Humidity and Moldy Camera Lenses
By Oli
At 3:31 PM · Monday, 29 September · 2003
To Life
Japan was the first humid country I’d ever been to. I remember the feeling when I first arrived — almost like stepping into a different medium, somewhere between air and water, but not really like either. What struck me most was the solidness of the air, and the way smelled. It could just have been something stinky nearby, but I remember it as the smell of humidity.
I’d never even considered mold as a major problem while living in New Zealand. Sure, some student accommodation was damp, and maybe the shower would be moldy, but it was never something to be concerned about (maybe unless you were asthmatic). Certainly I never thought mold could just grow anywhere, on anything. Maybe food, but glass? Inconceivable.
I recently subscribed to the Japan Photography Mailing List (email list), and there was a discussion about mold on camera lenses (September 2003). I checked my lenses, and saw the tell-tale snow crystal-like patterns too. My wide-angle Sigma lens will cost about 11,000 - 15,000 yen to clean the mold, with a 3-4 week turnaround. Hopefully the mold won’t have caused permanent damage. Ouch.
I bought a Capaty dry box with a hydrometer, plus some silica and fungicide sachets yesterday. After reading a little on the ‘net (I can’t find any reviews though) and contemplating our present ridiculously humid location, it looks like I’ll need the 10x more expensive version, a Toyo Living dehumidifier box. I’m looking at the Special Series ED-85S model, for a cool 29,800yen. I used to look at these dehumidifiers in Japanese camera stores and think they were only for oyaji （親父） photographers, old Japanese men with top-of-the-line equipment they have no idea how to use. It looks like I’m heading the same way! There goes another chunk of my Nikon D-100 body savings :/ Oh that I’d known about this sooner!
