I bought a air tight container and put all my lenses and body on it and some silica gel. My hygrometer reading right now is 50%-53% RH is it still safe?
The lower the humidity, the less likely you are to have problems with fungus. But if the humidity gets too low, static charges are more likely to develop, which could affect the internal electronics. Given that the static charges are far less likely to happen, I'd throw a few more silica packs in there if you live in a high-humidity environment. The only problem is that as soon as you open the container to check the hygrometer, you're letting the humidity in again. You'll go through a lot of silica gel.
Anything less than 60%RH will keep fungus out. As I live in the tropics, I am using a humidity cabinet where the RH is electronically controlled. My cabinet is set at around 45%RH to be on the safe side. Hopes this helps.
As long as you don't actually go swimming with it without a watertight container, you'll be fine. Jesus Christos -- what is the 'proper relative humidity my lens must be maintained within'? Gimme a break. If you see a lot of fungus growing, check your feet -- probably the source....
christo™ wrote:
As long as you don't actually go swimming with it without a watertight container, you'll be fine. Jesus Christos -- what is the 'proper relative humidity my lens must be maintained within'? Gimme a break. If you see a lot of fungus growing, check your feet -- probably the source....
If he's living in the tropics, then he might need the drybox. I had lived in the equatorial region before, and I have had fungus growing on my old lenses. But the reason was because I didn't use my equipment enough (i.e. maybe once every two months), and the still, humid air was good breeding ground for fungi.
