Camera maintenance for fungus prevention after nighttime shooting

RDKirk wrote:

Suman Vajjala wrote:

Hi. I have a question regarding a method of camera maintenance for fungus prevention specially after a night of shooting. I saw a suggestion where the camera is recommended to be kept in the sunlight the next day or a few days later. Is that a safe thing to do? Also, should this be done the very next day?

I have on a couple of occasions, pointed the camera lens at the sun for a few seconds to expose the lens elements to sunlight. Is that safe? I have a mirrorless camera. It occurred to me recently that pointing it at the sun may not be such a good idea as the sensor is always exposed. Will such things result in, say, more dead/hot pixels?

If such practices are wrong, then what should one do to prevent fungus formation specially after a night of shooting? What are your best practices?

Also, if I say shoot for an hour or so in the night, can I put my camera back in the bag or should I leave it out in the open until morning? I have been keeping the camera in my bag until now as I have a few silica gel sachets in it. I want to know if that is a good practice.

Apologies if the questions are silly.

Regards

Suman

Do you have access to air conditioning? High humidity that promotes fungal growth is defined as 70% (or greater) relative humidity for more than 24 hours. If you can leave the camera exposed in an air-conditioned space lower than 70% humidity for a few hours every day, that will protect it.

Sure, I will try creating a low humidity using AC. In any case, I will invest in a good dehumidifier. If fungus can grow just after 24 hrs in high humidity environments then how do people take care of their gear in such environments? Or are they resigned to it.

Keeping it in a bag is the wrong step to take. Ordinary Silica gel in packets becomes saturated with moisture very quickly and becomes useless. You can get "indicator" silica gel in perforated metal tins that turns color when it's saturated, then dry it out in an oven and reuse it.

RDKirk
'TANSTAAFL: The only unbreakable rule in photography.'

Thank you for your tips. I will buy silica gel with some kind of indicator.

Regards

Suman