housing fogging

my canon s30 housing fogged up today. i thoroughly checked the seal before closing it. when i put some of the anti-fog solution on it (according to the directions), it did not fog up, but there was this yukky film on the inside lens of the housing. i am on my biggest dive trip of the year, and i'm pretty desperate. please help!

Lisa,

It sounds like you put too much of that anti- fog solution inside the case and the solution is reacting to the heat generated from the camera. It also sounds like the solution has gotten into the lens port and glass.

You probably need to clean the inside of the housing. Here are some tips in cleaning your housing.

1.Remove the o-ring prior to washing the case.

2. You can use a regular dishwashing liquid to thoroughly clean the inside of the case. Mix it with warm water and use a soft sponge to wipe off the anti fog solution.

3. Rinse the case with warm water and shake any excess water. You can also use compressed air to blast all the small water particles inside the case especially around the control buttons [double check the case and make sure it is completely dry]

4. Re-apply grease on the o-ring, clean the o-ring groove and install the o-ring.

5. Do a tub test to check the integrity of the seal. If everything is OKAY. Re-apply the anti fog solution or better yet why not use a desiccant pack or moisture muncher instead of the anti fog solution. Place your camera inside an do another tub test.

Hope this helps...... and Good Luck!

Allan C.

http://www.underwaterdigital.net

Lisa:

Don't leave your housing inside in the air conditioning and then bring it out into the hot humid air, then close it. You WILL get fogging this way.

Instead, store the housing outside on the camera table under a wet towel.

If the housing IS fogged when you close it on the boat, open it back up and put it out somewhere where it is sunny and warm to evaporate out the condensation. Then close it again. Be reasonable - don't boil the housing - but putting it in the sun won't hurt it or the camera. Believe it or not, moisture can actually be trapped INSIDE the camera, not just the housing.

Since you are on vacation right now you probably don't have access to silica gel packs. (If you do, then great!). What you can do instead is cut up a small "Mini-pad" and put some pieces inside the housing between the camera and housing. These are moisture absorbant and will suck up any left-over water vapor.

Stay away from that anti-fog stuff!!! It doesn't sound too "housing/camera friendly" to me.

HTH

James Wiseman

I have never used defog with a housing (have owned 4). Only once or twice have I had problems with fogging. As mentioned by James they had to do with going from air conditioning to 100 air. James's suggestions are the way to go. I've been on boats in Baja with 100+ temps that didn't have AC and still didn't have problems with fogging. The AC boat salons are the problem. I know a number of professional photographers and I know none of them that use defog.