Astrophotography often involves taking your equipment out into the cold and leaving it there, which can expose it to a number of problems. A more serious problem is condensation, which is the reason why the first is foxes stealing your camera and having fun with it. Water condenses onto its surface when the camera and lens is cooler than the surrounding air. As your lens is tilted skyward, gravity causes little trickles of water to run towards your camera body or the objective end of the lens to fog it up. Neither of these scenarios is good.
Despite the advances made in rubber gasket and other seals, cameras and water just don't mix. There are a few things you can do about this. The same thing that telescopes do to keep the condensation off their expensive tubes can be used to protect the glass and camera bodies of the best cameras for astronomy.
No keen astronomer can do without modern lens heaters. They usually take the form of a padded strip that can be wrapped around a lens and plugged into a power pack or other source of power. They will often offer several levels of temperature adjustments to suit most environments, and using a lens heaters can make a difference between a rewarding night of Astrophotography or a wasted effort with results spoiled by mist and dew.
You can try to make a solution with heated gel packs or similar products, but they don't get to a consistent temperature or last long enough, especially for all-night star trail sessions. Here are some of the best camera lens heating solutions we have seen.
Are you looking for more guidance on the camera kit? To keep your kit safe, we have guides to the best camera backpacks.
If you have an extension cable that reaches far enough, you can use it to take power from a power pack or a phone charge, but this lens heater will keep the dew off your lens for as long as the power source holds out.
The 3.5 cm-wide band is secured in place with velcro. You can change the amount of heat being produced with the temperature regulators on the power cable. You can use it to stop your water bottle from freezing.
The strap is 72 cm in length and has a heated area of 56 cm. It has three heat settings, low, medium and high, and takes its power from a power tank.
Three layers of insulation prevent contact between the heating elements and your equipment, and also help prevent heat from entering the night air.
A cheaper version is available, but we like the fit and future-proofing of the longer strap. It's always good to have a bit of extra length in the bag if there is a chance that new equipment will be available.
Thanks to its simple design, the anti-fog belt from Haida is very easy to install. It's made from Graphene, which allows the belt to heat up quickly, so you can rescue your lens from fog in the nick of time.
It has three settings for you to try out, and it has ausb port, which is best attached to an external power bank. It's best to find a way to shield it, since it could damage your night vision while you're out taking Astro shots. It is not the largest lens heating on this list, but it should fit any camera lens with a smaller diameter.
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