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Humidity and Cameras

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by SantaFeJoe on Sat Jan 21, 2023 11:48 pm

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On the tech specs of the Nikon z9, there is a note under “Operating Environment” about the humidity not exceeding 85% with “no condensation” appearing in parenthesis. I’m wondering what humidity has to do with operating the camera. I had never noticed that condition in the specs before. Around here, the humidity usually hovers between 10-15%, but occasionally can reach 100% or as low as 3%. I doubt it would ever come into play here, but I am really curious as to why humidity would affect camera performance.

Joe

Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. -Pablo Picasso

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by signgrap on Sun Jan 22, 2023 10:02 am

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My guess is it's a combination of humidity and temperature they are worried about. Let's say you're photographing in Costa Rica where 95 - 100% humidity is a common occurrence. You take pictures for a few hours in this kind of humidity while making a couple of lens changes which will make it easy for the internal workings of the camera to reach a very high humidity level. Now you take the camera into a airconditioned room over night. The cooler air not being able to hold that very high level of humidity will form condensation on the inside of the camera, creating a moisture problem that will raise havoc with the camera electronics.

Dick Ludwig

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