Lens Damage

piereGG

I'm based in France and recently received delivery of an expensive Canon video camera brain and compatible Canon wide angle lens. The weather here was very cold the week it was delivered and the lens was in extremely low in temperature when it was unboxed. Within minutes of being in the warmer environment of my home, water appeared on the external focusing band and the lens glass was fogging up.

Later I placed it in a sealed plastic bag. That's what the enclosed Canon manual suggested when I found the right section. However, the manual suggested doing this immediately or before entering the warmer environment, so I assume my delayed effort didn't help much. Anyway, there is certainly no sign of this condensation any more and both the camera and lens are shooting fine with no fogging or damage visible to the naked eye.

I would be interested to know if you folks think damage could possibly have occurred? I guess the lens had to travel to the local dealer from another country so actually this kind of change from cold to warm environment may have happened before over the past week since it left Canon's own couriers and started being transported by others. It may even be a reality of deliveries of lenses in general! Am I safe assuming the glass would be engineered in such a way that accounts for a certain amount of such condensation and the creation of pure water inside the device when environments warm up? Should I not worry about failing to prevent it on this one occasion? I'm not really looking for advice on whose fault this is or how to deal with the supplier as that has been taken care of. I'm just looking for technical advice on whether damage might have really taken place.

Thanks in advance!

PBked

Hi Piere,
I think you are probably safe this time. Internal damp can cause the growth of mildew on the inside surfaces of the lens, but this builds up over time. Follow the basic rules. If going from a warm environment to a cold one, allow the camera and lenses time to acclimatise and vice versa of course. Don't put your equipment in a plastic bag (smacked fingers Canon) as any moisture will not be able to evaporate. From a good photo store, purchase a couple of pouches of silica gel and keep them in your equipment bag at all times. There should have been some small ones in your camera box and lens box when bought as these are usually included by the manufacturer.
Regards,
PBked