If you live somewhere that tends to be humid, you might want to consider how you store your cameras and lenses to ensure they last a long time. This great video will introduce you to dry cabinets and how they can protect your gear.
Coming to you from Pixel Viilage, this helpful video will introduce you to dry cabinets. Corrosion and fungus are the enemy of cameras and lenses (you often see fungus growing inside older lenses), and depending on where you live and how you store your gear, you could be placing your expensive bodies and lenses at risk. It's not something everyone everywhere needs to worry about, but those in certain climates should consider it. Zeiss lists the following conditions as optimal for growth of fungus:
- Fairly constant relative humidity of 70 percent or more
- Poor airflow
- Darkness
- Temperatures between 50 °F and 95 °F
- The presence of nutrients such as grease or dust
In other words, if you live somewhere like Florida and you store your gear in your closet , you should definitely consider picking up a dry cabinet. With lighted shelves and a metal and glass design, they also simply make for a nice place to keep your equipment.
Not humid here, and we have AC, but I've been trying to find a nice glass/plastic front case for storage purposes and for visibility. Not so much for "display" purposes but so I can see the equipment I have and not forget it. Basically something to keep equipment dust free and accessible so I can look in it and go "hey, I should/could do something with that, I haven't used it lately." Right now everything lives in various bags which reduces accessibility when I have to dig through them to find anything.
Even though I don't need the drying aspect, I have searched through all kinds of other things and keep coming back to drying cabinets. For the size and build quality, and for ticking those boxes, I haven't really found a better cheaper alternative yet.
This is what I use. Its a display cabinet from IKEA with added LED lights. It holds everything I have, plus keeps it organized and dust free. Its decent build quality for the cost.
That does look nice.
I've definitely considered going a similar route, but haven't found anything that I quite liked yet. We don't have an Ikea in the area right now (although one is supposedly coming) but I'm almost limited by the fact that I don't think I need or want something that large necessarily. Hard to find a smallish cabinet with a glass front that's big enough but doesn't get spendy.
My home office isn't that big, I may just have to get rid of one of my shorter cabinets/bookshelves in favor of something like that if I can't find a better option.
Very timely. I've recently upgraded to a pair of lenses I want to be kept in tip-top shape, and considering the dampness of Long Island and how my apartment can be affected by it, this may be something to seriously consider. Especially with the summer months not too far off. A few film bodies (not expensive or exotic, but I want to keep them clean); a few speedlights, etc. We spend too much money to mess around.
You had me, right up until the point you suggested an $800 cabinet. Any cabinet that seals reasonably well and a dehumidifier rod https://www.amazon.com/LOCKDOWN-222000-Parent-Lockdown-Dehumidifier-Rod/... will do the same thing for 1/10 of the price. In fact, the rod I linked will work for a FAR larger cabinet than the one in the article.
I've not seen those before, but that just looks like a heater. Have you used one of these with a hygrometer or seen a review from somebody who has?
I know that Sirui do nice cabinets for a good price.
I have one in a safe along with a hygrometer, located in a finished basement. Yes it warms the air, and yes it works. The body of the rod gets to about 150F degrees F but only raises the inside temp by a few degrees due to conduction through the safe body and convection from the warmed air escaping through the door, drawing cool air in its place. This is similar to how the unit in the article works, although that appears to use a Peltier device.
I wouldn't rely on it in a garden shed for Florida residents, or a bathroom closet for those who love steamy showers, but my safe never goes above 40-45% relative humidity even when the room where it's located does. For a camera cabinet, I might consider throwing in a small fan to keep the air circulating within the cabinet.
Cool - Thanks for the followup.
I don't think it's the right call for my particular circumstances, but now I see how it can actually be useful.
The 120L in the video is $400, if that's any consolation?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1348545-REG/ruggard_edc_120l_elec...
Is that so? India is far cheaper. The street price is only $250 for the 120L!
The other point not listed is that fungus needs 24 continuous hours of those conditions to begin growing. If you break the cycle, you will keep fungus at bay.
If you think you might have a humidity problem, first check to make sure. Buy three inexpensive hygrometers at a big home store or a Walmart or Target (they are in the house thermometer area). Buy three of them because they're cheap and you want at least two of them to agree.
Humidity moves with air movement, and it's not unusual for the humidity level to vary widely even within the same room--dead air spaces in the corners near the floor will often tend to be more humid than the center of the room even if you have air conditioning.. Check the place where you store your equipment. If the humidity is 70 percent or better, choose somewhere else.
Trying to depend on desiccants (silica gel) is too much of a hassle in the long run. If you really have a humidity problem that can't be solved by putting the equipment in a good location in an air conditioned room, then consider the dry box.
When I was living in Okinawa and the Philippines in the early 80s, I put a 40 Watt bulb in a kitchen cabinet and kept my equipment there at night. The bulb heated the air and lowered the relative humidity.
And don't store equipment in a bag or case. Every situation of lens fungus I've ever heard starts out, "I took the lens out of the bag where I always keep it...."
He is pretty successful commercial photographer in India..& I guess he is based in Kerala, India..I have worked in Kerala for 2 years & trust me that place redefined the term "Hot & Humid" for me ....in summers temperatures can cross 34C (92-93F) with 80%+ humidity! ....800$ isn't a big deal for someone like him....The YT channel is more like a side thing he has recently started for someone who is starting with photography
Thank you Harsh... for your kind words. Yes... Kerala is extremely humid. By the way, this doesn't cost $800. Street price for the 120L, which is the largest you can buy off the shelf, is Rs.17,000/- ($250). Cheers...
lens fungus is the stuff nightmares are made of.
Hello Alex... You haven't picked anything else from our Channel 'Pixel Viilage' off late! Would you want to suggest any improvements? Thanks...
Good idea. I had no problems with my lenses when living in Northern Chicagoland where I had constant air conditioning.
But now living in the Philippines I have trashed my 70-200 and 24-70 with mold in the front element. I didn’t even realize at the time humidity killed lenses.