Common Travel Photography Camera Issues - and How to Solve Them
As travel photographers, we use our cameras to snap photos of the natural environment. The natural environment, however, sometimes wreaks havoc on our camera gear.
Whether you’re exploring a sand swept desert, sailing along a salty coast, or trekking through a rainforest, every destination poses a potential risk to your precious camera gear. While experiencing a camera issue while traveling can be alarming, most issues can be rectified pretty quickly and cheaply - unless you completely submerge your camera in water. That can be costly.
To ensure you’re prepared for whatever your epic adventures throw at you, I’ve outlined a number of potential travel photography camera issues you may encounter, along with some practical tips for how you can resolve them right in your hotel room.
Dust on Camera Sensor
Have you ever snapped an epic photo, opened it on your camera to see the art you just created, and noticed there were tiny dots all over it? I have.
Sometimes, this can be caused by dust on your lens, but, more often than not, the issue stems from dust on your camera’s sensor. While a lot of modern camera lenses are weather sealed, dust can still sneak inside the sensor area when you switch lenses.
Now, before you go clearing the dust out of there, a quick word of warning: do not wipe your camera’s sensor with a cloth or, even worse, your finger. By doing this, you will not only compromise your image quality, but also potentially damage the sensor.
Luckily, removing dust from a camera sensor is fairly easy. You just need one cheap, but essential, travel camera accessory: a compact camera air blower.
To remove the dust, simply remove the lens, hold the camera up with the sensor facing down, and then pulse some air into the sensor compartment using your air blower. The force of the air should knock the dust off of the sensor. When you’re done, reattach your lens and get back to snapping epic travel photos.
Don’t have a camera air blower? Some modern cameras actually offer a sensor cleaning mode, which essentially vibrates the sensor to remove dust and debris. I’ve tried this before with my Sony a7iii and encountered mix results. However, if you’re travelling and don’t have an air blower, it’s worth giving it a shot.
If you remove your lens and realize that your sensor is really dirty, you can buy specialized kits specifically designed for cleaning camera sensors. It may be worthwhile tossing a few of these kits into your compact travel camera bag if you’re trip involves some potentially messy or stormy adventures, or if your lenses lack weather sealing.
Condensation on Camera Lens
About a year ago, my wife and I travelled to Miami. On our first morning there, we headed out to our hotel’s patio area to snap some early morning photos. Humidity enveloped us. The goosebumps from the hotel’s AC vanished beneath sweat. Golden light covered the patio’s checkered floor, pink and green lounge cushions, and green foliage. As my wife explored the patio, I removed my lens cover, held the viewfinder up to my eye and pointed my camera towards the skyline. My finger located the shutter. I pressed it halfway down, and then froze. Everything in the viewfinder appeared blurry. I lowered my camera and looked at the lens. Condensation covered the glass.
So, what gives? Well, Miami was in the midst of a heatwave when we were there, so our hotel was pumping the AC to compensate. Because of that, my camera and lens became super cold inside our hotel room. When I brought my super cold camera outside, the sudden exposure to heat and humidity caused the condensation to form. The opposite can happen as well - if you have your camera in a warm, heated environment, and then bring it somewhere cold, condensation can form.
So, as I learned on our trip to Miami, the best way to combat condensation on a camera is to let your camera gear acclimatize. This means that you simply need to bring your camera gear outside and let it chill (or warm up) for 5-10 minutes, allowing it to become used to the temperature. Once it reaches that point, there shouldn’t be any more condensation on your camera.
The key with this, of course, is to pre-plan your acclimatization period - especially if you need to take photos at a specific time. For instance, I should’ve headed outside 10 minutes before the golden light started to pour onto our hotel’s patio. Lesson learned.
Water on Camera
Water and cameras generally don’t vibe well together. But, if you find yourself out on an epic adventure and large raindrops start splattering on your precious gear, don’t panic.
If you catch yourself in this scenario, first try and shelter your camera as much as possible. If you have a camera bag handy, toss it in there until you can get to a drier place or, if you have no other option, place the camera under your coat. Yes, I’ve had to resort to this a number of times.
The good news is that, to actually dry your camera, you don’t need to do much. Simply turn off the camera and let it sit out in a warm, dry space. Your camera will be good as knew before you know it. To help with this process, you can gently wipe any excess water off of your camera and lens bodies with a clean, soft towel, and then let it air dry.
If your camera becomes really saturated with water (aka a downpour absolutely drenches your camera or you drop it in water), you may need to wipe your camera down with a towel, remove the battery and memory card, and let the camera sit for 24-48 hours. With electronics, patience is key, as you don’t want to risk turning the camera back on and ruining any of the components while they’re still wet.
Once the camera is dry, there may be dried water droplets on the lens. Simply wipe those away with a microfiber camera cloth, and you’ll be ready to snap epic travel photos again.
Saltwater on Camera
Whether you’re cruising along the Na Pali coast in a catamaran, watching whales in Newfoundland or swimming with sharks in Bora Bora, saltwater will, inevitably, splash onto a travel photographer’s camera and lens at some point. And, while water in general can be scary on a camera, saltwater ushers in a whole new level of fear. Why? Because saltwater, when left on your camera, can actually start to corrode the metal components. Yikes!
So, while saltwater will, like regular water, eventually dry, you actually need to remove the saltwater before any drying takes place. Assuming you just have a few saltwater splashes or mist on your camera, I’d first recommend dampening a soft, clean cloth with fresh water, and then gently wiping off the saltwater. You may need to do this a few times.
Now, the actual lens glass presents a whole other issue, as the salt crystals can actually scratch the glass. So, before you find yourself in this situation, I actually recommend investing in a clear lens protector filter before you head out on your trip / saltwater adventure. While some people may think that these filters degrade image quality, I’ve never noticed a difference. And, when saltwater splashes onto the protective filter, you won’t panic as much because you’ll be able to remove it from your camera, run it under some fresh water, and then let it air dry - or even just replace it completely.
If you bring an action camera, like a GoPro, on your trip to take some epic underwater shots, simply rinse the camera with fresh water when you return to your hotel. Most action cameras are completely waterproof, so a full on rinse shouldn’t cause any harm. In addition, if you used a selfie stickie or handle in the water, rinse that too. Saltwater will quickly corrode the metals on those accessories (speaking from experience).
Bonus: Lack of Photo Storage
This isn’t really a camera issue, but it’s definitely a travel photography issue.
Have you ever gone on a trip, spent the first few days snapping photo after photo, and then realized you didn’t have enough space on your memory card to take anymore photos for the rest of the trip? Yep, it happens.
Before heading out on a trip, make sure you download all of the photos on your memory card to a hard drive. Once that’s complete, format your memory card, which will delete all of your old photos. This may seem like a small and / or obvious step, but, trust me, you don’t want to find yourself with a full memory card while witnessing an epic mountain sunrise.
In addition, pick up an extra memory card or two if you can. It never hurts to have more camera memory than you need - especially when you’re on the road.
Conclusion
As travel photographers venture into the natural world to capture breathtaking photos, they expose their cameras to the elements, increasing the possibility of running into a camera issue. Luckily, most travel photography camera issues can be solved for little money and in your hotel room. If dust finds its way onto your camera’s sensor, simply use a compact camera air blower to remove it. When your camera gets wet, use a soft, clean towel to gently remove the bulk of the water, and then let it air dry. For saltwater, try and gently wipe off as much salt water as you can using a soft cloth with fresh water, and then let it dry. Finally, if the temperature in your hotel room is a lot different than the outdoor temperature, give your camera 10 minutes to acclimatize when you head outside, allowing any condensation to disappear.