hi all,

just bought my Canon 400D last 2 weeks ago.

still clueless about how to maintain my camera, my friend told me to buy a "dry box" to prevent the lens and camera from growing fungus. so whats a "dry box"? can a normal tupperware box be use as a "dry box" for keeping my camera??

and how often do i have to clean my camera? once every 3 months?

can anyone give me a few pointers on this??

Thanks.

inkle.

A dry box is a humidity controlled container. The low cost solution is an air tight container with silica gel acting as a desiccant. The more elegant but costly solution is a electrically powered dry cabinet which actively reduces humidity.

As for lens care, storage in a dry box is useful when it is subject to long periods of storage. Lenses which are used often (weekly or so) usually wont be affected by fungus as exposure to UV from the sun kills or inhibits the growth.

Basically, don't keep your camera and lenses in a dark damp place for extended periods of time. Take it out and make good photos, the 400D is a fantastic tool.

if u got bring ur camera go 'action' always
no need drypod la

thanks for the fast reply, i gone and bought a tupperware and put a lot of drying agent pack into it. much cheaper than buying a "drypod". cheaper alternative

the UV light is definitely the best solution for Fungus, camera feels more like a living organism. cool!

the 400D is definitely a fantastic tool, but the problem is it's a bit dark when taking photo at semi-low light. like inside a house with windows open ard 4pm oledi too dark and need to use flash.

is this bcoz of lens or the camera itself? if can help by lens, then i'm planning to get a 100mm Macro lens sooner.

inkle

This post has been edited by inkle: Jan 6 2007, 11:21 PM

set a higher ISO should solve it, but beware of increase in noise levels

and the 100mm macro lens is a good lens too, faster get it then show us your photos!

This post has been edited by R a D ! c 4 L: Jan 6 2007, 11:38 PM

thats the problem, i dont want to use higher ISO because then noise level will be too high. ISO set to 800/1600, noise level is unbearable.

i wonder if there's a difference if i get a better lens, my ISO mayb can stay below 400, and i can still get a better exposure photo?

inkle.

PS: the 100mm is definitely good yah! but quite expensive, will have to rethink hard b4 buying. after doing alot of research, this lens is almost an all in one lens. Macro/Portrait/Infinity, yet still get sharp image. Die liao!!

This post has been edited by inkle: Jan 7 2007, 12:02 AM

this is what i do ......

get an air tight container with silica gel (<10 per pack) and put your camera in it when not using
get clear filter to protect lens - keep lens cover on at all times when not taking pics
learn how to hold the camera properly - ie strap must always be on you neck
get a nice quality camera bag like lowepro/tamrac ...... it's worth it. no point trying to save $ by getting budget caplang bag and then find you want to upgrade becos not good enough
make sure you put a plastic bag (enough to wrap the bag) in your camera bag - this is incase rain and you got no shelter
buy a cleaning set (for me a brush and blower good enough) and lens cloth
be smart when taking picture - avoid water droplets on camera, becareful of sand at beach
minimise changing lens especially in open area - this is to avoid getting dust onto the sensor
buy magazine like digital camera malaysia - cheap and very informative

lastly - pls be careful when using dslr to take pics of sunset/sunrise DO NOT look at the sun directly from the view finder as it will injure your eye. the view finder is looking at a mirror directly through the lens.

This post has been edited by kitman: Jan 7 2007, 12:10 AM

lol. try asking the sifus here la, they should know how to solve your problems

why not go for the Tamron SP90? It's a good macro lens too! Check out Nonblood's gallery, he's using it to shoot macro, very sharp pictures cheaper by 1k too(if im not wrong)

how to ask the sifus?? PM them??

SIFUS!!! Help!! Need some comments on the EF 100mm Macro USM Lens!! SIFUS!!

hope they can hear me.

anyway, today i went to the oldest running camera shop here, but i forgot to ask them wheter they have Tamron brand lens, Stupid!! i'm from Sabah, so dont know if they sell this brand of lens at all. and u say it's RM1K cheaper!! Woh!! Good Price loh!! might get it, if they got sell here.

inkle.

lol, just post more and ask more, you'll learn in time de im no pro here, but i can give comments too, depends on what kind of style of photography that you prefer lo

Yeah the lens is called Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 (Di) Macro 1:1, it's a very good lens(to me), Im sure others will say the same too

here are some samples: Click here!

