oriole12
Nature Lover
Re: D for Doubts
Care of Optics
Leaving cameras and optics in your field bags after you have returned home or to base, at the end of the field tour, especially during monsoons and in humid places like Goa, Kerala and North East is one of the deadly sins of photography. Never leave them in a cupboard containing clothes for long time. The excessive humidity and closed space is conducive to the growth of fungus. Once fungus attack your lens coating, the coating cannot be saved at all. Carefully examine your lens surface and inside for tell tale signs like tree branch like patterns on the glass. This means the coating has already been damaged. If you see no such signs, thank your stars and resolve to take preventive steps.
Buy Cello plastic jars, cylindrical or rectangular in shape, which are air-tight, translucent, conventionally used to store flour, available in many sizes, some are of 5 litres capacity and some 1 and 2 litres to accommodate individual items separately. Flip lock rectangular boxes are also now available.
Purchase Silica Gel (Self-indicating coarse grain), Product No. 27286/01, manufactured by Qualigens (Glaxo owned brand) Fine Chemicals, Mumbai.
You will need about 5 kilos of silica gel crystals at least, to begin with depending on your equipment and number of jars. Must use 1 kg in one jar of 5 litres capacity.
Before using, put the gel in a fine sieve or cloth and shake so that fine silica dust is removed.
Once you have cleaned the crystals, then empty it into Cello jars gently and close it with its lid. Leave it for a while to permit the existing moisture in the jar to be absorbed by the gel. Take a nice cotton cloth and spread it two-folds, over the Silica Gel, to prevent any scratches to the body of your cameras and lenses. Place the lens or camera over the cloth and close the lid firmly airtight. Keep the lid open for too long to prevent moisture getting in.
Avoid accommodating too many pieces together. Ideally one item per container is best as it will avoid frequent opening and closing which will introduce additional moisture. Some items, you will be using often and some once in months.
Please note that Silica Gel is re-usable. Therefore do not worry about investing (@Rs 250 per kilo) for the insurance of your optics and cameras. Once any fungus sets in on the surface of the lens, it is gone forever; no repairs or restoration will work.
If you need to keep the camera and optics into the jars after an exposure to very moist conditions (monsoon) then follow the following procedure. Never place your optics into the Silica Gel jars straight from the field conditions. Wipe the equipment dry and allow moisture to evaporate. In case you live in humid area and it is difficult to dry the equipment easily, buy a Philips Infrared lamp and place it horizontally on the floor or a table and place your one piece of lens at one meter distance facing directly into the infra red lamp, lens raised to a certain level so it is in alignment to the lamp. While doing this, do not remove the UV filter, but loosen it quite a bit, just hanging on to the lens by one thread or two, it will create enough space for moisture to escape. Keep the lamp on for 30 minutes and place this piece of lens immediately in the jars, with NO filters in front of the lens or otherwise should be very loose, placing the lens cap is advised to prevent any loose particles to settle on the front element of your lens. Rear lens-cap should be loose enough, just hanging on to the lens by a thread, do not tighten it fully. So, the desiccated air could circulate all over inside the lens body and Silica Gel crystals could collect moisture easily.
It is best to remove all filters and UV filters while placing lenses in silica gel jars. Keep all filters in Silica Gel filled jars only, just like you care for the optics. Fungus affected filters are as bad as spoilt lenses.
How to Recharge the Silica Gel
When you open the newly bought jars of Silica Gel from the market, it is of rich blue colour. But over a period of time it loses its colour and turns somewhat pinkish white. This means it has absorbed enough moisture and needs to be recharged immediately.
Take a clean frying pan, wash the inside with vim and soap to ensure that no oil or other substance remain inside the pan. Place it on a gas stove, full flame, and put one kilo of pinkish Silica Gel crystals into the pan. Once the pan has heated nicely at full flame, reduce the flame as low as possible and let it heat for slowly while stirring it every 5 minutes. It will need 30 to 45 minutes to really return to the rich dark blue. Then spread it in an open metallic tray covered by a lid and let it cool, before you replace it into jars. Make sure, you don't leave it to cool off for long; it will get exposed to avoidable moisture again. Gather the Silica Gel when it is warm and not hot enough to damage the plastic jars and replace it back into the plastic jars already in use for the purpose. However, place the glasses inside the jar only once it has cooled to room temperature.
