how to get rid of moisture for my cam...

[yoyobun]

Hi,

I just bought a new digi cam, and wanted to protect it so that i can use it for long long period of time...lol

I heard some people out here using dry box, dry cabinet and so on... is there any cheaper alternatives to protect my cam from moisture?

Heard some people using a airtight tupperware box bought from NTUC and a thirsty hippo and then put the camera into the box with thirsty hippo...is this a good idea?

How do i know when do i need to change the thirsty hippo? Also heard people using silica gel, but me personally don't really like to use silica gel as i need to change it often and it gets rather messy and dangerous (if i were to reuse it by heating and silica gel can cause chemical reaction if not careful)

Because i have just bought this expensive cam...wanted to get some cheap ways to protect my camera from moisture...can anyone recommend me some ways and methods whereby i can keep my precious digi cam safe and sound? And how can i know whether my digi cam is protected using the methods mentioned?

Thank you :angel:

 

[skeletonman]

Since you already gotten an expensive cam, just go and get a dry cabinet. Thats the best.

 

[Buggy]

How do i know when do i need to change the thirsty hippo?

how do you tell whether the RH in the box is at a good level that will not damage the camera?

the answer is quite clear, maybe you should get a dry box which you can read the RH reading. i think in average it costs around 20bux in the forum.

 

[Fotophilic]

Hi,

I just bought a new digi cam, and wanted to protect it so that i can use it for long long period of time...lol

I heard some people out here using dry box, dry cabinet and so on... is there any cheaper alternatives to protect my cam from moisture?

Heard some people using a airtight tupperware box bought from NTUC and a thirsty hippo and then put the camera into the box with thirsty hippo...is this a good idea?

How do i know when do i need to change the thirsty hippo? Also heard people using silica gel, but me personally don't really like to use silica gel as i need to change it often and it gets rather messy and dangerous (if i were to reuse it by heating and silica gel can cause chemical reaction if not careful)

Because i have just bought this expensive cam...wanted to get some cheap ways to protect my camera from moisture...can anyone recommend me some ways and methods whereby i can keep my precious digi cam safe and sound? And how can i know whether my digi cam is protected using the methods mentioned?

Thank you :angel:

if it is a compact camera, don't bother.
if it is a prosumer, maybe u want a drybox to keep it (~$25)
if it is a dSLR, u better go beg, borrow or steal one (be it drycabi or box).

thirsty hippo is too dry, i tried b4, it reduces the RH to as low as ~15% in a 10L lock and lock kinda box. the dryness may dry up the lubrication of the movable parts in your camera and cause the rubber parts to crack, etc. Recommended RH is about 40-50%, depends where u get the info from.

You will know that the thirsty hippo had drank enough when u notice it starts to because very wet.

An alternative is to use those "rechargable silica gel" that comes with a hardy plastic container that can plug into the mains. Once the gel turns pink (u can see it), you may just plug it into a powerpoint. There are some heating elements inside that will dry the gel beads and will turn back to blue again. Throughout usage, u will not touch the beads at all! You can get it from homefix at about less than $30, practically using it "forever" if nothing goes wrong. It looks sth like this:

If you want to have a cheap and small way to dessicate, i guess there are no better alternatives than the silica gel (~$4 a bottle, can use quite long). Get a small lock and lock box (or other cheaper brands), put some of those beads inside a pouch, also put a small analog hygrometer inside (about ~$11 from homefix, or from Sim Lim Tower maybe cheaper). Play around with the amount of beads to load a few times and you'll know what is the right dose to use each time. If you are afraid for whatever effect the beads may cause, just dump them and put in new ones. Of course, u can safe all this trouble by just getting a drybox for $20-$30 bucks.

The best is still to use a dry cabinet. Small one cost about $100-$120. Plug it into the mains and you'll have no worries (unless it spoils). You can also put in your important documents inside if you want to to prevent "spots" growing on them.