Camera Storage Question

[Thomas Keidan]

Hi everyone, I don't know if this is the right place to post this but if it isn't then please let me know. I'm currently storing my cameras in a 'Really Useful' brand plastic box with some silica gel sachets in. The box is not airtight so allows air circulation. Is this a good way to store my gear especially in this current UK humidity? Thanks!

 

[OlyMan]

Always stored mine in partitioned camera bags inside my divan bed in my bedroom. The temperature in my bedroom probably sinks to about 15 dec C overnight in winter to 28-30 deg C during the day in summer. I've never really considered they would benefit from better storage solutions, not least because I can't really offer them anything better, other than perhaps chucking in a few packets of silica gel in the camera bags. I've never noticed any deterioration in their performance as a result of my storage methods and would suggest that what you're already doing is quite sufficient as long as your house is normally warm, dry and you're not storing your cameras in the bathroom/shower room.

 

[jim10219]

How long of a storage are we talking about here? Months? Years? Decades? Generations?

All I can say is the best way to store just about anything other than food is to keep them in a temperature and humidity controlled environment, out of direct sunlight, and be sure to pull them out from time to time to give them a dusting and a bit of use.

About the worst thing you can do for anything is store it away and never check on it. That happened to me a few years ago. I had all of my important paperwork in safe in my closet. I thought it being locked in a fireproof safe with silica packets would protect everything. But I had a slow water leak from a faulty pipe that went unnoticed for several years that slowly dripped water on the safe. It eventually seeped it's way into the safe, overloaded what the silica packets could handle, and brought mold with it, all over all of my important documents. The safe was supposed to be waterproof. It clearly wasn't. Had I checked in on it every 3 months, I would have discovered the problem long before any permanent damage had occurred. But I assumed the system was foolproof and got bit.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Silica gel is wonderful stuff. However, it needs to be reactivated once it's absorbed it's fill of water. Think of it as a sponge, it will absorb a certain amount of water and no more.
If you want to use silica gel get a proper package with a telltale that changes color when it's "full". Reactivation consists of baking it in a vented oven at 110-115oC for several hours. If you use silica gel, keep it and the equipment in a sealed container not a vented one otherwise you'll be trying to dessicate the entire room.
Another potential trouble is going out on a cold day with a camera at room temperature and humidity; this morning it is -20oC here, bringing a camera from a warm room out into temperatures such as that will cause the moisture in the air inside the camera to condense, eventually causing steel parts to rust. Bringing the camera inside from such temperature will result in condensation forming on the outside of the camera, some of which will find it's way inside and repeat the cycle when you go out again. So, abrupt changes in temperature are bad.

 

[gary in nj]

Shouldn't lenses (that are rarely used) be stored with the caps off so light can enter? I've heard that this cuts down the chances of fungus. I'd much rather clear dust then remove fungus.

 

[Thomas Keidan]

Always stored mine in partitioned camera bags inside my divan bed in my bedroom. The temperature in my bedroom probably sinks to about 15 dec C overnight in winter to 28-30 deg C during the day in summer. I've never really considered they would benefit from better storage solutions, not least because I can't really offer them anything better, other than perhaps chucking in a few packets of silica gel in the camera bags. I've never noticed any deterioration in their performance as a result of my storage methods and would suggest that what you're already doing is quite sufficient as long as your house is normally warm, dry and you're not storing your cameras in the bathroom/shower room.

Where are you living that you get 15 degrees C in winter?! I want to move to where you are!! Thanks, as it happens i'm storing them in my bedroom which is on the same floor as my bathroom but I make sure to open windows and have an extractor fan going! My student house is so poorly arranged!

 

[Thomas Keidan]

Silica gel is wonderful stuff. However, it needs to be reactivated once it's absorbed it's fill of water. Think of it as a sponge, it will absorb a certain amount of water and no more.
If you want to use silica gel get a proper package with a telltale that changes color when it's "full". Reactivation consists of baking it in a vented oven at 110-115oC for several hours. If you use silica gel, keep it and the equipment in a sealed container not a vented one otherwise you'll be trying to dessicate the entire room.
Another potential trouble is going out on a cold day with a camera at room temperature and humidity; this morning it is -20oC here, bringing a camera from a warm room out into temperatures such as that will cause the moisture in the air inside the camera to condense, eventually causing steel parts to rust. Bringing the camera inside from such temperature will result in condensation forming on the outside of the camera, some of which will find it's way inside and repeat the cycle when you go out again. So, abrupt changes in temperature are bad.

I've bought the colour changing silica gel which tells me when the packets are full. Are you sure I should keep cameras in an airtight container? I've read that the restricted air flow can cause problems with fungus? But I would appreciate your advice if you think differently! Yes whenever I plan on shooting in the cold I will make sure to put the camera in an airtight bag before letting it come back up to room temp to avoid condensation!

 

[Thomas Keidan]

Shouldn't lenses (that are rarely used) be stored with the caps off so light can enter? I've heard that this cuts down the chances of fungus. I'd much rather clear dust then remove fungus.

Hi this lens will be used a lot I promise! The lens is also fixed under a clamshell so can't be stored by itself! It's an Olympus Mju II which is weather sealed!

 

[Minoltafan2904]

My Minolta X-700 has resided for the last 35 years in a leather Fotocare camera bag with no problems, i keep it in a cool storage room i have.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

I've bought the colour changing silica gel which tells me when the packets are full. Are you sure I should keep cameras in an airtight container? I've read that the restricted air flow can cause problems with fungus? But I would appreciate your advice if you think differently! Yes whenever I plan on shooting in the cold I will make sure to put the camera in an airtight bag before letting it come back up to room temp to avoid condensation!

