Shooting in very humid conditions at DVinfo.net

Andris Krastins · October 14th, 2007, 11:29 AM

Hello,
I have an idea for a short, but it requires a scene some 5 minutes in length (end material) be shot in very humid conditions - something like a bathhouse - water vapour and all that.

The problem of course is condensation and how to insulate the camera.
I have Canon XH A1.
Do you have any suggestions on how to safe-proof the camera for these conditions? Would a rain-cover suffice?

Thanks!

Chris Soucy · October 14th, 2007, 03:11 PM

There's two issues with this.

The humidity isn't really a problem for the shoot as long as the camera is brought up to the same temperature as the humid room beforehand. If it's the same temp (or warmer) then the water vapour will not condense on/ in the camera. Putting it in a dry room/ box beforehand with a fan heater on and checking the temperature regularly should do the job.

After the shoot, the camera will be full of nice moist air which will condense if then moved to a colder room. If you immediately put the camera back into the room/ box it came from and keep it warm, that vapour will dissipate.

If you wanted to be double sure you could try wrapping the entire camera in cling film, just leaving the business ends of the LCD and lens free, before entering the humid room. Bit fiddly but it could be done.

Just don't toast the camera through all this.

CS

Andris Krastins · October 14th, 2007, 03:24 PM

Thank you very much!

Good idea about the cling film, I'll probably also try wrapping the camera in aluminium foil.

Giroud Francois · October 14th, 2007, 03:53 PM

no way, if your are working in a 100% humidity , you can wrap your camera in anything, it will not prevent vapor to go inside.
water is like sand, it goes everywhere it is not supposed to be if you just let it go.
Since it could not immediately damage your camera, there is a big chance that oxydation will show after a while (could take weeks, even tape can stay sticky for days if not rewinded).
the only solution is to use an airtight case (underwater bag would be nice).
if you do not find one, find a piece of glasse and a transparent plastic bag.
put the camera inside and glue the bag aperture on the glass with some plastic tape.
then apply the glass to the lense. you will be able to operate the cam through the thin plastic., and even to fix it on a tripod (add a piece of tape to consolidate the hole made by the screw).
the top caution would be to inflate slightly the bag with some dry air (from a dust remover spray) from time to time.

Andris Krastins · October 14th, 2007, 04:18 PM

Thanks for your good advices!
I was already thinking about making some bubble-bag.

Warren Kawamoto · October 15th, 2007, 01:09 AM

You could use this:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...r_Housing.html

I use it with my camera and feel totally safe no matter what the humidity is. It has an optical glass front port, and is rated as deep as 33'. We also use it for shallow water shots.

Warren Kawamoto · October 15th, 2007, 01:15 AM

One other thing I forgot to mention... if you make your own underwater case with glass in the front, you have to make sure your lens is pressed directly against the glass, otherwise you'll see a reflection of your own lens from that piece of glass. This is harder to accomplish than you think, that's why we just bought the Ewa Marine after finding out there was a reflection in every shot of our homemade case.

October 14th, 2007, 11:29 AM	#1
Andris Krastins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Lielvārde, Latvia Posts: 326	Shooting in very humid conditions Hello, I have an idea for a short, but it requires a scene some 5 minutes in length (end material) be shot in very humid conditions - something like a bathhouse - water vapour and all that. The problem of course is condensation and how to insulate the camera. I have Canon XH A1. Do you have any suggestions on how to safe-proof the camera for these conditions? Would a rain-cover suffice? Thanks! __________________ Our Fire Films - a free film project.

October 14th, 2007, 03:11 PM	#2
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,691 Images: 18	Hi Andris....... There's two issues with this. The humidity isn't really a problem for the shoot as long as the camera is brought up to the same temperature as the humid room beforehand. If it's the same temp (or warmer) then the water vapour will not condense on/ in the camera. Putting it in a dry room/ box beforehand with a fan heater on and checking the temperature regularly should do the job. After the shoot, the camera will be full of nice moist air which will condense if then moved to a colder room. If you immediately put the camera back into the room/ box it came from and keep it warm, that vapour will dissipate. If you wanted to be double sure you could try wrapping the entire camera in cling film, just leaving the business ends of the LCD and lens free, before entering the humid room. Bit fiddly but it could be done. Just don't toast the camera through all this. CS

October 14th, 2007, 03:24 PM	#3
Andris Krastins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Lielvārde, Latvia Posts: 326	Thank you very much! Good idea about the cling film, I'll probably also try wrapping the camera in aluminium foil. __________________ Our Fire Films - a free film project.

October 14th, 2007, 04:18 PM	#5
Andris Krastins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Lielvārde, Latvia Posts: 326	Thanks for your good advices! I was already thinking about making some bubble-bag. __________________ Our Fire Films - a free film project.

October 14th, 2007, 03:53 PM	#4
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	no way, if your are working in a 100% humidity , you can wrap your camera in anything, it will not prevent vapor to go inside. water is like sand, it goes everywhere it is not supposed to be if you just let it go. Since it could not immediately damage your camera, there is a big chance that oxydation will show after a while (could take weeks, even tape can stay sticky for days if not rewinded). the only solution is to use an airtight case (underwater bag would be nice). if you do not find one, find a piece of glasse and a transparent plastic bag. put the camera inside and glue the bag aperture on the glass with some plastic tape. then apply the glass to the lense. you will be able to operate the cam through the thin plastic., and even to fix it on a tripod (add a piece of tape to consolidate the hole made by the screw). the top caution would be to inflate slightly the bag with some dry air (from a dust remover spray) from time to time.

October 15th, 2007, 01:09 AM	#6
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	You could use this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...r_Housing.html I use it with my camera and feel totally safe no matter what the humidity is. It has an optical glass front port, and is rated as deep as 33'. We also use it for shallow water shots.

October 15th, 2007, 01:15 AM	#7
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	One other thing I forgot to mention... if you make your own underwater case with glass in the front, you have to make sure your lens is pressed directly against the glass, otherwise you'll see a reflection of your own lens from that piece of glass. This is harder to accomplish than you think, that's why we just bought the Ewa Marine after finding out there was a reflection in every shot of our homemade case.