Oh, do i mentioned that you can choose another way of doing macro too? With close up filters, you can do so here's how!

have fun

Wow Thanks for ur links!! now i have a few more sample to see, atleast i'm now even more confident in buying the lens. now i know i'll be getting the photo i want with the lens. now harder to resist buying. Die!!

i saw ur photos profile, very good skill, one of the sifus. will need some guidance from u in the future.

inkle.

i think i just poisoned you once you got the lens, apply a good close up filter on it la, then apply kenko's extension tube too go beyond life size

no no no, dont call me sifu -x-" but ill be happy to help out

A lens is only very good in its usage with respect to a photographer's (read: your) style and skill set... if you cover a lot of live indoor events candidly, a fixed focal may be very inconvenient to use than a zoom that covers the same focal length range. On the other extreme, if you go wildlife watching a lot, a fast, long focal length prime lens is good.

Canon 400D high ISO unbearable? Then my Oly E330 noise must be torture but I do find it usable for action pics at low light. Hey, it's either you miss it totally or have something which may or may not be salvageable using Photoshop.

Eh, don't go putting your camera under the sun or a UV tube light. UV damages plastic and rubber.

Is it? Worst than Fuji F31fd?

http://www.camerahobby.com/Digital_High_ISO.htm

You can try shooting RAW.

This post has been edited by gogo2: Jan 7 2007, 12:45 PM

It's not a RAW vs JPEG issue when it comes to noise. JPEG might even make the noise look better due to its lossy compression method!

Well, i mostly shot portrait/macro, i find DOF is very important to me, thats y looking at the 100mm. sharpness is definitely my prime concern.

hehe.. since this is my first DSLR, i have very high hope for my "precious". was expecting less noise from high ISO on low light scene, but still can accept lah(almost). thats y i seldom go above ISO 400.

definitely wont giv my 400D sunbath, mayb nearby window, indirect weak sunbath. hehe...

inkle.

well, i always shoot in RAW after i first try it on my 400D, i tell u, i wont go back to JPEG anymore, the controlability with RAW is awesome when doing post processing!!

inkle.

nolah, u didnt poison me, u just add a little bit more poison only. been wanting to buy the lens since i test out the 60mm, u just "help" me out only.

wah, got extension tube some more, like that really die liao!! more poison!!
must tahan!!

inkle.

PS: whats a close up filter?? UV filter a?? aiyo!! more poison!!

This post has been edited by inkle: Jan 8 2007, 04:54 PM

Depends on whether you actually have time to develop all of your RAWs and your RAW developer: do you have the 'standard' RAW reader that came with your DSLR kit or the 'pro' or 3rd-party version that you have to pay extra for?

Some pro photogs, especially those who cover events and weddings, just shoot in JPEG because there is no time for them to do all the post-processing that RAW permits before the deadline for submitting their shots to the customer.

Close-up filters are basically magnifying glasses. They permit normal lenses to go closer to the subject to take macro shots but at the price of more image distortion at the edges. Best way to take macro is still a proper macro lens + extension tube (or bellows). The reversed lens technique is also powerful and easy to start with (just need to make or buy a reversing adapter ring) but very cumbersome.

Extension tube? guess i'll do some more research on it. reverse lens technique, u mean reverse the lens, so the inside facing the outside, and the outside lock into the body? i better go research.

inkle.

where did you guys get those silica gel? I wanna get lots of it

yeah yeah... i also looking for silica gel..... anyone knows where i can find any in penang???

u know where i found those silica gel? in a shop selling plastic bags and price tag. u should go look for this kind of shop, they should have it.

inkle.

on a side note, I read somewhere before some mat salleh installed a pringles can onto his kit lens (18-55) and effectively made it a good macro lens, now that's a good article eventhough you don't want to try it out

silica gel seller

From my bad experinces, the low lost air tight container never do its job and it is as good useless. I used to use 2~3 BIG bottle of silica gels! And heated them until change back to blue before re-closing them. It was so troublesome.... and worst, result...

I have a 40 liter Sunpod which is good. If you want, maybe later I can sell to you. But not so soon la. I might need a bigger one because my lenses now are longer... And I prefer placing them vertically so it has some difficulty on arrangement.

Extension tubes are really great. Trust me on this one.

I have the 20mm and planning to get the 12mm soon.

I think for most lenses like 17-55, 17-85, 85, 100, 135, 12mm is pretty sufficient. I found 20mm is a bit too much for my 100mm last time.

