Dew on first night with the camera

[Keithp]

Morning All,

First night out with the new EOS 500D and number one enemy got me... time and time again...Dew:mad:. Ended up having to wipe the lense between every shot and I'm sure knocking it out of focus slightly.

Is it possible to get dew shields for camera lenses or would a dew strap be a better solution.

Any advice gratefully received.

Regards

Keithp

[brianb]

Lens caps for wide angle & zoom lenses are just not effective against dew. You need a dew strap. The size for 2" eyepieces & finders is probably right unless you're using a longish telephoto lens.

[Beyond_Vision]

If you are using a wide angle lens you will not be able to use a deep shroud for a dew shield as the picture will be vignetted. It's probably worth investing in something like this a dew controller and heater bands. The only problem with heater bands is that they may get in the way of the focusing ring.

Altair Astro Nature Optics CATALOG - Astronomy Telescopes & SkyShed POD Observatory equipment UK & Europe

Altair Astro Nature Optics CATALOG - Astronomy Telescopes & SkyShed POD Observatory equipment UK & Europe

[Keithp]

Cheers for that, I think a heated dew strap will be the way to go. I was thinking of one of these astrozaps maybe the 2" or 3"

Dew Prevention in the second list down.

Is it better to have one of those controllers between the band and 12v power source?

Regards

Keithp

[arad85]

Is it better to have one of those controllers between the band and 12v power source?

Yes, otherwise you're drawing full power all the time. What the controllers do is allow you to control how much power goes to the band. You don't need anything like 100% power to keep stuff dew free (hence you drain the battery less). I had my heated dew shield on my 9.25" SCT last night at about 50% power (I have the Kendrick Dewfire 7) and it stayed completely dew free when the C80ED and eyepieces were dewing up like mad...

Need to get myself an eyepiece and C80ED dew strap - yet more money!!

[brianb]

Yes, otherwise you're drawing full power all the time. What the controllers do is allow you to control how much power goes to the band.

This is hardly an issue with the small bands you'd want for a typical camera lens ... the current draw will be approx. 0.5A. And "overheating" a camera lens won't cause seeing issues because of the small image scale. I'd go for one of the simple cigar lighter to RCA socket cables.

[kev 102 42]

looking in Retailers Product Showcase Keith and give Blinkey a shout he makes dew controlors ...........kev

[Keithp]

Cheers for the heads up Kev

Keithp