Sony AS50 lens is misting up.

[siwilko]

I am a skydive camera flyer and have used various sportscams from GoPros to HDR CX115. I bought a Xiaomi YI 4K. Fantastic camera, Poor software maybe. It wasn't reliable. 

So I bought the HDR AS50.

I am using it without the case because I want sound on my recordings.

I bought a Sony AKA-HLP1 Hard Lens Protector for Action Camera It fell off after 2 days!

How can I stop it from misting up? The lens attracts moisture.

[IamNic]

Hi there siwilko,

if you use the lens protector, you can't really do anything about misting on its back side, since air can freely travel in the gap between the lens and the protective lens.

The temperature differential is just too big (cold air from the front, while the camera emits heat), which causes condensation.

I would recommend to use the HDR AS50 inside the waterproof case and get the anti-fog inserts to put beneath the camera inside the case.

---

siwilko schrieb:

I bought a Sony AKA-HLP1 Hard Lens Protector for Action Camera It fell off after 2 days!

---

It is sad to hear, that you lost your lens protector. Did you put it on properly and lock it (with the slider on top)?

Also it came with a safety-string, which you can attach directly to the cameras body to ensure you don't lose it.

- Nic

[siwilko]

Thanks for the feedback.
I have just purchased another lens cover and will attach the string. I didn't before.
I have used 2 Xiaomi yi sports cams and they both are case free cams and they rarely misted up.
The reason I wasn’t using the waterproof case was because it is pretty much sound proof and I need sound. (Not for the skydive but for the chats I have with the jumpers.
See https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=DmuPkJcYZuc

The camera is mounted on a helmet. I was thinking of maybe making holes when the mic is at the front of the waterproof case. Desperate measures.

Cheers

Wilko

[IamNic]

Hi there siwilko,

---

siwilko schrieb:

I have used 2 Xiaomi yi sports cams and they both are case free cams and they rarely misted up.

---

Did you use them with a protective lens, too? 

If not, that is the explanation - for the AS50, the part that fogs up is not the cameras lens itself, yet the protective lens.

---

siwilko schrieb:

The reason I wasn’t using the waterproof case was because it is pretty much sound proof and I need sound. 

---

Yeah, you can't please everybody 

The previous Action Cams from Sony came with a "waterproof case", which was only waterproof down to 10 meters. These cases all had holes in them, with a rubber membrane behind. This made it possible for sound to be recorded nearly the same way as without a case.

The downside:

These cases came with round lenses, which made it impossible for sharp videos to be recorded underwater. You needed a flat lens for that purpose, which was sold as a seperate accessory.

Since most of the negative reviews for the previous Action Cam models were caused by the fact, that people did not know about this circumstance, Sony switched the included case for the latest generation.

Now you can 

1. dive down to 60 meters

2. get sharp video underwater

The downside here - no usable audio.

---

siwilko schrieb:


The camera is mounted on a helmet. I was thinking of maybe making holes when the mic is at the front of the waterproof case. Desperate measures.

---

That would create the same effect you now experience with the lens protector, (humid) air can enter the case - rendering the anti-fog insert useless.

I would suggest a different approach:

By getting a rather inexpensive lavalier microphone with a hairy wind-filter and an audio recorder like the ZOOM H1, you could keep the camera inside it's case WITH the fog insert and record the audio with the mic outside the case, which you can even move closer to your mouth than it is possible with the camera currently.

---

siwilko schrieb:

See https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=DmuPkJcYZuc

---

You shared the link from your YouTube Creator Studio by mistake, which makes it impossile to view the video, unless you change it to a video URL (gladly I am capable of doing so, so I could watch the video).

For anyone else interested:

Nice video btw

- Nic

[siwilko · Accepted solution]

Nic

I was a numpty and didn't attach the lens cover.

I bought another lens cover and so far (Attached and secure) it hasn't misted up.

Thanks!