There is no need to buy dedicated macro lenses if you do not do it often. Also non-macro lenses like 85, 100 and 135L really good in normal potrait, candid shooting.

thevoip, do express your experience...cause i planning to use the "low cost version of a drybox"

Planning to put the 2l (thirsty hippo) into this "tupperware" air tight box,.....and if i keep my 50mm lens and my camera inside..will it help reduce fungus on the lens?

also where can i get my lens with fungus cleaned??

hmm, must it be silica gel? i gave up looking for silica gel to put in my box which safe keep my camera and lens.
i resorted to "Thirsty Hippo" instead. easier to find. so far no problems.

where to buy "thirsty hippo"?? do they sell it every where in camera shop??

you can get your thirsty hippo from Carrefour, tesco and Giant "camera shop"

here: http://www.photocritic.org/2005/macro-phot...hy-on-a-budget/

what kind of shop is that?
selling price tag?

have u try camera shop yet? those shop shud have...

no no..
i suspose to have a silica gel already

i just asking what kind of shop does he mean only..
actually not that hard to find silica gel wo

Actually ... you want silica gel you can potong abit from Pamela Anderson, she got plenty.

Oops ... off-topic ... cabutz ...

yeha, he supposed to have... but when ler..

it's a shop mostly selling those price tag in rolls one, where u put into a 'stapler' & just tag it on the product, besides that, the shop also sell all sizes/color of plastic bags, & some bakery items like cup cake mold & etc...

the closer term of describing this shop should be "plastic rubber shop'

bcoz here in kk, hard to find selica gel, if u get from camera shop, for sure they sell expensive, & it might be the same thing u get from the 'rubber shop'. hope this helps, if u still need more description, i can go take a picture of the shop.

inkle.

Why not try the hardware stores?

Hi hi, want to tumpang question.

Say if there is dust on the lense, can use my spectacles cloth to wipe it?

What if got dust went into the camera, how to clean ar?

spectacle cloth also got good one and bad one, which one is yours? better use microfibre cloth la... and for the camera just do a blowjob, with a blower

haha, hair dryer??

Tamron SP90mm f2.8 is one of the best macro lens in the world if not THE best... Just browse in the internet and read about the reviews, and i'm sure 98% of them gave it a 10/10 rating...

aiyo, the motive is to clear the dust, not heat the dust la fren

An alert for those of you using stuff like Thirsty Hippo to absorb the moisture.

The ones I leave in my wardrobe turned liquid after some time! Now, we don't want that tipping over our camera and stuff, right?

use hair drier to blow mah, takkan u blow with ur mouth rite, if the saliva goes die la

the hair dryer you use can blow ar? my one the speed is just like my mouth blowing only anyways i think you might damage the coating la if heat it, i think... why risk it? just buy a blower, chip chip @ RM40

??!!, my thirsty hippo when in used condition got water inside it too, but the thing is sealed quite well

This post has been edited by andy: Jan 25 2007, 11:30 PM

Somehow, I had the liquid seeping out of the container. Had to say sayonara to one of my fav. skirt
I won't want to risk it with my photography kit!

Edit:

Wait..IIRC, kena peel off the paper for the thing to work?..then how can it be sealed? or did I remember wrongly?

..dunno lah, sudah lama already, never use those stuff after the bad experience.

This post has been edited by ??!!: Jan 26 2007, 12:02 AM

no no, it will be sealed, the seal is the entrance for the vapour i believe, some special hippo tech la but i still have mine with water in it, can show you too, no sips

yea they collect water at the bottom of the container.....i also have mine, no sipping no problems...maybe yours got cockroach bite a hole at the bottom??

edit:

just wanna know, normal PnS camera do not easily have fungus, what makes it so special that dslr can catch fungus la? Nowaways , kindaa lazy to maintain my dslr already, just treating it like a pns camera...but stupid thought of fungus making me stress........anyway daily activity, sometime bring out without bag, jsut carry around, then bcome home just leave on table...air-con room..then in day time the room no aircon, kinda hot....but camera lieing inopen..duno how easy i can get fungus le?

This post has been edited by porkchop: Jan 26 2007, 01:21 AM

u staying in KL?? i know the air there is dryer, i not that easy lah. if like me u r staying at Kota Kinabalu, where we r located beside the see, the humidity here very ganas one. if the camera not take out for sun bath in 1.5 month, for sure kena fungus liao.

thats y i put 10+ selica gel pack in my camera bag.

inkle.

