Serious fogging!

[cheddarman]

Just been outside to photograph tonight's Penumbral eclipse of the moon. Camera was on a tripod out there for probably half an hour with the temperature at just 5ºC.

On bringing the camera back indoors it has seriously fogged over, feels damp. Is this likely to cause damage to there camera? At the moment I have just put the lens cap on and am leaving it to come up to room temperature.

This is the (faint) eclipse.

[IamNic]

Hello @cheddarman,

did the water condensate on the outside of the lens or inside?

To be sure I would place the camera on top of a warm radiator and leave it there until all the moisture has evaporated.

- Nic

[cheddarman]

As far as I can see just on the outside but them, theoretically the whole camera was at the low temperature so all of it could get condensation, inside and out.

Just letting g it come up to room temperature for now then probably put it in the airing cupboard - around 20º but very dry!

[darkframe]

Hi @cheddarman,

well, you're not forced to wear glasses, are you? That fogging effect is well known to people like me who need to wear glasses. When entering the house after a walk in low temperatures I'm experiencing the same effect on my glasses. That's simple physics. The surface (glass, lens, metal, whatsoever) got cold outside. Cold air cannot take too much humidity, but warm air etc. can. When entering a warm(er) environment the humidity of the warmer air comes into contact with the cold surface of your camera/my glasses and right away you'll be presented with condensation on those cold surfaces, leading to the described fog.

Normally that should not do any harm to your camera unless you've changed lenses when being outside. In that case condensation may as well happen inside of the camera because you've let the cold air in. So to be on the safe side in case you changed lenses outside in a cold environment I'd suggest to take the lens off after returning home for a few minutes to allow for adapting the camera's inside temperature to its (new and warmer) outside temperature.

Cheers

darkframe

[cheddarman]

Thank you darkframe for the physic's lesson, a subject in which I actually have a fairly high qualification??

My question concerned the effect on the RX10, just how "waterproof" it is to cope with this sort of situation.

I contacted Sony.EU and they said:

• If the product is brought directly from a cold to a warm location, moisture may condense inside or outside the product. This moisture condensation may cause a malfunction of the product.
• To prevent moisture condensation when you bring the product directly from a cold to a warm location, first put it in a plastic bag and seal it to prevent air from entering. Wait for about an hour until the temperature of the product has reached the ambient temperature.
• If moisture condensation occurs, turn off the product and wait about an hour for the moisture to evaporate. Note that if you attempt to shoot with moisture remaining inside the lens, you will be unable to record clear images.

Now, several days down the line I haven't experienced any malfunctions so all seems well but I will remem

[darkframe]

Hi @cheddarman,

---

@cheddarman  schrieb:

Thank you darkframe for the physic's lesson, a subject in which I actually have a fairly high qualification??

---

well, I didn't mean to doubt your knowledge but actually I did not know anything about your level of knowledge.

Anyhow, great to hear that at least up to now all is working well.

Cheers

darkframe

[cheddarman]

Well sort of dark frame - still having serious focus issues, getting only about 50%, if that, sharp images!! Very frustrating!!