curious fear

[charles lim yi yong]

what happens if a drop of water falls into the heat sink?

 

[Imran Farouk]

Well...that would suck if it was raining but I remember people talking about how the fans were open to dust and so forth,

RED said the important bits are protected well so...I'd assume ONE drop won't make a major difference...a waterfall of drops though...probably will...

 

[Peter Cote]

Yeah, I've worried about this as well. I live with my greatest fear as a sudden unforeseen down poor.

 

[Ron Goodman]

what happens if a drop of water falls into the heat sink?

I too have wondered about this Charles. There is a solution for 90%.

 

[Stuart English]

what happens if a drop of water falls into the heat sink?

It evaporates....

 

[J Davis]

charles, they've stated that the camera vents are isolated, you can pour water in there if you really want

 

[Michael Mayda]

charles, they've stated that the camera vents are isolated, you can pour water in there if you really want

An Epic enema, or a enema epic???

Mike

 

[Taylor Morrison]

So water is OK...how about saw dust? Shooting in a woodworkers shop next week and I am worried about dust in the vents. Thanks in advance

 

[Jason Comparetto]

If you know that woodchips are going to be flying around, put a cover over the camera, just as long as air is allowed to flow it should be fine. I use a piece of paper with gaff tape on it at a 45-degree angle sort of like Origami but don't block the vents. keep the cool air flowing.

 

[Taylor Morrison]

Jason, Woodchips are easy to deal with ...its the dust I'm worried about. Thanks for your idea with tape...Ill try that

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I shoot in a lot of dirty environments -- construction / demolition sites, manufacturing facilities, foundries, windy deserts, muddy race tracks, etc...

Bagging / covering the camera is never a bad way to go. Just be sure you can keep some air circulating or can pull the bag/cover off here and there. heavy duty plastic bags or raincover bags work great for dust too. If it's dust and not rain that you're protecting against, you can cut some extra vent holes and tape coffee filters over them. I have the best luck with gorilla tape or regular duct tape for this.

Typically, I don't bag the camera unless it's really dusty -- like where I'm going to want to wear a respirator myself. Or I'll bag it if I'm not sure what I'm about to get into (splashing mud/water, flying sparks, etc..).

 

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

I would just make sure you can clean the dust out later so it allows efficient cooling. Dust can easily insulate heat if it coats something, like computer hardware. I don't own an Epic or Scarlet yet, so someone else will have to say if there is a way to get a dry cleaning implement into the vent for cleaning.

Do NOT use the following video as advice on cameras, again, I am not an expert on Epic, but this is somewhat informative for the topic of electronics and dust:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BovgvppZX4k&feature=player_embedded

 

[Jason Comparetto]

Jeff, those are some good suggestions. I like the coffee filter one, intriguing

 

[Taylor Morrison]

thanks for the tips... ill let you know how it goes

 

[charles lim yi yong]

perhaps goretex

 

[Ron Goodman]

Charles after seeing your lovely recent Leica M lens test, I can understand how you started to think about this issue. We might do something in this area in the future....just make sure you do not restrict airflow in any major way...this camera needs cooling.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Jeff, those are some good suggestions. I like the coffee filter one, intriguing

Hehe. I'm always rigging up various ways to protect electronics in dirty places, not always cameras. Coffee filters are something that can easily be rounded up and they do a reasonably good job. Or if you stop at the local hardware store, there's filter fabric and other alternatives.

As to the OP, in a woodshop situation, I personally wouldn't bag the camera unless I was going to be right up close and having fine sawdust spewing at the camera. And I'd still take a longer focal length and a few steps back before pulling out the bag. If it's for a few quick shots here and there, just use a hefty trash bag with a hole so the lens can protrude or whatever.

Another thing to keep in mind is flying debris. If you're in an environment where you should be wearing safety goggles, you will probably want to protect that front element of your lens(es) too! I keep a few pieces of clear polycarbonate cut to fit like regular filters in my mattebox just for this purpose. They work better than clear glass or UV filters for protection and as long as they're clean and scratch free, they should be fine optically. Another trick there with most filter frames is to flip the frame around backwards. Most frames actually have more physical surface area contact against the filter on the front/matte side of the frame. If you turn it around and something does impact that poly piece, there's less chance of it jumping out of the frame.

 

[D Fuller]

Hehe. I'm always rigging up various ways to protect electronics in dirty places, not always cameras. Coffee filters are something that can easily be rounded up and they do a reasonably good job. Or if you stop at the local hardware store, there's filter fabric and other alternatives.

As to the OP, in a woodshop situation, I personally wouldn't bag the camera unless I was going to be right up close and having fine sawdust spewing at the camera. And I'd still take a longer focal length and a few steps back before pulling out the bag. If it's for a few quick shots here and there, just use a hefty trash bag with a hole so the lens can protrude or whatever.

Another thing to keep in mind is flying debris. If you're in an environment where you should be wearing safety goggles, you will probably want to protect that front element of your lens(es) too! I keep a few pieces of clear polycarbonate cut to fit like regular filters in my mattebox just for this purpose. They work better than clear glass or UV filters for protection and as long as they're clean and scratch free, they should be fine optically. Another trick there with most filter frames is to flip the frame around backwards. Most frames actually have more physical surface area contact against the filter on the front/matte side of the frame. If you turn it around and something does impact that poly piece, there's less chance of it jumping out of the frame.

Great post Jeff.

Also, with polycarbonate, some 6 mil poly and Velcro, you can make a pretty good do-it-yourself harsh-condition rig. I learned that shooting snow plows up here in Maine.

 

[PatrickW]

Another tip for: Women's pantyhose is fine mesh and flexible allowing it to stretch over things, and keep out fine particulate matter like dust or wood chips.

 

[Nathaniel Haban]

Either that, or you could hit up the lighting crew for a scrap of tough-spun. At least with gels, you know they'll take any heat from the vent.