Steve and other Canon users

[MN Shutterbug]

I have read the reviews on many Canon Dslr's and most of them, including XT, XTi, 20D and 30D, all mention that the maximum humidity these cameras should be used in is 85%. Where I'm at, over 90% humidity is the normal in the mornings. Today, we were at 93% humidity all day. Will the camera malfunction in these conditions?

[Paul]

NO problem with mine, even on sunday in the mist all day.

[MN Shutterbug]

OK Paul, prove it. Lets see what you got.

[Steve Foss]

XT, they should not malfunction. All DSLRs have humidity concerns. The higher the humidity, the easier it is when passing from cold to warm conditions for lenses and in particular digital sensors to fog over.

I have used my Canon DSLRs shooting swimming in indoor pools quite often. That humidity is virtually 100 percent. If you bring a camera into those very humid environments from a less humid environment (especially a colder one), lenses and sensors will fog a bit and you'll need to let things acclimate.

Lastly, if you habitually store a camera, any camera, in high-humidity environments, metal components will begin to corrode. In some climates in Minnesota, any camera should be stored during summer, when humidity is a concern, in dehumidified places such as air-conditioned rooms.

[finnbay]

As Steve, I've shot in pools many times with no problems as well as many outdoor venues in the rain and fog. The only times that humidity has been a problem was once in the National Arboretum (sp?) in Washington D.C. and once on the Brule River after we had camped out in 28 degree weather, then took it out of the case and the sun hit it. Both cases it fogged for a few minutes then cleared.

[Dbl]

Mine get regular abuse in all-weather conditions, I've shot in the tropics, baseball in Florida, desert dust, salt mist next to oceans, indoor swimming pools, rain, snow, sleet. I've never had a problem that I can remember with ANY camera. Not saying my time won't come but I guess I'm not real worried.

I clean the exterior of the camera best I can when done shooting, gradual warm up when coming in from the cold, dry the rain off, etc. Anything with electronics on board can have an issue with moisture, but most cameras are built to with stand a certain amount of humidity without causing it to roll over and die. Minnesota is certainly not one of the places I worry about weather conditions even with the extremes we have.

[finnbay]

A couple of short post scripts:

When I bought my first Canon DSLR, the book said not to use in temperatures below 40 degrees F. Knowing that I wanted to shoot hockey, skiing and outdoor in the winter, I almost panicked. Wrote questions to blogs, emailed and actually called Canon to see how firm that recommendation was. Canon rep said, "Ah, yeah, ah, ah, yeah, we recommend that you don't use it under 40 degrees." They didn't want to officially want to say "go ahead and shoot it at -20". I've shot it plenty of times below zero and never had a problem. I suspect it's the same with humidity.

Second, one easy solution to temp differences this time of year. If you are shooting in the cold and bring the camera into a warm building, place it in a large zip lock bag before you go in and close it until the camera warms. The warm, humid air collects on the bag and not on or inside the camera.

[Steve Foss]

Yes, I've shot the 20D and 30D, as well as higher quality Canon DSLRs, in -30 temps. I usually tuck the body against my chest with my coat unzipped somewhat in those conditions, so the body stays a good bit warmer than the outside air but not too warm.

The ziplock bag trick is a good one. I haven't had to use that because my camera backpack is padded, which serves as insulation, and when coming indoors from a cold-weather shoot I just leave all my gear in the bag for a couple hours, and the warm-up is slow enough that there never is any condensation.

I do, however, pull my memory cards out of the cameras before coming indoors so I can immediately download and begin processing images.