mirekti Posted January 12, 2014 Share #1 Posted January 12, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'll be going for a two weeks vacation to Hawaii, and plan on taking photos no matter the weather. While I'm not afraid of rainy weather, salty winds, and ocean's moisture worry me a lot. I will keep my UV/IR filters on, and will not swap the lenses on the beach. Anything else I should worry about? I might get a UWA lens before the trip, but won't be buying a cut filter as it would cause a color shift on UWA lens. Is then a plain UV filter a must, or just a clear filter? Would salty air damage coating if no filter is used? Could you share your approach to this situation, please? What methods of cleaning you use etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Hi mirekti, Take a look here Salt and wind tips needed. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Dougg Posted January 12, 2014 Share #2 Posted January 12, 2014 Hi - Hope you'll enjoy your vacation... We were on Maui for 2 weeks over Thanksgiving. Kilauea has been spewing noxious materials for some time, but part of the time the wind carried it over other islands. Some folks are more sensitive to the chemicals so this is one concern if the winds are wrong while you are there. Also this made for some grey days and generally diffuse sunlight. And some odd coloring... I'll see if I can attach a sample. I had my M240 and also took 28, 50, and 90mm along, but as it turned out I only used the 50 C Sonnar. So no lens changes. I did have a UV/IR Cut filter (on all three), and I think this was particularly useful in incandescent light. There is likely to be a light rain shower or two in the afternoons, not enough to matter IMO. Salt water hasn't been a problem for me even in stormy weather (which I rather enjoy), as then I just wipe down the gear with a fresh-water damp cloth at the end of the day. Have a good time, and get some good pics... no matter what! Doug Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/220040-salt-and-wind-tips-needed/?do=findComment&comment=2507359'>More sharing options...
250swb Posted January 12, 2014 Share #3 Posted January 12, 2014 Anything else I should worry about? I don't think you should worry about the things you think you should worry about. A clear/UV filter is good as it makes cleaning your lenses easy on the beach, you can't ruin your lens by grinding sand into it, but equally not having a filter isn't going to destroy the lens if common sense is used. Salty air on it's own isn't going to damage the coating. And so you can change lenses, hopefully not in a howling gale but away from the wind, take your sensor cleaning kit as dust can appear at any time, especially during transit when it gets shaken out from crevices deep in the camera. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2014 Share #4 Posted January 12, 2014 Yes, I agree. But a salty environment is hard on metals, especially where different metals meet, so wiping down your gear once a day in the evening with a damp cloth if there is really a lot of salt in the air is probably a not a bad idea. Having said that, I have my cameras on the beach at least twice a week, I have never done that and I have never seen any harm done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirekti Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted January 12, 2014 Thanks a lot. Last year I was on Maui, and Oahu, and used Canon. It's funny how I appreciate this equipment more than Canon's so now I'm worried all of a sudden. ...I can't wait to go there again. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/220040-salt-and-wind-tips-needed/?do=findComment&comment=2507623'>More sharing options...
ggriswold Posted January 12, 2014 Share #6 Posted January 12, 2014 Probably would be a good idea to take a cheaper camera when the weather turns bad. I like my Sony A7 just fine... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundraline Posted January 12, 2014 Share #7 Posted January 12, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I used to work on offshore oil rigs as an engineer, and can tell you that salt water wreaks absolute havoc on anything electrical or electronic. Depending on the actual physical context of your photographic junkets in or near the sea, I would therefore consider being quite careful about not exposing your camera unnecessarily to salty air and the ocean. Forum members who live near the ocean (like Jaap) will have more informed opinions about this issue than me, however. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJH Posted January 12, 2014 Share #8 Posted January 12, 2014 I live by the sea, easiest thing to do apart from all the good advice above is keep you're lens cap on (cap over hood if at all possible) and only take it off for the few seconds during which you're taking a shot. Inspect and clean you're kit when you get in. Its the wind that seems much more of a problem, I have been down to the beach or harbour on nice still summer days and the camera has stayed spotless. Went for a walk a couple of weeks back to get some sunset shots over the Fleet (the wet bit between Chesil beach and Weymouth) and literally everything had to be cleaned. The wind was pretty crazy though I was struggling to stand up straight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2014 Share #9 Posted January 12, 2014 And if you go sailing, especially in the tropics, I would advise a Pelican case with Silicagel to keep the gear in when not in use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted January 12, 2014 Share #10 Posted January 12, 2014 I have the same concerns. Fresh water spray & rain are fine but I am concerned about the potential for salt spray working itself into the camera or lenses leading to corrosion down the track: Post#8 http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/315634-week-nepal-monochrom-m240.html I'm just finishing up a coastal/beach holiday today. Fortunately there was only one day where the weather was bad enough with wind blowing salt spray. Rain itself doesn't bother me so much. On that day I took my old M9 with two cheaper Zeiss lenses and left the