How do you guys keep your camera/lenses?? Since dryboxes are beyond many people's reach, an alternative way is to get an air-tight Tupperware and some silica gel. Question is, where can I buy silica gel?

Someone suggested those thirsty hippo stuff, but they aren't the same right?

thirsty hippo also keeps it dry..many people use it...i use silca gel myself..but i get it from those suppliers that supply scientific materials to schools....

ps: theres quite a number of thread about this topic...try to search through those topics before starting a new one...thanks

go to kodak or photoshop that got sell camera, i used to buy one bottle for my camera.

I once saw PhotoShangrila Times Square selling those in large packs at cheap price. You can check it out there...

Yes, Thirsty Hippo does the job pretty well. All I need is a TUB (The ones for keeping Books with the lock on lids), put the Thirsty Hippo inside, mount the hygrometer and lastly proceed to store the lenses and camera in there. Does keep the environment in there at 30% - 40% humidity....

I used to use the recyclable Silica Gel which you put into the microwave once its turns from BLUE To Pink. But thats only for temporary purposes and for the bag. The silica beads start to turn white and flakes at times. I have now chucked them into cold storage. Got them from one of the camera shops at 1Utama. RM40 For 2 cartridges.

hardware shop dont sell ka?

Just get a small dry cabinet, problem solved. Small 1 is about rm250 oni. U buy those thirsty hippos is not cheap oso in the long run. Plus the container got water inside 1. Spill then habis.

Indeed you are right. Thirsty Hippo's cost about RM5 per pack. COuld probably last you 1 month.

Its always better to have a proper DRY CABINET. Mine is just temporary as I have yet to find time to go to KL and look for a proper Dry Cabinet. Prolly have to go for the mid range sized ones...

But by using thirsty hippo or equivalent products, you do not have control on the humidity. It could be too dry or too humid. Too dry, it will dehydrate all your equipment lubrication and rubber materials. Also I read from another forumer that some humidity beads release anti-fungal 'perfume' which can cause corrosion.

Better buy a decent dry box. Just be informed that the dry box humidity meter is about +/-5% off the scale because there is no consistent calibration done. You could however borrow a hydrometer to take measurements in the first few days of using your dry box.

Will probably try to get the silica gel from Times Square or 1 Utama as mentioned. I will be travelling so a dry box isn't such a good option.

julchin_09, u mean use hydrometer right? wonder how much one of those things cost...

Gonna be costly for an accurate unit. Anyway since you are traveling silica gel will be good for your carrying case.

OK, for those wanting a dry box, maybe we should bulk? Just prepare cash and buy together? Haggle together for better discounts maybe

Any recommendations on where to get? I heard J-One sells the AIPO brand. Since it's a decent shop (not the best price, but damn pleasant shop owner) can get from there? I'm looking for one as well.

I think there's a specific AIPO thread section from within ShutterAsia and Photomalaysia. Go over there for user reviews and price. Last I heard from that thread, they have a pretty good customer service. When buying a dry box, two of the most important thing is the dehumidifier heating element (must be reliable) and the door sealing properties.

A lot of users neglected the door sealing properties. I must agree that a door is a door and sealing is sealing. Some 'brands' out there uses cheap and flimsy door axles. Because of this weak construction, it might fail causing the door to dismantle or not seal the whole system properly causing erratic readings on the internal hydrometer. So check that the door has a solid construction, one that won't fail and check the sealing so that all four corners of the door is properly sealed to the box when closed.

How about those digital humidity meters as opposed to analog ones? Hows the accuracy for those?

Yes I do use a hygrometer. But its cheap as its the kind we use for terrariums for pets. Its from a brand called Exo Terra. Cost less than RM10. It takes a while for the analog indicator to move, but it does the job. I put 3 in my room, it all works well.....

From what I know, the humidifier system has 2 components - the humidifier element and the hydrometer measurement device.

The humidifier element/unit itself has a control which is analog based. A lot of sellers prefer this one because it has been reliable while the humidifier unit with digital control has been reported to be wacky at times. The hydrometer both with analog and digital display that is usually hanged at the front door is for the purpose of measuring humidity in the box. These two systems (element and display) does not connect to each other and provide any feedback and compensation which is why some people has been commenting on the accuracy which is around +/-5%.

The humidifier with digital control consist of the element itself and the display. You set the desired humidity on the front panel and it will feedback to the element until a balance is reach. This is supposedly more convenient than playing with the analog knob and wait till it stabilize and then fine tune it until it reaches our desired environment. I bought mine from Direct Photo and the salesman had this strange reject rates with these systems (assuming what he said is real).

I'm currently using AIPO dry box..so far so good..i'm getting the analog hydrometer, so far so good.

it takes time for the meter to stabilize, so maybe after a night, if u notice the reading is too low or too high, just adjust the lever accordingly and wait it to stabilize again..well, what u pay is what u get.

but i sastify as long as it do its job.

i bought around RM250 or 280 if not mistaken. it can hold like 1 body with 2-3 long lens and on top u can put those short prime lens such as 50mm.


as others state, becareful of using thirsty hippo or equivalent drying agent, humidity too low might dry off the lubricants and if extremely low, it increase the chance of electrostatic discharge which might kill off the electronics components inside ur camera

I suppose then some silica gel, hygrometer (around RM10 says julchin_09) and a tub/tupperwear would do the job? Think the total would be around RM 30-50, depending on the size of the tub.

I get it from my company's warehouse.

If you wanna calculate that way, my setup is Silica gel Thirsty HIppo (RM5), Tub/Tupperware (Transparent type @ RM15), Exo Terra Hygrometer (RM10) which makes it a total of RM30. My Tub is pretty big in terms of dimensions (Width X Height X Length) = 24cmx25cmx40cm. Can fit a 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS standing + 3-4 lenses and camera body. Lowest humidity measured is 35%....

This post has been edited by julchin_09: Mar 3 2008, 11:49 PM

Errr 35%??? I thought the recommended humidity range is around 40-45%? 35% would be a little too dry for your lenses.