Was juz browsing the forum when I came across this thread. I know it had lied dormant for quite a while but I thought I might want to bring it back to life again

Anyway, for inkie: i am from KK too. i juz bought an air tight container from Servay supermarket for RM 50. It has rubber seals at the edges so it shouldn't leak in air that easily. For the silica gel, I got a bottle (500gm) for RM 22.00 at the camera shop in Wisma Merdeka. 500gm is A LOT of silica gel. I think the small packets that you got from the label shops are the "non-reversible" type (i.e. used once, throw away type). The silica gel I got from the camera shop is blue in color when it is dry. After it absorbed moisture, it turns purple / pink / red. What I did was if it changed color, I just dump it into the microwave for 5 minutes to remove all the moisture trapped in the silica gel, let it cool down, and then put it back into the air tight container. I think it can be used for a very long time. Of course, it is a hassle having to reheat the silica gel now and then, but for RM 72 (vs. RM 300 to RM 500 for a proper drybox), I am not complaining!

On the side note, do you do photo sessions often? How is your skills coming along? I thought since we are both in KK, maybe we can have some yamca session now and then to share photography experience. Learn from each other mah...

Sham.

What the current best price now i can get for 400D kit set (hopefully come with free bag, 1 or 2GB CF, free or discounted filter, tripod (optional la)

Last, must be warranty by Canon Malaysia..i am in KL yo...

i do have my camera in silica gel ...but the thing is these gel always change colour already then need to throw

You can just microwave them (use the lowest power setting!) and they'll turn back to their original colour (blue?) once all the water trapped inside of them has evaporated.

bring ur cam in action (sun bathing) everyday

no need silica gel

This post has been edited by shinchan^^: Mar 4 2007, 10:48 PM

The gel no need to throw away leh. Sayang lor... pinkygirl. just spread the gel on a shallow glass plate and dump it into the microwave & "ting" for 5 minutes (low heat). It will turn back to blue and you can use it again.

shinchan, camera can take out to use often but not all lenses can sunbathe every day wor...

Sham.

Optically speaking, it is superior and should beat both Canon and Nikon original by slight margin, usually at wide open. But the autofocusing sucks....

Try using the Canon original one and see, operational experince is really smooth and fun to use. It make the Canon one enjoyable to use.

Anyway, there are always pros and cons;

Tamron -> Optically perfect, but autofocusing suck! Good for young people with good eye but no money
Canon -> Everything very good, but asking price too much! Good for people already working and have saving

My advise could be, if you can upgrade your budget, still go for the Canon one la... Try use-use, really siok.

This post has been edited by TheVoIP: Mar 5 2007, 01:47 PM

come to think of it, even if you've dried it, how are you gonna use it when the packaging has already been ripped open? takkan you wanna spread all the silica gel all over the beg?

I am paranoid about placing non-edible stuff in the microwave which I use for my food.

put it into those film container. punch a couple of holes in the cover... viola!

I use plastic salt and pepper dispensers...

I use a used "Air Wick" air freshener container. Squarish, with a top cover that comes preforated already. Photo of my silica gel holder:

1#



2#


You can see (especially in photo 2#) that the top layer had changed color compared to the lower layer. This means that the top layer silica gel had already absorbed some moisture. All I had to to is give the container a good shaking and then I can keep using it again until it had mostly turned pink, then I send it to the microwave.

??!!, it is just moisture you are getting rid off, nothing poisonous (i think)...

sham.

Not bad Sony Alpha camera quality hehehe...

g88 -> i hope u mean it in a good way. hahaha.... i detect no sarcasm here. can use lah.

sham.

sham,
of course i am giving complement to you ma...hehehe

For cleaning cloth, better get a good TRUE lint free micro fibre cloth. Even if it's not lint free, it should be alright if you have a good blower as it can be blown away. The lenspen that I bought is partially useless...the cleaning tip is virtually crap...doesnt clean anything at all...50% isopropyl alcohol + microfibre cleans my filter nicely without leaving any marks.

I'm very tempted to try using make-up brush for dusting...my gf has some that is much softer than the crap brush that comes with my SIMA PLE lenspen....what a waste of money on that

ps: get a big blowjober like this too!


This post has been edited by AlamakLor: Mar 7 2007, 01:53 AM

You guys are so creative! I never owned a blower, dustproof boxes or dry cabinets in my entire photography career

wow... alamaklor.... your blowjob thingy looks like a rocket wor.... can fly ah?

ac98, better be safe than be sorry mah.... expensive equipment man. take all the necessary (& affordable) precautions.

sham.

This post has been edited by kysham: Mar 7 2007, 11:47 PM

ooo where did u get all those silica gel??

Dig from the ground, sometimes in dustbin can find one

Woi, don't bluff the kids!

I got mine yesterday at Summit USJ Fotodata.

