P.s Humidity tip

[Weston]

my casing has a tendency - to fog when its really humid ---

My solution was to take those tiny gel
(anti-mosture things) paks from vitamin bottles
and slip one or two in the case....


Works good for us....

[schultz]

Good tip Wes,

I might add that you shouldn't throw away those silica packets once you've used it in your camera. Recycle them by re-heating them in your conventional oven (not the microwave for you bachelors out there).

#1 Pre-heat the oven to it's lowest setting (usually about 150 degrees Fahrenheit)
#2 While the oven is heating, grab a cookie sheet and place the silica packets on it
#3 When the oven reaches temp, (i.e. oven light comes off) place the sheet with the packets in the oven.
#4 Turn oven off and let sit for about 30 minutes.
#5 Repeat several times by reheating the oven, and let sit another 30 minutes for a total of about 120 minutes.
#6 Put in an air-tight container (small tupperware is best) and pack 'em in your dive bag. 

Science labs will often do this with bulk desiccant, but usually at 275 degrees for 120 minutes. The difference here is that many times these packets like Wes is talking about have a Tyvek wrapping around (or something similar) around the desiccant material inside. That means you do not want the oven to get over 175 degrees, otherwise the material will melt.