Dew Heaters?

[iksose7]

Hi folks

Been having a bit of trouble with dew lately. I've been looking around online and i never expected to become so confused by the amount of different sizes and types of heater. So i was wondering if somebody could recommend or suggest one? I dont have a scope yet, this is just for my camera - a Canon 1100d.

Anything important i should know about heaters?

Also, does anybody by any chance know a website where you can pay monthly on scopes, mounts, equipment ect. This is not for the dew heater obviously but if there is a site like this, it will come in handy in the future.

Cheers

[LukeSkywatcher]

For your camera i would just make a standard type dew shield using some kind of insulating material. A camping mat is ideal. They are very cheap and you wouldnt need a lot. You could also try some corrigated cardboard (i hear that works well also). I dont think there is a dew heater available in such a small size as to fit a camera.

Hope this helps.

[brantuk]

You do need to keep the camera dry - but I wouldn't want to heat it up with a dew band cos you want that chip to run as cool as possible - dew shielding should be enough.

[LukeSkywatcher]

You do need to keep the camera dry - but I wouldn't want to heat it up with a dew band cos you want that chip to run as cool as possible - dew shielding should be enough.

Good point. You want the camera chip as cool as possible but keep camera lens dry/dew free.

[BenConway]

i would suggest dew buster, even though very pricey, it is the only one that works well enough for winter weather.

[LukeSkywatcher]

i would suggest dew buster, even though very pricey, it is the only one that works well enough for winter weather.

As has been said above, you really dont need a dew heater system for a camera. For a scope...............yes if you want. A dew shield is enough for a camera.

[iksose7]

Thanks for the suggestions folks, you just saved me a good bit of money. Dew shield it is

[Photosbykev]

I have to disagree completely with some early comments dew affects camera lens just as easily as scopes. If you are shooting wide angle a dew shield is next to useless. Even shooting at 100-200mm the length of a dew shield is limited before it causes vignetting. Heat is the only way to ensure dew doesn't form by keeping the temperature of the optics etc a few degrees above the dew point. Hand warmers help delay the formation of dew but dewstraps are the answer if you want to shoot for long periods. You can buy short 4" straps which are ideal for camera lens http://www.firstligh...ater-tapes.html .

The Dew Buster is the Rolls Royce of controllers, with external temperature sensing to give a feedback loop to adjust the power output, but the HitecAstro and AstroZap controllers are absolutely fine for UK winters.

If you want a cheap form of heating maybe a 12v hair dryer is a stop gap answer but they eat power.

(edit: my 4,001 post )

[Psychobilly]

+1 for kevs answer...

[brantuk]

Plus one for Kev's answer too - I totally misread the first post - for the exposed lens you do need a dew band and a shield - I have a rubberised cover to keep moisture of the actual camera.

[Photosbykev]

Plus one for Kev's answer too - I totally misread the first post - for the exposed lens you do need a dew band and a shield - I have a rubberised cover to keep moisture of the actual camera.

I use the Kendrick camera cozy which keeps the moisture off the body http://www.kendricka...cameracozy.html . It's shown with the Firelite dew controller which seems an ideal system for DSLR users BUT the connection from the dewstrap to the controller is a piddly little connector which is very fragile and easily broken.

[cantharis]

Once again we are back to my most often used astronomical accessory - the wife´s hair dryer. Gently waft a bit of warm air from that over dew and it just disappears.

[Psychobilly]

I tend to prefer to keep it at bay from the start so tend to put the dew heaters on a lowish setting while i am setting up... the actual settign will depend on the size of the front element and materials that the lens body is made of...

That way I can leave the camera running for as long as i like without worrying if the lens is going to dew up...

Peter...

[brantuk]

"I use the Kendrick camera cozy which keeps the moisture off the body"

That looks very interesting Kev - I imagine it's a darned site easier to use than my Canon moulded rubber camera cover - which is like trying to fit marigolds over a football lol

[Photosbykev]

"I use the Kendrick camera cozy which keeps the moisture off the body"

That looks very interesting Kev - I imagine it's a darned site easier to use than my Canon moulded rubber camera cover - which is like trying to fit marigolds over a football lol

They are easy to fit, just slide them over the back of the lens before you mount the lens to the body and then there is plenty of stretch to pull them over the body