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Help - Moisture between diopter and prism
Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 2:16 PM on 04.18.09 |
->> I've got some moisture buildup inside the diopter on my 1d mk2. It's visible thru the viewfinder and I can see some very tiny water droplets. I think the condensation is between the diopter and the prism itself.
Before anyone gets on me for not covering gear, it was covered. I'm on location now and have the camera sitting with the body cap off and battery out.
Any suggestions for drying, or could this be a sign of more serious issues?
Thanks for any and all help.
Joel |
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Michael McNamara, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 2:22 PM on 04.18.09 |
->> I've never had the problem with a camera body, but have with a lens.
I took all the caps off and placed it with the moisture at a low point. I left the lens in my car while I was at the office (I have a black car, so it acted like a 150 degree oven). After a couple hours, all the moisture was gone. |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 2:35 PM on 04.18.09 |
->> Right now it's sitting in my car with the caps off, so hopefully that works.
I've had it happen with lenses too, this is something new for me too. |
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Michael McNamara, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 2:41 PM on 04.18.09 |
| ->> Yeah...just leave all your windows closed and park your car in the sun. |
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Peter Wine, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Dayton | OH | USA | Posted: 3:13 PM on 04.18.09 |
->> I've heard that rice can act to absorb moisture as well, so perhaps a bag of rice nearby (opened at a different location to get rid of any dust) might help.
I wouldn't leave the camera in the car too long, though, or you might have other problems. |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 5:44 PM on 04.18.09 |
| ->> Never heard about the rice thing but desiccant can be bought in one and 2 pound containers in most craft stores. Just look in the section that deals with flower arrangements. It's used to dry flowers. I've also seen it in the craft section in Wal Mart. The kind that I bought changes color when it gets "wet". All you have to do is toss it a low oven to dry it out. |
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Kevin M. Cox, Photographer, Assistant
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Galveston & Houston | TX | US | Posted: 10:54 PM on 04.18.09 |
| ->> I've got the exact same problem since last night after the storms I've been out covering. The camera still works fine (unlike my other body that will only Err 99 after getting rained on) but I can't see through the viewfinder very well. I've got it sitting out on the table right now hoping it will clear up. |
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Nathan Papes, Student/Intern
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Springfield | MO | United States | Posted: 11:12 PM on 04.18.09 |
->> Try silica gel... Those little packets that say DO NOT EAT that come in packages.
My boss, who used to repair cameras for a living, would shrink wrap lenses with a handful of silica gel when they got wet or had condensation in them. It always seems to work really well |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 6:15 PM on 04.19.09 |
| ->> Thanks for all the replies. I've got the camera sitting out right now and I'm in search of some desiccant. |
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Derick Hingle, Photographer
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Hammond | LA | USA | Posted: 6:26 PM on 04.19.09 |
| ->> You were out in the snow or rain right, happened to me last year just before the Sugar Bowl, we had snow in the deep south and condensation appeared in my viewfinder, I took off the viewfinder took out the eye piece and placed it on a window seal with the sun, took two days, but it went away, I have heard that silica gel works well too. Good luck. |
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Jacob Langston, Photographer
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Orlando | FL | | Posted: 8:40 PM on 04.19.09 |
| ->> Tupperware dish, put a bunch of rice in it, add camera, put the top on and let it sit for a few days. Guaranteed to work, and cheap. This fixed 2 of my cameras after a hurricane. |
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Chris Peterson, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbia Falls | MT | USA | Posted: 10:57 PM on 04.19.09 |
| ->> Rice? Use a blow dryer. It takes just a few minutes... |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 9:28 AM on 04.20.09 |
->> I've had the camera in a ziplock with some rice in it and that seems to be doing the trick.
Thanks for all the help! |
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Doug Holleman, Photographer
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Temple | TX | USA | Posted: 2:43 PM on 04.20.09 |
| ->> It took me a lot of searching and asking questions to befuddled clerks in various stores to figure out where to find bags of silica gel. But you can get it at hobby shops like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Look for it in the floral section. It is used most commonly for drying flowers. |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia/Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 5:21 PM on 10.09.09 |
->> Ok, resurrecting this thread again.
I'm having the same problem again, moisture inside the prism, or on it. Either way it's visibly clouding my viewfinder. This is the second time it's happened to this camera, should I maybe consider that it is a problem with the weather proofing? The camera did go in to have the shutter replaced a while back, maybe one of the seals wasn't replaced properly...
Anyone have any knowledge or experience with the weatherproofing on a 1D degrading overtime and having to be replaced? Cost estimates on getting this done?
It's sitting in a rice bag again to hopefully dry it out, but I'd rather get it fixed than having to continue to do this after I shoot in the rain. |
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Fred Greaves, Photographer
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 6:38 PM on 10.09.09 |
->> I had this problem with two MkII's a few years back after covering hurricanes and other wet humid stuff for a couple of weeks straight.
I ended up having to send both bodies back to Canon and they replaced some seals/gaskets and the prisms. From what I recall there were some bad seals that allowed moisture to get in there and condense. After Canon replaced the prisms and the defective parts, I never had a repeat of the problem.
Both bodies were still under warranty when it happened (again, 3-4 years ago) so it didn't cost me anything other than the cost to ship them to Irvine. |
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Colin Hackley, Photographer
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Tallahassee | FL | USA | Posted: 7:00 PM on 10.09.09 |
->> I had this same problem recently with my 1D MKIIn after a rainy football game.
The condensation was as you described between the viewfinder eyepiece glass and the magnifying optic behind it.
I called a camera repair tech I trust and he told me to remove the four screws around the eyepiece and put it out in the sun.
The screws were easy to remove and the plastic piece lifted off with the assist of my finger nail running along the seam.
I did not feel comfortable undoing the seals that hold the two pieces of glass together so just opted to put that piece out in the sun to bake. Of course it started raining 20 min later, so I started experimenting with heat settings in my oven. I was concerned about melting or warping the plastic so I used a thermometer first and found that with the oven OFF just the light bulb in my oven would heat it around 100 degrees.
I put the part in the oven propped on a towel to insulate it from the metal grate and the condensation was gone in about 30 min.
As for avoiding the problem in the future you could consider replacing that plastic cover and the attached optics in the hopes that the new seals around the eyepiece would be better. If it is an inexpensive piece I would do it and keep the old one to swap out if the new one developed the same problem. |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia/Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 1:21 PM on 10.11.09 |
| ->> Thanks for the replies. The rice bag did the trick again and it's all dried out. I think I will end up sending the camera in and having it checked out soon. |
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Dann Wunderlich, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Chicago | IL | US | Posted: 5:33 PM on 10.12.09 |
->> Joel --
I am laughing as I read this thread because I was watching you on the field of Faurot and you had rainproof everything on - down to the pants and shoes
Sucks that you got that water in there - but awesome that it is fixed. |
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