Travelling Overseas


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Zaknafein

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Oct 29, 2005
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how do photographers protect their equipments from fungus when they are overseas?
im intending to go HK, and might be there for quite a while... i just checked humidity there is quite high too at 80%+
 

A good professional camera bag should be able to protect the cam/lens for one month or more.
 

If u are in HK for quite a while and worry your equipment, u may buy a dry cabi in HK, it is not that expensive, consider it as part of the insurance.
 

i think ur mistaken. ill be there for 1+ months, not half year lol... so i dun think i will buying dry cabi.... so, any suggestions?
 

Zaknafein said:
i think ur mistaken. ill be there for 1+ months, not half year lol... so i dun think i will buying dry cabi.... so, any suggestions?

Think oversized ZipLock bags with several satchels of silica-gel...


Just me thots.. ;)
 

Zaknafein,
Sorry to hijack your thread. Guess you would have similar questions too...:)

Ally,
Where can I find oversized ziplock bags and satchels of silica gel. Was in Carrefour a couple of days back and I found only those 'thirsty hippos'. Do you think the photo stores like Cathay Photo etc. would stock the satchels ?
Also, are these satchels - 'use and throw' ? How do I know they've reached their saturation point i.e. they can't hold any more humidity ?

:embrass: Dumb questions, lah :embrass:

Thanks in advance.:thumbsup:
 

Relax, lah, Its only for about 1 plus month. Just keep in your camera bag when not in use, and do regular cleaning (which is what you would be doing in Singapore anyway). Just enjoy your trip and shoot more pictures.

Its not as big a problem as it seems, for such trips. I will be more worried about missing the shots.
 

You can get large ziplock bags from Beach Road Army market. Cos less than $2 each. If you like to get more than a 100 bags, head to those shops that sell plastic bags in bulk... its quite cheap. I got 100 bags for a good price (less than 50 cents per piece)
 

I wouldn't worry too much about the humidity if you use the lens regularly, and it isn't a really long trip.... ;) Ziplock bag with silica gel like very troublesome... must be careful you don't break the bag, want to take out and use also a nuisance.
 

Zaknafein said:
how do photographers protect their equipments from fungus when they are overseas?
im intending to go HK, and might be there for quite a while... i just checked humidity there is quite high too at 80%+

You need not have to worry too much about humility in HK as humility in Singapore is even higher, around 90-95%!

Just apply some common knowledge on preventing condensation. In Singapore, outside temp. is high and humid, indoor air-condition room is cold and dry.
On other hand, in temperate country; the reverse happens where outside temp. is cold and dry but indoor temp. is warm and himid.

Just some simple experiences to share.:)
 

thx everyone for their replies!

asterixsg: hey, no problem!!

blive: erm im sorry. this is a new hobby to me, and i didnt know its good to do regular cleaning. so, erm... may i ask what is regular cleaning? (ack, im such an idiot)
if 1.5 months is not a problem, most probably ill just pray fungus dun't grow and keep it in my camera bag.

Steplim: the temperature in HK issn't really high/low at the moment, should be around 24-28.
but just for knowledge, how do u guys usually prevent condensation. for example from air-con room to out in the sun? its not nice to off the air-con and let the temp slowly rise just for my camera right? not very nice.....
 

In the hotel room with air-cond 24/7 should be low in humidity, which is idealy like dry-cab. Unless you smoke and open the window :embrass: .

Regards,
Arto.
 

Zaknafein said:
blive: erm im sorry. this is a new hobby to me, and i didnt know its good to do regular cleaning. so, erm... may i ask what is regular cleaning? (ack, im such an idiot)
if 1.5 months is not a problem, most probably ill just pray fungus dun't grow and keep it in my camera bag.

Hey no worries, regular cleaning means cleaning the camera and lenses on a regular interval, usually between use. Some people who are really fanatic will clean it every day, every week, or whenever they have some free time. To me, it just checking your camera body, lenses and accessories regulary to make sure that it is cleaned and well maintained. Actually, I hardly do much intense cleaning, only the regular monthly cleaning of the body and lenses using microfibre cloth, lense paper and cleaning solution. For equipment, I don't use, esp bodies and lenses, I place them in my dry cabinet. Most times, my regular equipment, D50 with a couple of lenses, which I use on the weekends, I leave in my camera bag in between use. The equipment is still fine despite 5 years of such use ( not for the D50, which I bought in Sep 05). And all my equipment have not experienced any fungus yet.(probably because I have only 2 bodies, a few lenses and accessories, and most are well used.)

