david_killick9 Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 How do you pamper your favourite Leica gear when it is taking a rest? Do you tuck it up safe and snug underneath its own feather eiderdown? Does it prefer hot or cold? How hot or cold? Better hot and dry than cold and damp? Do you use silica gel to keep the moisture out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 On ice, with the martini glasses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manu_vermeiren Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 yawnnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 Your self-portrait's great, Manu! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abufletcher Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 Here in steamy Japan this is an important issue. It you don't protect your gear from humity it WILL get fungus -- it's only a matter of time. I've have a fax machine, several (cheap) lenses, Christmas ornaments, and numberous pairs of shoes all bit the dust, so to speak, due to mold. Like a lot of seriously photographers over here in Asia, I have a specialized dry cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_aitken Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 Don't give it a rest - work it 'til it drops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_krantz3 Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 All three bodies on my body all the time buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_killick9 Posted May 6, 2003 Author Share Posted May 6, 2003 Thanks guys for your considered answers so far. It is serious! I don't want my Summcirons to succumb to the dreaded f**n**s! We all live in different climatic zones, and that makes a difference. I am in the South Island of New Zealand where our weather is almost as barmy as the UK (fine and hot one minute, cold and raining the next). Big variations in temperature, streaming condensation in winter. Unlike the US, most houses here, ours included, do not have airconditioning throughout. I am intrigued by Donald's suggestion of a dry storage area. How do you achieve that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoonphoto.net Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I live in Japan as well, and yes, it get terribly humid in the summer, and damp in the winter. Camera stores here sell dedicated dry cabinets. They look like mini fridges with a glass door (so you can still admire your Leicas!). Humidity is controlled by a dial; the box is powered by electricity. Fairly costly too -- about US$300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray_moth Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I believe that lenses and cameras <i> will inevitably </i> become infested with fungus if kept in a humid place. Lenses can become irreparably damaged and you're wise to be concerned about this, unless you happen to live in a desert! If you're unfortunate enough to encounter fungus in a lens, it's important to get it removed quickly, to minimize the risk of permanent damage. In time, the fungus will destroy lens coatings and can also excrete hydrofluoric acid, which erodes the glass itself. In fact, hydrofluoric acid is the chemical used industrially for etching glass. <br><br> Keeping cameras and lenses in leather ER cases or leather pouches is <i> not </i> a good idea, since leather encourages fungus. I don't understand why Leica provides leather pouches with lenses, since it encourages bad practice. <br><br> Some people like to keep their gear in a ventilated cabinet with a low-wattage light bulb burning inside but I've never tried that. I keep all my M cameras and lenses in a couple of LowePro bags with packets of silical gel, which I check and replace when the crystals are turning pink - they're dark blue until they start absorbing moisture. I'm told that you can rejuvenate silica gel by heating it in an oven but, as it's cheap enough to buy, I don't bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerry_szarek Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 In a file cabinent (locked with 2 locks), with a browning dehumidifier (golden rod), the gear sits in a padded pack. The golden rod, produces just enough heat to keep the moisture out, which in turn keeps away the nasty fungus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I just leave it out and about, partly in my office, partly in the living room. Air circulates freely and light gets to the hooded but mostly uncapped glass. Fungus likes dark as much as humidity. It all gets used often enough so dust isn't a problem. In humid South Florida I have experienced fungus a few times over the years, but it cleaned up OK. The biggest problem with using Leica cameras is that we EXPECT them to last half a century and more. If I'd bought anything else way-back-when it would have been replaced half a dozen times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_brown4 Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 My M6 and 28/2 live in an Op/Tech RF case in the bottom of my courier bag, the 50 is in its own little Op/Tech pouch is down there with all the other junk I tote around every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesk Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I look for old ladies' mink hats at flea markets and consignment shops (they're about $5.) Then, I turn them inside out, using them as a liner for a small leather bag. I don't like putting expensive cameras in fancy camera bags which scream: EXPENSIVE CAMERA INSIDE. <br>The mink liner is very soft and works well. It can be removed periodically and knocked clean, if necessary. <br>The mink can also be removed and squashed flat, serving as a cushion to place on a table to rest the camera when not using it. <br>AND, it looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_kastner Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 <i>How do you store your treasured Leica gear? </i><p>I don't store it. It stores me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esq.jack Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I put my M6 TTL, 90 Elmar and 35mm 'Cron and Gossen Meter and Tele Extension into 2 air-tight plastic box. Each of them is guarded with drying agent from Japan designed for closet. I live in Hong Kong, we live humid and rainy Spring and summer (the rain just killed a police inspector yesterday, he was trying to save a guy from flooding). The fungus is away. Hope it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_b1 Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 David - On Guam, my Leica went into a "dry cabinet," along with my wrist watch and binoculars. Even your shoes would sprout strange tinngs unless kept in a closet with a heating rod (as described in a post above) In Emgland, I used silica gel. Here at home, we live in a house with airconditioning and humidity control, so the stuff just stays on the closet shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert knapp md Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I am generous with the silica here in New York in the summer. Winters are no problem. Better safe than sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Herbert Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 Do you tuck Yep, in bed with me. Along with my Teddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland_schmid Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 There are also people who store their gear in aquariums... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h._p. Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 A chap I knew years ago, called Dave Hughes, was a film cameraman who did stills on the side. He told me that when he was in SE Asia, he used to put his gear in an old oven at 200F for five minutes every night to kill the fungus. No, I still don't know if he was pulling my leg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob F. Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I keep a lot of my gear in a Craftsman locking rollabout tool cabinet. The cabinet is in the basement, where the temp stays in the 60's in the winter, and around 70 in the summer with the AC running. It's a very dry basement, and the humidity seems pretty low what with the AC squeezing out the moisture in summer, and the furnace drying the air in winter. At least one camera stays in a camera bag ready for use; even that is stored in th basement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikal_grass Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 With the strap around a chair in my apartment usually clacking against another camera or under newspapers in my car. I tend to keep my M6s together so they don't get lonely or aren't forced to associate with some of my "lesser" cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_killick9 Posted May 7, 2003 Author Share Posted May 7, 2003 Thanks all, I'll follow up some of these suggestions, especially the silica. Sounds like dry is good. I like the idea of a dry martini too - should it be stirred or shaken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travis1 Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 With respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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