rest of the gear at home. On another day we did go on a jetski tour along the coast and based on the advice of our guide I left the camera behind - fortunately! In such weather I carry the camera and one or two extra lenses in a small Crumpler shoulder bag, or if not taking any other lenses with me then the camera strap is over my shoulder but inside a waterproof small 2 litre waterproof stuffsack to protect it further. I'll often have it under a Goretex sprayjacket and maybe a small relatively wind-resistant umbrella. Sometimes if I'm walking along the beach and it's windy then I usually just cary the camera covered with a T-shirt. There is a new disposable 2-pack clear plastic bag for using cameras in this situation but I've not tried it. I'm always obsessive about wiping my gear down that evening regardless and all my lenses have filters. Regardless my gear is fully insured. Perhaps I should get an Olympus E-M1 for such days and accept the files just won't be quite as good Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted January 12, 2014 Share #11 Posted January 12, 2014 And if you go sailing, especially in the tropics, I would advise a Pelican case with Silicagel to keep the gear in when not in use. Exactly. And put some perspective on the situation and two weeks on the beach is neither here nor there, I mean what is the OP asking about, spending a working life on an oil rig! Anybody can concoct a worst case scenario, the only important thing is you don't transfer your own low risk threshold onto other people, and don't over egg the pudding by making it seem risk free. It's not a nuclear war, it's not being stranded on a desert island for an indefinite time, it's an effing holiday. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2014 Share #12 Posted January 12, 2014 And cameras are made to be used - especially on holidays with plenty of memories to capture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest redge Posted January 13, 2014 Share #13 Posted January 13, 2014 For those of us who spend a good deal of time in saltwater environments, the original question might seem a little paranoid. It one lives in Dallas, maybe less so. In the past, I've had trouble convincing people that places like Jordan, due to desert/wind/sand, aren't a fatal threat to one's camera. I'll bet if that was mirekti's question, there would be plenty of people here predicting camera Armageddon unless he put his camera in an underwater dive housing. Meanwhile, there's a guy from the Mideast on Twitter/Instagram who's posting quite good M 240 desert photos and I suspect not wringing his hands over his gear. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 13, 2014 Share #14 Posted January 13, 2014 Carry comprehensive insurance. Then just use common sense and spend your photo time thinking about pics, not problems. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirekti Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share #15 Posted January 13, 2014 Thanks for all the answers. I'll keep it cool, and relax. I have no experience in doing insurance. Any recommendation, and what I should look for i.e what kind of plan? I'm an amateur, and my equipment is not used for profit making. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 13, 2014 Share #16 Posted January 13, 2014 Plans vary by country and location, by insurer, by individual circumstance(s), etc. [i'm not talking about professional users, just amateur]. Over the years I've relied on riders to my homeowners policy, covering all damage or loss with no deductible. Values are established up front, and escalate automatically and/or by statement, depending on the policy terms. Costs vary…I think mine are a bit over $15 per thousand $ of declared value annually. You should research plans in your area. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdsheepdog Posted January 13, 2014 Share #17 Posted January 13, 2014 And if you go sailing, especially in the tropics, I would advise a Pelican case with Silicagel to keep the gear in when not in use. We (my wife and I) live on a sailing yacht (almost in the tropics) when I not working here in Hobart. I have and do use Pelican cases, and frankly I am not that enamoured of them, at least not in the conventional sense. At first I worked out how and where to put things and carefully tore the little squared insert foam out to make a clinically lovely little kit, which was all very satisfying. But, the problem, I discovered after quite some time was that left no real room for the silica gel. Moisture slowly soaked into the foam and everything was if not wet, not dry either. The little packets of silica gel are simply useless. So, I now leave the inner foam block out entirely. This leaves room for a BIG packet of gel, sold in supermarkets here as "DampRid." There are other names, and they are cheap. There is the right clearance, in the small cases, between the dimpled foam in the lid, and the base foam to control the camera. Lenses I keep in cheap **ay sheepskin leather bags, with the odd bit of foam stuck in here and there to stop them rattling around. Not using the inner foam block, while failing to satisfy the anal retentive elements of the Leica owners soul, does increase the versatility of the case. You can put in it what you want when you want it. Even lunch. Pelican cases are of course without peer when getting in and out of dinghies and dinghying in through surf and such when there is a good chance of full immersion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 13, 2014 Share #18 Posted January 13, 2014 Agree. I have a conventional camera bag by Lowepro that is designed to fit exactly into a Pelican Case. I don’t think they make them any more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted January 13, 2014 Share #19 Posted January 13, 2014 Take a packet of baby wipes. Wipe everything down once a day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 13, 2014 Share #20 Posted January 13, 2014 Baby wipes contain Lanolin, which will make the camera a bit greasy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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