I have been travelling to various country on annual trips since 7 years ago, and each trip is about 3 weeks to a month. The camera just stays in the bag, and I just go out and shoot. When I could find the time at night, I just clean and inspect them.

Don't worry so much. The equipment are able to take some abuse. fungus do not grow so fast. Just enjoy your trip, and shoot more. A well used camera will have a lesser chance of getting fungus than one which is not used...:sweatsm:
 

Artosoft said:
In the hotel room with air-cond 24/7 should be low in humidity, which is idealy like dry-cab. Unless you smoke and open the window :embrass: .

Regards,
Arto.

how to deal with the condensation when u come out from hotel since the rooms are 24/7 cold? lol... my house usually not air con so i dun have this problem :) or is it that air-con to hot temp outside issnt a problem?
 

blive said:
Hey no worries, regular cleaning means cleaning the camera and lenses on a regular interval, usually between use. Some people who are really fanatic will clean it every day, every week, or whenever they have some free time. To me, it just checking your camera body, lenses and accessories regulary to make sure that it is cleaned and well maintained. Actually, I hardly do much intense cleaning, only the regular monthly cleaning of the body and lenses using microfibre cloth, lense paper and cleaning solution. For equipment, I don't use, esp bodies and lenses, I place them in my dry cabinet. Most times, my regular equipment, D50 with a couple of lenses, which I use on the weekends, I leave in my camera bag in between use. The equipment is still fine despite 5 years of such use ( not for the D50, which I bought in Sep 05). And all my equipment have not experienced any fungus yet.(probably because I have only 2 bodies, a few lenses and accessories, and most are well used.)

I have been travelling to various country on annual trips since 7 years ago, and each trip is about 3 weeks to a month. The camera just stays in the bag, and I just go out and shoot. When I could find the time at night, I just clean and inspect them.

Don't worry so much. The equipment are able to take some abuse. fungus do not grow so fast. Just enjoy your trip, and shoot more. A well used camera will have a lesser chance of getting fungus than one which is not used...:sweatsm:
thanks for ur enlightenment! the info is very helpful to me and probably to many others who are new too! :) i appreciate ur time taken to type out such a detailed explanation.

i do clean my equipments now and then about once a month. but what i use is those cleaning set and a microfibre cloth that i bought from AP. the cleaning set came with some lens tissue, cotton buds, cleaning solution (all of which i dun use), and a blower with some brush. so all i use is just the blower with brush and microfibre to clean. do u think is sufficient? recently saw at CP got a blower quite big, dunno will be better or not :sweat:
also dun dare to use the solution that i got in the set!
 

Zaknafein said:
thanks for ur enlightenment! the info is very helpful to me and probably to many others who are new too! :) i appreciate ur time taken to type out such a detailed explanation.

i do clean my equipments now and then about once a month. but what i use is those cleaning set and a microfibre cloth that i bought from AP. the cleaning set came with some lens tissue, cotton buds, cleaning solution (all of which i dun use), and a blower with some brush. so all i use is just the blower with brush and microfibre to clean. do u think is sufficient? recently saw at CP got a blower quite big, dunno will be better or not :sweat:
also dun dare to use the solution that i got in the set!
No problem. That's what the forum is for.

Anyway, I am no expert, just sharing my experiences, which not everyone may agree.

If during your inspection, you don't see fungus, and lots of dust, then it should be alright to keep on doing your routine cleaning. Regarding the solution, if it's be the types that is used for lenses/spectacle cleaning, then it should be safe for use on your lenses. I presume you already got UV filters on your lenses to protect them. Then it would be ok to just clean the filters. Bigger blower might give you a more powerful blast of air to dislodge dust/particles, but I usually just go for ease of carry.
 

yes, i got UV filters on all the time. :)
feel safer touching my UV filters other than my camera lens.

what do u usually do if ur blower does not remove a certain subborn speck of dust? do u use a soft brush?
 

Zaknafein said:
how to deal with the condensation when u come out from hotel since the rooms are 24/7 cold? lol... my house usually not air con so i dun have this problem :) or is it that air-con to hot temp outside issnt a problem?
Usually I just bring my bag outside (with my camera inside) for a while, it should be ok (no condensation ;) . Unless your camera bag is an ice bag :bsmilie: , then it will be like if you take out can of coke from vending machine :sweat: .

Regards,
Arto.
 

If the cam is in ziploc bag, then bring the cam out for a while before taking it out of the bag.

Also, shoot often and as the cam is sun-ned, the fungus won't come out within the months one lah.
:bsmilie:
 

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