Zip it

Travel tip repeat: you have heard me mention bags before, but now let me get specific: when traveling in a warm climate, carry Ziploc bags. Because they close with a pretty much airtight seal. And then put the camera and lenses into those bags when you carry them out. And then wait until the equipment has warmed up – maybe 10-20 minutes.

If you don’t, then the moment you walk from the airconditioned inside to the moist, warm outside,  this happens:

I.e.due to fundamental physics, the camera mists up. Viewfinder, lenses: possibly even inside. And that is bad – misting up means moisture – water. Water can lead to fungal growth in tropical climates, and in any case, it is never good.

For the camera, that is.

But it can work in pictures – low contrast pictures can carry a mood very well, like in the following image of tropical storm Irene, which turned into a hurricane later:

Storm in Sint Maarten (Photo: Michael Willems)

That slight residual fogging helps, here. But I would of course not recommend that, for your camera’s sake.

One more thing – carry a microfibre cloth, as well, and wipe off any excess moisture as soon as possible. Keeping your camera healthy is a good idea.

 

1 thought on “Zip it

  1. Thanks for all of these travel tips, especially on the ziplock bags for caribbean travel. I have never been, but am going in 3 months time and would never have thought about the AC and the heat issues and fogging up the lens/camera. The baggies will become part of my travel kit.

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