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Heat protection for Equipment.
1. coolhewitt2315 July 2015, 6:06 GMT +02:00
I'm going on vacation next week. The country I am visiting is very hot. I'm a worried about heat damage to my DSLR and other equipment. Does anybody have any idea or information about using equipment in the heat.
2. xymonau15 July 2015, 10:05 GMT +02:00
All I know is that the same equipment used in cold countries is used in hot countries. Obviously you shouldn't leave anything electronic in a hot car or where the sun will beat down on it for hours. What's the average temperature for this time in that country? You can Google it. Hopefully someone else knows for sure.
3. dlritter15 July 2015, 10:30 GMT +02:00
I live where it is well over 100F or 38C for four to five months of the year. At the hottest it can be 122F or 50C in the shade. For several months of the year Hell sounds like a more comfortable place to visit.
During this time I never leave any of my photo equipment in a car outside. For just general usage the heat usually has no effect.
Some feel that digital sensors are slightly more noisy when it is hot but I only notice this in longer night exposures.
The plastic parts of a camera can soften and may melt if your camera is very close to or in contact with metal that is exposed to direct sunlight.
Lithium ion batteries, the type that most cameras use, don't last as long in the heat so you may want to have an extra in case your battery loses charge while you are shooting. Don't store your batteries anywhere where it may get hot, they might explode.
If you are in a location that is dusty you need to take care when changing lenses so dust does not get into your camera and lens.
UV filters to keep your lenses safe are a good idea. Some think this is wrong but I would rather clean or replace a filter rather than an entire lens.
Generally if you are comfortable (within reason) then your camera equipment should be fine.
It might be a good idea to see if your camera equipment is covered under your homeowner's or renter's insurance in case someone decides to steal your camera and lenses. If you don't have insurance you could see if you can get some that will cover your equipment.
Store your full memory cards in a separate place from your camera gear. This way if the camera gets stolen you will still have your images. Use several smaller capacity memory cards rather than fewer larger capacity cards. This is to reduce the risk of a bad card destroying most of your images of your trip.
4. coolhewitt2315 July 2015, 15:36 GMT +02:00
I will be visiting Thailand and a couple other countries. I generally carry a sun umbrella to keep the sun off me and my black camera. July is my third year on RGB and I hope to add some photo's when I get back from my vacation.
5. gesinek15 July 2015, 16:39 GMT +02:00
Have a nice trip and get back well with an intact camera and a lot of great pictures. I don't have expierience with such t° as Dave has we had 38° a week ago and that was the hotest temperature ever taken since they record temperatures here (They record the weather here in Hamburg since about 1880ties I read sometimes ago)
6. wolliballa15 July 2015, 17:01 GMT +02:00
First of all you should look into your equipments technical documentation.
There you should typically find data like
min. Temp, max. Temp. humidity ( both for storage and operation).
Most critical components are normally the batteries so you might like to carry them outside the camera.
I strongly recommend to stay within those documented rages (for my camera operational limits are +-0 /+40 degrees, 80% humidity,
storage is -10/+50 , non condensing).
If the current situation is not within documented range you my use additional helpers ( cooling boxes, bags....)
7. dlritter16 July 2015, 4:07 GMT +02:00
If you are traveling to Thailand and the surrounding countries, humidity will be more of a factor than heat.
When you are indoors where it is cool your camera and lenses will adjust to the ambient temperature.
When you then go outside your camera and lenses will be much cooler than the outside temperature.
This can cause condensation on your camera and lenses. The milder cases of this will look like fog on your lens. If you just wait a few minutes until your camera and lenses are adjusted to the warmer outside temperature before using them you should be fine.
8. coolhewitt2316 July 2015, 6:03 GMT +02:00
I will packing a small camera kit. I will pack a small kit with 1 DSLR, 1 lens and 3 batteries. I have noticed that batteries seem to drain faster in the heat. I have never heard of a cooling bag for a camera. I might be able to avoid condensation because my camera bag will allow my camera to adjust to the temperature slowly.
9. coolhewitt2325 August 2016, 18:41 GMT +02:00
The Panasonic wearable cam is a dangerous product to own. I was recording for 25 minutes in 34c temperature when the cam became very hot and unresponsive. I couldn't shut it off. The cam continued to get hotter and I couldn't shut it off. I had to throw it in the freezer and wait until the battery was drained. I waited about one hour . The cam doesn't like hot environments. panasonic-hx-a500-a-4k-point-of-view-camcorder/
10. xymonau26 August 2016, 3:31 GMT +02:00
Wow - that's bad. Are there any warnings re using it in the heat? Frankly, I'd be trying to have it replaced. It's often that temperature in many parts of the world, and that isn't all that hot on the grand scale of things.
