Shooting in the Monsoon...tips?

[Van Royko]

So I'm in India shooting a doc in the Monsoon with the Epic.

So far it's been challenging. Lens fogging and rain deflector fogging is a big issue.

Maybe someone can tell tell me- is the only reason lenses fog because of a difference in temperature between the glass and the ambient temperature.

Could heat build up under my rain cover be a reason. I would think that theoretically a warm camera + glass should be good?

Any experiences or tips to shooting under extreme rain would be greatly appreciated....

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

I have shot in New England on the coast in the winter - not a monsoon, but very, very damp.

Keep the rain well away from the camera - like will a big umbrella several feet across. Rainy air tends to compound dampness issues. Rainy air condense faster than the same air with no rain in it.

Fogging occurs because of a temperature change, but under monsoon conditions, the air is very damp, so even a very small temp change between inside and outside the glass will make for condensation. In the desert, there could be a much bigger difference, yet still no condensation because there is so little humidity in the air to condense

Try to aclimatize your lenses and camera to as close as possible to outside air temp. That will help.

 

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Where in India are you shooting?

I never use the rain covers as those can't breathe well and heat will buildup. So you are creating a big temperature differential if you are shooting for long. I go for simple solutions. I do small things like covering it with a clear plastic/polythene, or just placing a towel over the camera and at time over my head like the folks used to do while shooting several decades back. I just returned from a trip to Uttarakhand hills in the North of India. There was landslides and rain, mist etc. I was shooting with a C300 with all canon L series lenses and it worked fine. I am more confident about the L series lenses, as I have photographed and filmed in pouring rain with a Canon 1D Mark IV DSLR and lenses. With the C300, am more cautious.

If you are shooting and quickly getting into the car, then you will face condensation. If you are getting into the car then keep the AC off and some windows partially down, so that you are not creating too much of a temperature difference.

If you have an assistant, then ask to hold an umbrella.

 

[Will Turner]

What my AC did on a rainy day was attach two c-stands to the sides of my magliner. The c-stands held a 4x4 flag which held a tarp in place using some grip clips. If I would have removed the top shelf then I could have gotten lower, otherwise this setup worked great for us and was easy to setup the next shot by just pushing the rig to the next location and not care about the rain. This also worked well to keep me, the director, and AC dry. We named it the Trojan horse.