film, but now that I'm taking my 20D out into the elements, I got to thinking that the electronics within might need to be kept a little warmer when I'm out. I believe the batteries aren't too happy when chilled. Any thoughts? Keep the batteries in your pockets. The camera will work fine with the exception of the LCDs if they get too cold. When the camera is cold, I would expect lower noise at high ISOs -- even if the LCD is so frozen that you can't see what you got. :-) Enjoy, DoN. -- Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564 (too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html --- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero --- |
#9
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In article ,
"Tom B. Stone" wrote: With winter coming along here in the northern hemisphere sooner than we'd like, I was thinking about using some of those chemical hand warmer packets in my camera bag this winter. I never bothered when I was shooting film, but now that I'm taking my 20D out into the elements, I got to thinking that the electronics within might need to be kept a little warmer when I'm out. I believe the batteries aren't too happy when chilled. Any thoughts? Get a Nikon FE. :^P |
#10
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Handy tip for camera safety.
Andy Dee wrote:
But don't forget to dry them out in a warm oven occasionally as the crystals become saturated. How warm should the oven be (in degrees) and how long should the desiccant be left in the oven? Can I use the little ones that come in my vitamin bottles? If so, how many should I use with my Dimage Z5? Would it be a good idea to keep my Z5 sealed in a plastic bag with some desiccant packets when I am not using it? Thank you in advance for all replies. -- It is very hard to type with a 12 pound cat lying on your arms. So if there are any errors in this message blame them on the cat. |
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