One bottle I think is 500gm at RM18. You need buy some small bag from memory lane or gift shops, usually ppls use it for filling in fragance dry flower.

chrisoys, you got it cheap i got mine at RM22 per 500gm here in KK . What to do lah. Buy already cannot go back and ask for refund wor. PAKAI ONLY LAH!

I just used an empty air freshener bottle to put in the silica gel. refer to my photos earlier. no need to buy any special bottle / container mah.

sham.

Here in Singapore, I can just buy it from a Carrefour at S$3.90 per 500g bottle. Kodak photo labs sell them for S$5.00 per bottle of the same size...
Those are the blue silica gels -turns pink when saturated with water. There's another more expensive type -the yellow silica gel- turns transparent when saturated with water. Difference is the yellow type is impregnated with some chemical that is much less toxic than the blue type but it should not be a concern unless you eat those gel beads.

wah! carrefour singapore selling it so cheap i think i'm going to faint.

sham.

it's so far , so no need to kek sim...get the best price in local is enuf..

weel said yewkhuay. air ticket + airport tax already more than the price of the silica gel 10 times! hehehe....

sham.

Maybe you need to find alternative sources. Last time I managed to mail order a bottle (500gm) of boric acid within Malaysia to use as pesticide to kill cockroaches. You can approach chemical supplies companies directly. Just google or look in the yellow pages.

No need lah... Just buy off the shelf. Get a couple of friends and share the 500gm of silica gel mah. Can spread the cost. One person cannot finish use 500gm also right?

Sham.

i just got my 400D couple hours ago !!

But dunno where to keep it. Now i keep in inside my wardrobe inside all my cloth...and my room is aircond ON when i sleeping...should be ok right ??

Whoa.... new toy wor g88. Congrats. heard the new 400D is a good camera. Put it next to your bed and sleep with it tonight lor. Better buy a decent storage box with silica gel to store your equipment for the time being. The whole setup should cost you no more than RM60~RM70. Something to store your new toy in relatively better shape when you are not using it mah... Nanti grow fungus...

But, like they all said, the best is still to shoot more often with the camera.

Sham.

Hi y'all! New 400D owner here. Finally graduated from my A70 last week.

Lots of interesting tips here!


That's what I've been doing these past few nights

Chucky, make sure you are not the type that likes to kick around when you sleep hor.

Sham.

heahehe after kick down the bed ...............

anywya how do u all reheat the silica gel? i read they say dun use those plastic microwavable container as these gels will become very hot

Eh... I thought its just put it on a plate with the container..put on low heat and let it burn for 5 mins.... have not done b4...

just experimented today : put in transparent name card box n put in my car when i go to work + lunch , car parked under 11am-2pm hot sun, everything turn blue/purple when i m back...

no oven.... thanks to malaysia all-time summer...

Cannot la..since i turn on aircond sleep...later scare moisture grow inside after aircond off (cold > warm > cold...)

Ehh..where to get silica gel in KL ?? how much ?? I think i got a unuse SLR back...but now only got kitlens..pun inside macam lain aje since both site empty...the silica gel put side (those extra lens area) or put at the bottom of the camera ?? i mean same slot....??

Newbies need alot teaching la

I heat them using microwave... but in a shallow, large ceramic bowl.
Use low heat otherwise the silica beads can melt and shatter.

I just spread the silica gel beads on a shallow ceramic plate and dump it into the microwave at low heat for 5 minutes. Let it cool down for a while and then put it back into my cilica gel container and back into the camera box.

g88, you mean you have an unused SLR bag? SLR bags are made of porous material and they are not air tight so moisture will easily seep in. Try to get an air tight plastic container and put your beloved camera + lenses in there, together with the silica gel.

Sham.

sham,
where to buy silical gel in KL and how much does it cost ? air tight container can be tupperware right ??

Errr..so the unused SLR bag stil can be use when i outdoor carry the camera ??

Camera with sleeping with my cloths now

---

Added on March 18, 2007, 11:32 pmEhhh...Silica gel can be Hipopo ??

This post has been edited by g88: Mar 18 2007, 11:32 PM

yewk, u put in namecard box?? with the box open or close ah?? sounds like a good idea i think i wanna put it there too

Silica gel are those round beads that turn colour from blue to pink, or from colourless to pink when saturated with water. But will stay solid throughout use.

Thirsty Hippo uses some kind of Calcium salt that liquefies away and cannot be reused.

So cannot use Hippo ??

cna use hipopo, but after a while it will collect water and becareful not to spill it ..or else bye bye camera