condensation problem at DVinfo.net

Rob Cantwell · April 12th, 2012, 08:07 AM

Hi,
I got a NX5 late last year, at the time i only had the chance to run it for small amounts of time due to other stuff going on.

After christmas i was doing a little documentary for a local school and about 15 minutes in to filming i noticed (to my horror) that the image was all blurry and difficult to see, i checked the usual things exposure, focus etc. turned it to auto everything, cleaned the front of the lens still the same, i noticed then that there was condensation on the inside of the lens (see photograph). I've never experienced this before.

By the time i got home the condensation had disappeared. i ran the cam again and sure enough it reappeared after about 15 - 18 minutes. About 10 minutes after powering down it was gone again, i got my other cam Sony HXR-MC2000E and ran them side by side for a hour or two just to see if they'd both exhibit the same condition, also examined all my lenses and other cameras, all appeared ok except the NX5.

The company i got it from advised to run it for about 6 or 7 hours and see if the heat build up would get rid of the condensation, i did that and apparently it cleared and was vented out, i also stored it later with a few silica packets which hopefully has done the job.
Its been fine since.

Anyone ever experience anything like that? and more importantly is there any chance of this happening again?

cheers

R

James Kuhn · April 12th, 2012, 09:25 AM

Rob...this is a common phenomena. I believe it has something to do with the temperature of the lens reaching 'RH' and 'dew-point'. It usually happens when you take a camera out into the heat from the Air-Conditioning. I don't know where you live, but in FLA this can be a problem, causing mold-growth on camera lenses. I usually let my camera acclimate slowly to the environment. Do not, under any circumstances try to 'force' it to go away using a 'hair-dryer', or the like. And yes, it might happen again. See link below.

Why Camera Lens Fog and How to Prevent It - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Regards,

J.

Rob Cantwell · April 12th, 2012, 05:31 PM

thanks James,
yeah i had considered the temperature and all that and there wasnt any dramatic changes the cam would have been exposed to. I live in Ireland but at the time this occurred there wasn't huge changes in the weather.
The other thing that puzzled me was when i ran the other cam beside the NX5 the other one wasn't effected.

It sort of threw me when it did happen on a shoot, lucky thing i was able to just power down and resume later. I'd hate for this to happen on a mission critical situation such as a wedding, where theres no way to re-shoot.

anyway live and learn

:-)

April 12th, 2012, 08:07 AM	#1
Rob Cantwell Major Player Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Tipperary, Ireland Posts: 624	condensation problem Hi, I got a NX5 late last year, at the time i only had the chance to run it for small amounts of time due to other stuff going on. After christmas i was doing a little documentary for a local school and about 15 minutes in to filming i noticed (to my horror) that the image was all blurry and difficult to see, i checked the usual things exposure, focus etc. turned it to auto everything, cleaned the front of the lens still the same, i noticed then that there was condensation on the inside of the lens (see photograph). I've never experienced this before. By the time i got home the condensation had disappeared. i ran the cam again and sure enough it reappeared after about 15 - 18 minutes. About 10 minutes after powering down it was gone again, i got my other cam Sony HXR-MC2000E and ran them side by side for a hour or two just to see if they'd both exhibit the same condition, also examined all my lenses and other cameras, all appeared ok except the NX5. The company i got it from advised to run it for about 6 or 7 hours and see if the heat build up would get rid of the condensation, i did that and apparently it cleared and was vented out, i also stored it later with a few silica packets which hopefully has done the job. Its been fine since. Anyone ever experience anything like that? and more importantly is there any chance of this happening again? cheers R

April 12th, 2012, 09:25 AM	#2
James Kuhn Major Player Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Merritt Island, Florida Posts: 865	Re: condensation problem Rob...this is a common phenomena. I believe it has something to do with the temperature of the lens reaching 'RH' and 'dew-point'. It usually happens when you take a camera out into the heat from the Air-Conditioning. I don't know where you live, but in FLA this can be a problem, causing mold-growth on camera lenses. I usually let my camera acclimate slowly to the environment. Do not, under any circumstances try to 'force' it to go away using a 'hair-dryer', or the like. And yes, it might happen again. See link below. Why Camera Lens Fog and How to Prevent It - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com Regards, J.

April 12th, 2012, 05:31 PM	#3
Rob Cantwell Major Player Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Tipperary, Ireland Posts: 624	Re: condensation problem thanks James, yeah i had considered the temperature and all that and there wasnt any dramatic changes the cam would have been exposed to. I live in Ireland but at the time this occurred there wasn't huge changes in the weather. The other thing that puzzled me was when i ran the other cam beside the NX5 the other one wasn't effected. It sort of threw me when it did happen on a shoot, lucky thing i was able to just power down and resume later. I'd hate for this to happen on a mission critical situation such as a wedding, where theres no way to re-shoot. anyway live and learn :-)