Care of Optics
Leaving cameras and optics in your field bags after you have returned home or to base, at the end of the field tour, especially during monsoons and in humid places like Goa, Kerala and North East is one of the deadly sins of photography. Never leave them in a cupboard containing clothes for long time. The excessive humidity and closed space is conducive to the growth of fungus. Once fungus attack your lens coating, the coating cannot be saved at all. Carefully examine your lens surface and inside for tell tale signs like tree branch like patterns on the glass. This means the coating has already been damaged. If you see no such signs, thank your stars and resolve to take preventive steps.
Buy Cello plastic jars, cylindrical or rectangular in shape, which are air-tight, translucent, conventionally used to store flour, available in many sizes, some are of 5 litres capacity and some 1 and 2 litres to accommodate individual items separately. Flip lock rectangular boxes are also now available.
Purchase Silica Gel (Self-indicating coarse grain), Product No. 27286/01, manufactured by Qualigens (Glaxo owned brand) Fine Chemicals, Mumbai.
You will need about 5 kilos of silica gel crystals at least, to begin with depending on your equipment and number of jars. Must use 1 kg in one jar of 5 litres capacity.
Before using, put the gel in a fine sieve or cloth and shake so that fine silica dust is removed.
Once you have cleaned the crystals, then empty it into Cello jars gently and close it with its lid. Leave it for a while to permit the existing moisture in the jar to be absorbed by the gel. Take a nice cotton cloth and spread it two-folds, over the Silica Gel, to prevent any scratches to the body of your cameras and lenses. Place the lens or camera over the cloth and close the lid firmly airtight. Keep the lid open for too long to prevent moisture getting in.
Avoid accommodating too many pieces together. Ideally one item per container is best as it will avoid frequent opening and closing which will introduce additional moisture. Some items, you will be using often and some once in months.
Please note that Silica Gel is re-usable. Therefore do not worry about investing (@Rs 250 per kilo) for the insurance of your optics and cameras. Once any fungus sets in on the surface of the lens, it is gone forever; no repairs or restoration will work.
If you need to keep the camera and optics into the jars after an exposure to very moist conditions (monsoon) then follow the following procedure. Never place your optics into the Silica Gel jars straight from the field conditions. Wipe the equipment dry and allow moisture to evaporate. In case you live in humid area and it is difficult to dry the equipment easily, buy a Philips Infrared lamp and place it horizontally on the floor or a table and place your one piece of lens at one meter distance facing directly into the infra red lamp, lens raised to a certain level so it is in alignment to the lamp. While doing this, do not remove the UV filter, but loosen it quite a bit, just hanging on to the lens by one thread or two, it will create enough space for moisture to escape. Keep the lamp on for 30 minutes and place this piece of lens immediately in the jars, with NO filters in front of the lens or otherwise should be very loose, placing the lens cap is advised to prevent any loose particles to settle on the front element of your lens. Rear lens-cap should be loose enough, just hanging on to the lens by a thread, do not tighten it fully. So, the desiccated air could circulate all over inside the lens body and Silica Gel crystals could collect moisture easily.
It is best to remove all filters and UV filters while placing lenses in silica gel jars. Keep all filters in Silica Gel filled jars only, just like you care for the optics. Fungus affected filters are as bad as spoilt lenses.
How to Recharge the Silica Gel
When you open the newly bought jars of Silica Gel from the market, it is of rich blue colour. But over a period of time it loses its colour and turns somewhat pinkish white. This means it has absorbed enough moisture and needs to be recharged immediately.
Take a clean frying pan, wash the inside with vim and soap to ensure that no oil or other substance remain inside the pan. Place it on a gas stove, full flame, and put one kilo of pinkish Silica Gel crystals into the pan. Once the pan has heated nicely at full flame, reduce the flame as low as possible and let it heat for slowly while stirring it every 5 minutes. It will need 30 to 45 minutes to really return to the rich dark blue. Then spread it in an open metallic tray covered by a lid and let it cool, before you replace it into jars. Make sure, you don't leave it to cool off for long; it will get exposed to avoidable moisture again. Gather the Silica Gel when it is warm and not hot enough to damage the plastic jars and replace it back into the plastic jars already in use for the purpose. However, place the glasses inside the jar only once it has cooled to room temperature.
