C-Forum

This one is for Craig Smerda. You mentioned in a video header that you were using Rain X (water repellant) on your camera lens. I put some on my new Lumix Ts2 a couple of weeks ago and so far so good, well, much better actually.
Are you still using it, no problems? Anyone else know of other products that "repel" water drops?

Is this for above, or under water shots? I'm having less trouble w/ the W90 than I did w/ the WS80, but still loose some above the water shots due to water drops on the lense.

I am using the Rain X for above-the-water shots on my water proof to deal with two issues.
In the summer the heat would quickly evaporate the drops on the lens and leave smear which was difficult to deal with as it would spread out.
In the cooler temps I get water beads. It doesn't take a large drop to fill in a .5 x .75 lens which wasn't such a problem on a W90 lens size.
So far the Rain X works great although the warranty "boilerplate" doesn't recommend it for the use I have given it. I just give the camera hard shake and the bead slides to the corner.
I tested it on an old filter first and today I saw that Craig was using it.
I also tried out TR-17, an anti fog coating for masks that I got from a dive shop but it wouldn't dry clear, just to a slight haze.
Just wondering if any one else has solved this problem.
With the 720-1000p HD cameras coming on the market it's kinda a bust to shoot a good shot with a bead in the middle. Didn't care on the older lower quality wp cameras.
Great quality on the "Gnarlz" with Tommy.
Einar

I would not use it on lenses. Close examination of glass covered by Rain-X will show both a subtle fogging and detail faults such as tiny bubbles. Also, the solvent in Rain-X may affect some plastics, and some lenses are plastic.

If fogging or waterspotting of lenses is a problem, a better solution is to rig up a camera carrier that keeps river slosh off the lens. Eric Nyre, who posts here occasionally, developed a very clever foam "saddle" into which he can push his waterproof camera. Maybe he will see this and repost. Every camera and every boat (open, decked) will require a different solution.

I have a Canon Elph in a waterproof case. That case has a high quality, optically coated, cover lens. If the lens gets dirty or sloshed, I sometimes lick it off and slosh the camera in the river. Then I blow across the lens very hard, and if it is any kind of a dry day, I then blow the lens dry.

I love Rain-X on my car windshields. But I've tried it on optical surfaces, and it isn't the answer.

Baby shampoo.. but it has to be re-applied often. Works on eye glasses too!

That's what GoPro suggests

I think I keep getting a bubble in the middle due to the camera angle when it's mounted on the thwart

The POV stuff is amusing... but it'll wear off again in a few weeks

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to continue to use Rain-X after several weeks of trying out the different ideas.
I found that Rain-X will produce a haze if rubbed but this isn't an issue for me, I don't rub my wp camera lens.
The alcohol base of Rain-X could produce damage on plastic lenses but mine are glass. The only coating on the exterior of the lens is anti-scratch, the halation and chromatic coatings are on the interior of the lens pak, inside the camera.
I did do a 2 week long test on plastic and didn't observe any damage but still I wouldn't recommend Rain-X for plastic lenses.
I used the camera yesterday on day long Swift Water exercise and kept it in my lifejacket pocket, constantly wet. Out of 30+ photos only 2 had water marks. Occassionly before shooting I would dip the camera in water, give it a light shake, and the water drops would slide off or at least to the corners.
When I transfered the HD images the blacks came out very strong with no fogging.

This question is not rhetorical - where do you see that rain-x does not work on plastics? Most car windshields are a piece of tempered glass between two layers of plastic, aren't they? Or is the plastic just on the inside?

A windshield is two sheets of glass sandwiching a layer of plastic.

Without being an expert I assumed that camera glass is more stable and harder than camera lens plastic and it would not be affected by the alcohol solvent.
The comment about the hazing, light fogging was more of a concern, but I experimented with old glass filters and I didn't get the haze. The lens on my camera is small, .5 x .75 inch, and recessed which protects it from contact and rubbing which seemed to produce the haze.
It was a risk and a gamble on the camera but i am o.k. with Rain-X, even though it says don't use on scratch resistant and antireflective coatings. The effort and opportunity to shoot a one time event and get a quality image outweighted the cost of camera.
Sort of like calculating the cost of a hull versus the opportunity of doing a great creek.
If over time it all goes to hades I'll let you know.
Thanks for the feed back.