r/LifeProTips • u/ScarlettDavis41 • 1d ago
Electronics LPT: Tape a small packet of silica gel inside your camera bag to keep it moisture-free.
Silica gel helps absorb excess moisture in your camera bag, protecting your gear from damage due to humidity or condensation.
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u/nicholas_janik 1d ago
They don’t last forever, so change them out when you change your smoke detector batteries.
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u/CaptinEmergency 1d ago
They do last forever but need to be dried out periodically which most people won’t mess with.
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u/brickmaster32000 1d ago
And by periodically we are talking about probably once a week if not more. If your bag isn't airtight it takes next to no time for a tiny desiccant pouch to be overwhelmed.
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u/nicholas_janik 1d ago
Technically correct is the best kind of correct. Thanks for adding that in…but you’re right. I’d wager most aren’t going to recharge these things in the oven.
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u/CaptinEmergency 1d ago edited 1d ago
I collect silica packs and have never once dried them out. In my mind I have a drying chamber, in reality I probably just have an airtight box full of moist packets.
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u/RJFerret 23h ago
After getting some color changing indicator types, yup.
Those that come with things are typically already saturated.
Others don't take very long, then can return moisture depending on conditions.3
u/AtlUtdGold 20h ago
How do you dry them out
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u/CaptinEmergency 19h ago edited 19h ago
I’ve heard to put it in the oven on low for two hours. I’ve never done it but I am going to soon. I think it needs to be out of the packets though so I am going to put it in a coffee filter and tie it shut once it’s dry. I’ve been collecting packets for years and am now realizing what I have on hand is not as effective as I had thought.
ETA: I just realized my oven has a dehydrate setting and I’m considering leaving them in the packs.
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u/PLZ_STOP_PMING_TITS 19h ago
You don't need to take them out of the packs, although ones not made to be recharged may open from the heat softening the glue. I do about 175-200F for about 10 hours.
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u/Hanz_VonManstrom 18h ago
Would the gas/electricity cost of keeping your oven on for 10 hours straight not outweigh the cost of buying new silica packets?
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u/PLZ_STOP_PMING_TITS 18h ago
If you're recharging one, then yes. If you're recharging 100 big packs, probably not. I think most of the drying happens in the first few hours, so after 3 hours they're probably at least 75% recharged (just a guess, not based on scientific testing).
The reason I say 10 hours is because that's what one of my rechargeable ones said. 10 hours at 200F uses a lot less energy than if it was 350F, like for baking. Also, if I can then I use my toaster oven instead. I can fit about 30 medium size packs in there on two racks.
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u/CaptinEmergency 18h ago
I can pretty much tell the ones that won’t hold up. I might just buy a few designed to be heated. Is 10 hours necessary? I have read to weigh it but I’m not going to.
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u/PLZ_STOP_PMING_TITS 18h ago
One of my rechargeable packs said to do it for 10 so that's what I'm basing it on. If they're rechargeable they should have instructions with them or printed right on them. I would guess most of the moisture is gone after 2-3 hours, but to get them 100% like new it probably takes longer.
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u/PLZ_STOP_PMING_TITS 19h ago
In my experience the ones that are not made to be recharged can open up and leak from the glue being softened while recharging them. I recharge 20-30 at a time and usually one or two come apart. I have not had that issues with ones made to be recharged..
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u/Mr_Gaslight 1d ago
Not really. The silica gel packages found inside vacuum-sealed camera boxes that come from the manufacturer were put in there in humidity-controlled environments. Once you open the plastic wrap the silica starts absorbing moisture from the ambient air until it is 'full' and can no longer act as a desiccant.
You can reactivate the silica by baking it for a few hours at a few hundred degrees but you're soon back to square one.
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u/MissTortoise 1d ago
It's actually worse than that: silica gel buffers humidity. If it's been in a high humidity environment and it is moved to a low humidity, it releases moisture.
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u/dashader 1d ago edited 1d ago
This tip has been making rounds for a while now, and it's very wrong.
Those silica gels are single use. The ones in packaging likely absorbed all the moisture they could and are useless.
