Does humidity affect the sensor ?

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

S

steven

New member
Member's gallery
Hello all.

My first post here. I would like hear some suggestion about humid weather. When on travel, I mostly use Z6 with long primes. I am planning to visit Costa Rica. Usually I am good to prevent my gears from rain, because we know where rain drops are coming. As I will be using primes, I will keep swapping lenses depend on subject.

Is it a problem to expose sensor repeatedly in humid weather, how to take care of this ?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
 
I'd say take the same care with your body that you do with your lenses. Sensors are not made of materials that expand with humidity or rot. But the same conditions could apply for fungus, except the moisture wouldn't be trapped the way it is inside a lens, so I don't give it a worry. Plus they are easy to clean if something did grow.
 
Member's gallery
steven said:
Hello all.

My first post here. I would like hear some suggestion about humid weather. When on travel, I mostly use Z6 with long primes. I am planning to visit Costa Rica. Usually I am good to prevent my gears from rain, because we know where rain drops are coming. As I will be using primes, I will keep swapping lenses depend on subject.

Is it a problem to expose sensor repeatedly in humid weather, how to take care of this ?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
Click to expand...
Yes, it's an issue. Not so much the rain as much as the mist which will stick to the sensor, especially if you just took it out of the air conditioned car or hotel room. This is even more of a concern at the beach, where there is constant (salty) mist.

Personally (I live and work as a photog in CR), I simply don't change lenses outdoors, and if I must I do it inside my car. I also watch for temp differential letting the body and lens equilibrate for 30 minutes. Finally, I carry two bodies.

Check your photos, especially sky, for water spots. They'll be in the same place, so fix one in LR and propagate the fix through Sync.
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
Nimi said:
Yes, it's an issue. Not so much the rain as much as the mist which will stick to the sensor, especially if you just took it out of the air conditioned car or hotel room. This is even more of a concern at the beach, where there is constant (salty) mist.

Personally (I live and work as a photog in CR), I simply don't change lenses outdoors, and if I must I do it inside my car. I also watch for temp differential letting the body and lens equilibtlrate for 30 minutes. Finally, I carry two bodies.

Check your photos, especially sky, for water spots. They'll be in the same place, so fix one in LR and propagate the fix through Synch.
Click to expand...
Thanks, that is what I was thinking too.
 
Member's gallery
steven said:
Thanks, that is what I was thinking too.
Click to expand...
There shouldn't be an issue if the relative humidity is at reasonable levels. I have shot in lots of humid places (CR, Ecuador, Singapore, London, greenhouses) and never had a problem.

It's different if there is mist present or rain. The sensor sits well forward in most mirrorless cameras, and water drops can land on it and leave a mark, if the shutter is not closed.

And of course we know about bringing cold gear into a humid environment. If your gear fogs up, there is a problem.
 
Member's gallery
Archibald said:
There shouldn't be an issue if the relative humidity is at reasonable levels. I have shot in lots of humid places (CR, Ecuador, Singapore, London, greenhouses) and never had a problem.

It's different if there is mist present or rain. The sensor sits well forward in most mirrorless cameras, and water drops can land on it and leave a mark, if the shutter is not closed.

And of course we know about bringing cold gear into a humid environment. If your gear fogs up, there is a problem.
Click to expand...
And my assumption, zoom are more prone to get fog, is correct ?
 
Member's gallery
The actual sensor has a glass filter in front of it so it's not naked. Condensation on the filter will degrade pictures and may create water spots requiring "sensor cleaning". I think it would take a lot of moisture or moisture over a period of time to do permanent damage.
 
Member's gallery
Man, there are a lot of phobias in this forum. It would be really helpful to give sound reasons for things when expressing concerns or giving advice instead of creating fear.

The humidity inside the camera is likely to be close to the ambient humidity. Swapping lenses is not going to affect the humidity at the sensor very much, except in extreme situations.

Don't be so afraid to do what thousands of people do every day without any concern or consequence.

If you are dealing with extreme conditions, that is different.
 
Member's gallery
Archibald said:
Man, there are a lot of phobias in this forum. It would be really helpful to give sound reasons for things when expressing concerns or giving advice instead of creating fear.

The humidity inside the camera is likely to be close to the ambient humidity. Swapping lenses is not going to affect the humidity at the sensor very much, except in extreme situations.

Don't be so afraid to do what thousands of people do every day without any concern or consequence.

If you are dealing with extreme conditions, that is different.
Click to expand...
Water spots on sensor due to mist or splashes or rain while changing lenses near water, waves, rain, fog. Can I be clearer than that?
 
Member's gallery
I was in Singapore a few years back. It was so humid there it took a very long time for the optics to clear up when I went outside from the air conditioned hotel. I put my gear out on the hotel balcony for a couple hours before I went out shooting so it was already at ambient temperature. That worked well.
 
Member's gallery
For years I have always carried a minimum of 2 desiccant moisture absorbent packs in my photo bags. When I travel, my bags are kept in my hotel room (A/C). When I leave & travel, I leave the A/C in car off & zipper on bag open to allow lenses & camera bodies acclimate to the environment. The silica gel bags keep everything under control.
 
Member's gallery
glsmith9823 said:
For years I have always carried a minimum of 2 desiccant moisture absorbent packs in my photo bags ...
Click to expand...
Just be aware that desiccant absorbs a finite amount of water. Once saturated it must be dried out to be effective again. I have a lot of desiccant in circulation to keep my 3D print material from absorbing moisture. If left out in the open desiccant will be saturated in a day or so. It can be dried out with heat, but it takes a while - like 15 hours in an oven. I use a vacuum chamber to dry mine, but that's not an item everyone has sitting in their garage.

If you really want your gear to be dried with desiccant, keep things sealed in a plastic bag with the packets along with a humidity indicator so you know when the packets need to be dried out https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Premium-Humidity-Indicator-Reusable/dp/B01974FX42
or use color-changing desiccant.
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
I was in Sri Lanka and Kerala last fall, where the heat and humidity was very high. It never occurred to me that condensation could form on the sensor. I certainly knew it could on the lenses. Perhaps it's because my Z9 has the protective cover when you change lenses but I had no problems not taking any precautions. Perhaps I was just lucky.
 
Member's gallery
Archibald said:
What about all that humidity shorting out all the electronics in the camera? ;)
Click to expand...
Pure water isn't super conductive, what it has is conformity. It can cover large surface areas well to increase contact. That is the electrical risk around water.

Nikon has been proactive with weather sealing. I would imagine at risk circuit boards are coated to seal them. Conformal coatings are common practice on circuit boards.
 
Member's gallery
Mal Paso said:
Pure water isn't super conductive, what it has is conformity. It can cover large surface areas well to increase contact. That is the electrical risk around water.

Nikon has been proactive with weather sealing. I would imagine at risk circuit boards are coated to seal them. Conformal coatings are common practice on circuit boards.
Click to expand...
Yes, good point. Electronic components warm up when turned on, and that together with poor access to ambient air, makes it unlikely that there will be any problem with the electronics. (I did use a wink emoji.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top