Jump to content

Protecting equipment in the rainforest conditions


artyom_kopp

Recommended Posts

I am about to spend two weeks camping in the rainforest on Borneo. I expect

it will be extremely hot and humid there. Can somebody tell me how to

prepare my equipment for these conditions? I have a Canon EOS and a few

simple autofocus lenses, nothing fancy. I am a biologist, not a photographer.

 

Thanks!

Art

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All you really need to do is make sure you keep your stuff dry. The heat won't effect your camera as much as it might your film. Keep your stored film out of direct sunlight and away from the direct heat as much as possible. For your camera and lenses, simply storing them in zip lock bags with some silica packs included to absorb mosture will work just fine.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Suggestion: bring a bunch of try cloths in separate ziploc baggies. Your lense cloths will quickly be "damp" and will no longer dry your lense. I took to stealing dry paper napkins each night in my camp for use during the day. Expect your camera to 'sweat', and bring an extra body and lense in case yours decides the humidity is too much. On my recent trip to the tropics, several people's cameras and lenses (esp the older autofocus zooms) decided to take a siesta in the middle of the trip. An extra body would be well worth it.

 

Good luck! (You might also consider a Pelican dry box for when it rains, which it will. Also, you can bang the thing around and have no worries.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you don't already have a bag, you might want to look into LowPros new Dry Packs. They will float in a rive and keep your stuff dry!

 

If not pickup some of those silcon dry packs. They should help reduce moisture in your pack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are my 2 primary recommendations:

 

1) Air conditioning: If you happen to be staying in an air conditioned place, you should be careful with getting your camera cold and then walking outside into the humidity. Rather, as situations allow, it's better to keep your camera in ambient warm temps to avoid the massive condensation outside/inside your camera and lenses. Or, put your camera in a sealed plastic bag and let it come to temp in there = much less condensation.

 

2) Rain: Keep a decent size plastic bag in your back pocket for when it starts to pour with hardly a moments notice. You'll be glad you have a watertight covering you can apply in 30 secs.

 

Enjoy Borneo, sounds fantastic!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The humidity will play havoc with the batteries and the electronics of your camera ( or watch etc). What camerabody do you have? The 1N, 1V are specially sealed and stand a much better chance to continue to operate in hard circumstances. When I was in Kalimantan ( Borneo) my EOS ElanII ( 50E) stopped working for a couple of days, so did my wacht and my wife's videocamera. I have not had problems later with my 1N. So you might rent something more solid?

Also: consider fast film and a flash as under the canopy the light is not very good.

Enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Arttyom,

 

I fit a UV filter to the front of each lens, then get a ziplock bag that

will fit camera body and lens (1 gallon size) cut a hole in the

bottom of the bag then tape the edge of the filter to the edge of

the hole, when i use the camera I open the bag put my hands in

and take the pic, if you change lenses just leave them in their

bag with silica gel packets ( shoe shops throw them out by the

ton), or just leave the body on and close the bag. Works much

better than it sounds!!

 

Take care, Scott.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was recently looking for a camera bag and happened to spot what I thought might

be a camera bag in the discount bin, It turned out to be a small portable cooler bag. It

was a lot like a camera bag except the interior was plastic and totally watertight to

hold drinks and ice. It was about the size of a small lowepro. I bet it would make a

good bag for the tropics.

 

Another thing to look into is getting a small paddlers duffle. They are watertight stuff

sack type things, we use them to store stuff when we go fishing. you could throw it in

the ocean with your gear, fish it out and everything would be cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...