If you get new ones, you can probably use it once... if that. Given that camera bag is not vacuum sealed.
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u/NNovis 1d ago edited 1d ago
Technically not right here. You can "recharge" silica gel by baking them at a low temp for a few hours to drive out the moisture and you can go right back to reusing them again. But you're going to have to drive out the moisture again at some point, so it might be more hassle than it's worth anyways.
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u/Crintor 23h ago
You can recharge silica dessicant.
But yea, unless you have an airtight seal they're gonna absorb their moisture and max out quite quickly.
They hold about 10-20% of the weight in moisture, so if you have one of those tiny little 1-5g packets that come with lots of things you're talking about 0.1-1g of moisture. (almost zero)
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u/Justmeagaindownhere 1d ago
First of all this isn't going to work because the humidity will just go through the bag to replace the inside humidity.
Second, this is completely unnecessary. Cameras are just fine with humidity.
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u/Mapleess 1d ago
I’m not fully familiar with this but have seen people have humidity controlled cupboards and storage containers. If humidity is fine, why are they going through so much effort to control humidity? Does humidity only matter for lenses? It’s hard to say what “gear” is but I’d think lenses would fall under that.
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u/31337hacker 1d ago
It matters because humidity allows for fungus to grow and that’s mainly a concern for lenses. It affects image quality, unfortunately.
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u/Alohagrown 1d ago
Camera equipment is very susceptible to fungus caused by high humidity.
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u/Aguacatedeaire__ 1d ago
Lol what are you even talking about, film cameras? Yes the film rolls could get mold growing on it because they were made of soft organic materials that the mold could use as food.
But it's not the '90s anymore, electronic cameras are no more vulnerable to humidity than any other electronic device, which means not much at all unless you're directly splashing it with water or something like that.
Or how do you think phones, cameras and pcs work in countries like Vietnam with 80% humidity almost all year round? Do yout think they have mold coming out of the pcs, or specially produced and completely sealed devices?
No, they use the same devices you are using.
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u/Nightslashs 23h ago
It’s not the electronics that get fungus it’s the lens specifically the coatings. This is really only a concern for long term storage
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u/Alohagrown 16h ago
The coatings on camera sensors can also be affected by fungus and will significantly affect image quality
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u/Alohagrown 17h ago
One google search could’ve saved you from typing 3 paragraphs about something you clearly don’t know a lot about.
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u/Alohagrown 1d ago
If you have any serious money invested in camera gear you never store it long term in a camera bag. Electronic dry cabinets are the best way to protect your investment and start around $150.
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u/_LePancakeMan 17h ago
I've been doing night time photography for a while now. The easiest trick to manage humidity in your camera bag is to wrap your camera (and extra lenses) in zip-lock bags while still outside, before transitioning from a low temperature to higher temperature (e.g. outside at -5C to inside at 20+C)
Leave it in the bags for a couple of hours until it is at the target temperature. This will cause moisture to condense on the bag instead of on your gear.
Also: stop worrying about your gear so much, go take some photos. Check the somewhat old DigitalRev video,where they try actually breaking a camera
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u/Psychedeliciousness 21h ago
If you actually care about the humidity for your camera gear, pick up a humidity meter and verify it. A small sachet of silica gel will have negligible effect.
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u/PLZ_STOP_PMING_TITS 19h ago
A small silica packet will absorb moisture for a few hours at best and then it will just be like not having one in there. They don't magically get rid of moisture, they absorb it until they're full, which happens pretty fast in a humid environment unless the container they're in is sealed air tight. You're best bet is to put a large silica pack in there and seal it in a plastic bag if you're worried about moisture. They have silica packs that change color when they get saturated so that will tell you if it's still good or needs to be replaced or recharged. Most silica packs can be recharged in an over at low temp (175 -200 F) for about 10 hours but it may be cheaper to just replace them unless you're recharging a lot of them at once. The ones not specifically made to be recharged can sometimes have the glue let go and cause them to leak out the beads.
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u/brownpoops 21h ago
My... Camera bag?
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