How to Remove Moisture from Camera lens

If you want to protect your camera from moisture, you need to take care of it the very moment you use it. When you store your camera lens, make sure to use a dry atmosphere. You can remove moisture from your camera lens by keeping it in a dry place, using camera bags, and silica gel pads, or using a hair dryer. In this article, we will discuss how to remove moisture from the camera lens and why it is important to keep your lens clean and dry. We will also provide some tips on how to prevent moisture from building up in the first place.

The simplest way is to keep your camera in its bag and put some silica gel tablets or pads in it. Also, take the battery and memory cards out and keep their places open so that it has better airflow. 

The digital camera plays a vital role in a lot of personal and business events starting from covering a wedding event to creating professional images for the purpose of branding.
Professional photography is high in demand, especially after the boom of social media channels.

However, it is not easy to buy a professional camera because of the high prices and it requires great precautionary measures to prevent your camera from being damaged. 

Causes of Moisture in Camera Lens

Cameras are mostly damaged due to three reasons:

1- Humidity

2- Dust 

3- Physical damage due to breakage.

4- Growth of fungus in severe moist cases.
5- Mold Thrives6- Bad and polluted airflow inside the camera body.

The most common cause of damage is moisture which can happen while storing cameras in open air exposed to humidity or outdoor shooting during rain. Moisture is the enemy of the camera lens and even if you take several precautionary steps, you can never avoid the condensation of the lens up to 100% level.
There are some important ways and tricks that would help you remove moisture from your camera efficiently without damaging the camera.

But fret not.

You will find a number of ways by which you can not only protect your camera lens from getting foggy but also make it 100% dry and moisture-free. We will discuss some precautionary measures along with the methods to remove moisture from your expensive camera lens without any hassle.

Precautionary measures to keep your camera safe from moisture:

According to the proverb,‘’ Precaution is better than cure’’, it is highly advised by photography experts to take maximum precautionary measures so that moisture does not enter your camera. Buying a digital camera is not a cup of tea for everyone because of its high price. Hence it is extremely important to take good care of your camera.

Also, make sure to take all the necessary actions required to prevent moisture and humidity because humidity is the worst enemy for any digital camera.
With the help of a few tips, you can successfully save your camera from moisture. 

Closed room with minimum airflow:

Avoid placing your camera in a humid environment or a room where there are a lot of windows and open airflow. Instead, store your camera in a closed room with minimum airflow and keep the windows closed. If you have the facility of an air-conditioned room, that would be the best place for your camera. Because an air conditioner also extracts the air moisture out of the room keeping the room dry and filtered.

Avoid shooting in rain:

If not necessary, avoid shooting in rainy conditions. However, if required to shoot in the rain, try to cover your camera body with a plastic umbrella for maximum safety.

DIY camera covers:

Imagine you got this great opportunity from some big geographic channels to cover a beautiful misty waterfall. Or an amazing steamy volcanic area where you already know that your camera and its lenses shall be exposed to unfavorable weather conditions. Make sure you keep your camera covered with a plastic object which can act as a protective shield against all the moisture, heat, and dust.
You can easily buy different portable plastic covers for this purpose or you can also make one by yourself.
A plastic cover can be any thin plastic sheet wrapped with cello tapes around your camera to completely protect it from moisture and heat. You can use your sandwich wrap for this purpose. 

Keep your camera in a bag or box when not in use: 

When not in use, always keep your camera in a camera bag or an airtight box so that it does not absorb any water. 

How to Remove Moisture from Camera lens: Step by Step

Here are a few tips on how to remove moisture from your camera lens.

Below are some of the methods as per my experience that would greatly help you to make your camera moisture-free:

1- Silica Gel:

Silica gel is a chemical substance commonly used by product manufacturers to prevent their products from moisture. You can easily find silica gel pads in any departmental store at a very reasonable price. This is one of the easiest and most cost-effective methods through which you can prevent moisture from entering your camera body and camera lens. 

Simply, place a silica gel pad in a storage box or a bag wherever you are keeping your camera. This silica gel would absorb all the moisture in itself keeping the air clean and dry.

2- Uncooked / Raw Rice:

Raw or uncooked rice is also an extremely useful household item that can be used to remove moisture from the camera. The best way is to store your camera in an airtight box or bag and put some uncooked rice in that airtight area. The rice would absorb moisture leaving the air moisture-free. Uncooked rice is an amazing dehumidifier but is not commonly used for this purpose because of unawareness. 

3- Sunlight:

Undoubtedly, sunlight is an amazing moisture evaporator. Keeping your camera under sunlight for some time would evaporate all of the moisture from your camera making it dry.
Before applying this method, make sure not to place your camera under the sun for a longer period of time because it might affect the other camera parts because of the high temperature. 

4- Room heater:

Suppose your camera gets foggy after long shooting hours and you suddenly got a new appointment to cover another event. You can instantly remove the moisture from your camera by putting on the room heater for some time and exposing your camera to that heated air. Be careful about the temperature and allow moderate heat to enter your camera allowing it to absorb the heat and evaporate the moisture.
This might take 15 – 30 minutes and you would see the camera screen crystal clear within a few minutes. 

5- Hair dryer:

If you do not have access to a room heater, you can use your personal hair dryer for this purpose. The hair dryer has different levels of heating which you can select accordingly. Make sure not to choose too hot air because it can damage the technical aspects of your camera.
Be extremely cautious while using this technique.

6- Regular check and balance on the camera exterior:

According to a proverb, ‘’Precaution is better than cure’’ make sure you always monitor your camera exterior to check if there is any foggy or blurry effect on it. Moisture may completely destroy your camera but only to the extent, it enters the camera body. 

Be careful while cleaning the camera lens:

Once your camera lens gets foggy, you cannot ignore it without cleaning it because it would affect the picture quality. Cleaning a camera is itself an art and requires precision and accuracy. Do check out the various tips and techniques required for camera cleaning on the internet before starting your manual cleaning.

Some tips and tricks based on my personal experience:

I have been a camera freak since my childhood and during the course of my photography journey, I have experienced various problems in maintaining my camera quality.

I want to share a few tips that would help you maintain the longevity of your expensive camera and lens:

• If your camera needs repairing, always make sure to save your data from another source because you can never be 100% sure of data safety.
• While shooting in humid areas, place your camera in the sunlight for a few minutes every day to ensure that all the moisture gets evaporated leaving it dry and clean.
• Use plastic bags to cover your camera when not in use especially when you are going to an unfamiliar environment. 
• Blow your camera with a hair dryer quite often ensuring zero moisture inside its body.

Conclusion: 

Digital devices are mostly expensive and should be handled with great care. Avoid your digital camera from unnecessary exposure to unhealthy environments, especially in humid and high-temperature areas. Moisture is said to be the worst enemy of your camera lens but you don’t have to panic if it is already dense. You can always remove moisture from your camera lens by following the above guidelines, tips, and tricks. If things get out of control, do not use your DIY procedures, instead consult a trained professional to help you remove the moisture from the camera lens. 

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