If the environment is humid, you will only reduce that humidity by keeping the cameras in an airtight container with silica gel. Otherwise, as I pointed out above, you will be attempting to dry the entire environment with your small packet of silica gel. Mold/fungus needs humidity, temperature that is not too hot/not to cold, and food if it is to grow. So, keep dry, keep clean. The internet is full of conflicting advice much of it bad. In a long time of using cameras and quite a lot of different equipment, I've seen very little real fungus in lenses. Sometimes "fungus" is a catchall term used for something not otherwise identified. The few items I have seen with real fungus were neglected in appalling conditions, unheated storage areas in an area where the temperature can vary easily 60oC or a bit more from coldest winter to hottest (and humid) summer.

 

[MattKing]

Are you talking about where you are storing your cameras, or where you keep them?
If cameras are being used regularly, keep them clean and dry and don't expose them to water or smoke or dirt.
A closet shelf, a not-air-tight drawer, even a not-air-tight bin under the bed.
If it is a good place to keep your clean underwear, it probably would serve well for keeping your cameras.
Long term storage without use? That's when the silica gel and other tools and techniques come into play.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Hi everyone, I don't know if this is the right place to post this but if it isn't then please let me know. I'm currently storing my cameras in a 'Really Useful' brand plastic box with some silica gel sachets in. The box is not airtight so allows air circulation. Is this a good way to store my gear especially in this current UK humidity? Thanks!

You can store them in Pelican cases with silica gel. Pelican cases are a bit expensive. I like HPRC cases.

http://www.hprc.it/

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Are you talking about where you are storing your cameras, or where you keep them?
If cameras are being used regularly, keep them clean and dry and don't expose them to water or smoke or dirt.
A closet shelf, a not-air-tight drawer, even a not-air-tight bin under the bed.
If it is a good place to keep your clean underwear, it probably would serve well for keeping your cameras.
Long term storage without use? That's when the silica gel and other tools and techniques come into play.

What he said^^.
I was presuming they'd be in storage a while. Anything I don't plan to use for more than say a month or six weeks goes in a ziploc with some silica gel, just to be safe and prevent dust accumulating BTW I keep most of my gear (whether in ziplocs or not) in an old bureau, two small drawers over three full size drawers, the stuff I'm actually using on a couple shelves. Never ever had trouble with moisture, but then it's not in the cellar either.

 

[pentaxuser]

Thomas, my Mju II lay in a living room cupboard drawer, unused for about 15 years with no problems

pentaxuser

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hi everyone, I don't know if this is the right place to post this but if it isn't then please let me know. I'm currently storing my cameras in a 'Really Useful' brand plastic box with some silica gel sachets in. The box is not airtight so allows air circulation. Is this a good way to store my gear especially in this current UK humidity? Thanks!

FWIW, I store mine at 20C and 60%RH on open but dust-protected shelves; batteries removed; Every 4-6 months, I run the shutters through all speeds to keep them working. no failures or fungus so far.

 

[OlyMan]

Where are you living that you get 15 degrees C in winter?! I want to move to where you are!!

You probably already live somewhere warmer than me. I'm talking about overnight inside temperatures. Outside it's been -5 overnight recently, just like everywhere else in the UK.

 

[guangong]

Store most of my cameras in my gun safe. Preoccupied with family medical broblems I didn’t notice that safes heater dehumidifier was not functioning. Luckily I discovered this before irreparable damage was done. Cleaned exterior of cameras and lenses and gave every lens a sunbath. Everything ok except a little rust spot on shotgun. Consider myself lucky.
No matter how you store cameras, as many noted above, check regularly!

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Always stored mine in partitioned camera bags inside my divan bed in my bedroom. The temperature in my bedroom probably sinks to about 15 dec C overnight in winter to 28-30 deg C during the day in summer. I've never really considered they would benefit from better storage solutions, not least because I can't really offer them anything better, other than perhaps chucking in a few packets of silica gel in the camera bags. I've never noticed any deterioration in their performance as a result of my storage methods and would suggest that what you're already doing is quite sufficient as long as your house is normally warm, dry and you're not storing your cameras in the bathroom/shower room.

I think that's a good rule of thumb. Store your cameras in a room in which you feel comfortable in and so will your cameras.

 

[Grytpype]

I'd advise against storing cameras too dry. It depends on what type of gear you are storing, but I aim to keep most of mine at a relative humidity of about 40%, which is dry enough for fungus spores not to germinate, and for any existing fungus not to grow, but not dry enough to destroy organic materials, such as leather. I monitor humidity with these hygrometers (cheap enough to buy in quantity). Obviously you cannot expect gauges of this "quality" to be accurate across the range, but you can calibrate them to be accurate enough at the humidity you are interested in: I set mine by putting them in a sealed container with a bowl containing a saturated solution of potassium carbonate (both crystals and liquid are present), which produces a RH of 43%.

Camera cases I keep (at ambient humidity) in the sort of stackable lattice-sided plastic sided trays that supermarkets get some of their veg. in.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I'd advise against storing cameras too dry. It depends on what type of gear you are storing, but I aim to keep most of mine at a relative humidity of about 40%, which is dry enough for fungus spores not to germinate, and for any existing fungus not to grow, but not dry enough to destroy organic materials, such as leather. I monitor humidity with these hygrometers (cheap enough to buy in quantity). Obviously you cannot expect gauges of this "quality" to be accurate across the range, but you can calibrate them to be accurate enough at the humidity you are interested in: I set mine by putting them in a sealed container with a bowl containing a saturated solution of potassium carbonate (both crystals and liquid are present), which produces a RH of 43%.

Camera cases I keep (at ambient humidity) in the sort of stackable lattice-sided plastic sided trays that supermarkets get some of their veg. in.

not too dry and not too wet is righty range of 40-60% is about right