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Suppose you keep your camera at, say, 20 degrees C at a relative humidity of 60%. This means that the air inside the camera will have the same humidity at the same temperature, the relative humidity will increase if the camera cools down. Then you go outside for several hours where it is -20 C, put your camera on a tripod. After some time the camera will cool down and you will get condensation inside the camera.

The only thing I can think of is to go outside with the camera a day or so earlier, remove the lens and let it sit there for a while, making sure no dirt or snow enters the camera. Then you put the lens back on and put the camera in an airtight bag filled with the outside air. You only get the camera out of the bag the next day when taking pictures outside. However, removing the lens while outside seems to me like a dangerous thing to do, you are bound to get dust inside the camera...

Count Iblis
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  • I switch lenses outside all the time, in Arizona, the dustiest state in the union. It's not a problem, the camera is designed to be used that way. You'll get dust in there but it won't ruin your day as long as you maintain your camera appropriately in between outings. Rocket blower into the mirror is all I ever need. Otherwise, this question is a duplicate... http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/3730/what-precautions-should-i-take-when-taking-a-camera-into-humid-conditions and http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/25191/how-do-i-prevent-condensation-in-my-waterproof-gopro-casing – Jasmine Dec 09 '14 at 22:22
  • O btw... one thing that has ruined my day is dust on the front element. If a helicopter is landing nearby, clean your camera after that event is over, and don't switch lenses until a while after the helicopter lands. Helicopters have ruined my day three times. Shots of the landing were great, but the shots after that were bad until I realized the dust coating that it deposited on the front. Again, simple to fix with a rocket blower - http://www.amazon.com/Giottos-AA1900-Rocket-Blaster-Large/dp/B00017LSPI – Jasmine Dec 09 '14 at 22:25
  • Are you sure that you have 60% humidity inside in the winter? A more normal value would be around 30%. I currently have 23% indoors, and it's not even proper winter here yet... Normally in the winter the humidity indoors is even lower than outdoors, as the air comes from outside and you heat it up. – Guffa Dec 09 '14 at 23:24
  • @Jasmine I guess I have to get over my anxiety of things getting damaged, I actually haven't changed the lens for more than a year now! – Count Iblis Dec 10 '14 at 00:15
  • @Guffa At my current location it isn't very cold, the humidity here is about 55%, but I'm going to travel to a cold place soon, and in the hotels there they have air conditioning. – Count Iblis Dec 10 '14 at 00:22
  • Even if the air is humidified, getting it as humid as 60% sounds odd. 50% is the recommended maximum to avoid mildew problems. – Guffa Dec 10 '14 at 00:44
  • That could well be the case, when traveling I won't be able to measure it, but my skin will probably suffer when humidity is below 60%. – Count Iblis Dec 10 '14 at 00:48
  • Yeah you will have to get over that to take full advantage of your kit. Just remember, the camera is designed specifically so that the lenses can be switched safely. A little bit of dust inside won't hurt anything. Clean it after you do outdoor work, and you'll be fine. I photograph a lot of aircraft, so I encounter dust blowing up constantly, and it doesn't do any damage to the camera, just gets it dirty. And, it's way less dirty than I expected. – Jasmine Dec 10 '14 at 16:09
  • An acquaintance traveled to the North Pole and climbed in the Alps for Nat Geo. He said he did a couple of things when he was in cold environments - He left his lenses outside because bringing them inside would instantly result in condensation and separately he kept his batteries inside his parka to lengthen their life. – B Shaw Dec 11 '14 at 02:52

2 Answers2

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I don't think you need to do anything special - the problem is much worse going in the opposite direction (from -20c back into a warm humid room).

When going outside, you have a very small volume of humid air within the camera/lens. The camera/lens will initially be at room temperature and will cool relatively slowly, all the while the small amount of humid air will be diffusing out and dryer air diffusing in.

When going back inside you have a very large volume of humid air within the room, and the camera will warm up slowly, so for a long time you'll have lots of humid air moving past cold glass surfaces producing large amounts of condensation.

The standard advice applies to moving indoors, bag the camera/lens until they reach ambient temperature. This doesn't work when moving outdoors as you'll be keeping the moist air in!

Matt Grum
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  • You may also want to take a second bag for the card. You can remove the card from the camera while still in the cold and bag it separately. It will acclimate much faster than the camera, like in 10-15 minutes vs. over an hour. This will allow you to view your photos much quicker. – Robin Dec 10 '14 at 17:21
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Just try to make this transition (from +20 to -20) as smooth, as possible and as long as time allows. When I have experienced such conditions, I kept camera in its bag in a car for some time and then in the bag outside the car. And same process to bring it back to warm room. Had no problem with condensation. Also you may want to use special camera cases for cold conditions. Check bhphotovideo.com for this.

Denis Rasulev
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  • I have never had an issue going into the cold, but I always bag my camera (large ziploc) before coming back in. – Robin Dec 10 '14 at 17:23