Outdoor Cams Foggy / Condensation After Rain

CT here as well. Yesterdays weather is what prompted me to ask for help, although it’s been fogging for around 1.5 months now. The low power draw response by “customer “above doesn’t hold any water to me. If there was a low to no power draw, there would be low to no heat, Therefore there would be no temperature differential, which would cause the fogging in the first place. My cameras are also under the eaves. To further debunk the above, my two v3’s are out in the elements with no issues. They can have water running down the lenses and still look better than the outdoor cams do.

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My thoughts exactly as I also have two v3’s outside and depending on wind directions are more exposed to the elements. Have never had bad images from them.

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Think you guys are missing the point. It’s not a differential blamed for causing the fogging (though of course that is in play). The point is the outdoor V2s and V3s and doorbells simply run hot enough to encourage evaporation of the normal condensation. The WCOs are not warm enough.

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I think YOU missed the point. Fog is only formed when there is a differential. The temp of the lens crosses the dew point and boom. They would ALL fog, but then the hotter ones would clear faster. This isn’t the case though.

What are you even talking about? I said it was in play for causing the fogging. And it is exactly the case that the warmer ones (the powered V2s and V3s) clear faster than the sleeping WCOs.

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Have two V3’s doing the same so the theory they run hot does not hold up. One has not recovered after days so the camera is pretty much trash at this point. Mine happened when the weather turned colder plus rain.

The problem is Outdoor Cams don’t put out enough heat. They are so battery-stingy they get too cold and can’t evaporate condensation. siting them under an eve or branch, or inside a “birdhouse of sorts” might help.
The outdoor cams are a marvel of power conservation, but that does come with real compromises.
I’m probably going to switch to V3 cams run by solar panels and a battery bank.

As mentioned with mine it happened twice with V3 as well.

Condensation forms when the temperature drops below the dew point. A warmer lens should be less prone to condensation. Some satellite dish antennas with domes will heat the dome to prevent condensation which reduces signal strength. Dew point
Two approaches albeit not easily implemented are

  1. Increase lens temperature (mount above something that is warmer, put in direct sun, keep it on charge, …)
  2. Reduce humidity (mount indoors looking out, put in clear air tight container, …)

If it happens with a V3 it is simply that the V3 lens temperature was below the dew point. It is physics. In a controlled experiment where a V3 & outdoor cam were next to each other (in the same environmental conditions), as the humidity went up the outdoor cam would fog. If humidity continued to go up eventually the V3 would also fog.

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For the issues I observed the condensation was inside the lens not outside. A defect as the internal camera is not sealed for the elements.

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My outdoor camera is also fogging up. We had lots of rain. I’ve had a V1 camera out with a cover for a few years. Suddenly it fogged up. (It has a bird house like cover). I brought it in and dried it on a heat vent. It works now. Not sure what I’ll need to do to the outdoor cam.
image

I have a WCO that looks just like that this morning, 35 degrees outside with 98% humidity and frost. The cam is about 3 feet off the ground exposed. The entire cam is soaking wet and of course the lens is covered with moisture. It was due for a charge so I brought it inside, dried it off and it is all clear now. Maybe I will make it a little blanket. :upside_down_face:

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Later today…some sun 45 degrees

If the moisture gets inside it stays blurry even after I warming it up inside for a few days, probably from the spots on the inside lens after it dried.

Speaking of Fog :grin: I did make a little blanket for the camera out of an old wash cloth for a test. I rapped the cam in the cloth and held it in place with a rubber band.

So, what’s the solution?

I have internal fogging as well. I’ve never had this before and I’ve had the cameras for a couple years now.
Only one out of three. It’s mounted under the gutter system

It was during a brief February rain storm with driving winds. I am in New Jersey. Should I assume that the camera seals have failed and allowed moisture in?
It’s been 3 days without much change.
At first I thought it was just dirt but when I went to clean the lens I saw it looked fine from the outside.

Temperatures have been warmer than normal in the Northeast but still cool enough (40s- 50s and cloudy where I could see that it might not dry out.

Does this mean this camera is now going to always fog up even if it does clear?

I have found once it fogs internally the image never clears although it may get a bit better. At night though if lights are near they become big blobs with the internal residue even when it dries. Wyze says to bring them inside to dry but you will still have the residue issue and never as clear as prior. My solution untimately is to replace if lucky under warranty, or out of pocket unfortunately.

Yeah, I finished off the V3 lens by squirting alcohol in it and shaking it around to get the rest of the water out. That loosen the little glass dust cover that was tacked on the back of the lens. Later model seem to be a little piece of plastic glued on. The alcohol must have loosen the glass. But upon further inspection taking apart the lenses, two of the lenses up front were clouded. From what I can assume was maybe sun or maybe just moisture drying out over time. There’s definitely etched effect on one of the little lenses in the main lens.
The sun does cross its path on sunset which sometimes made me wonder if that could ruin the camera.

I didn’t think it was worth trying to buy an aftermarket lens that would fit. That is a lot of the mods online. Use a lens that will work but then you have to try to keep the water out because the lens length is not the same size. I’d have to find an exact replacement. Then I think it could go back together and still work. It appears because the camera is mounted upside down with the SD card slot up, that that’s most likely how the water gets in. I did have a little corrosion on the SD card.

I recently had the same with a couple of the battery cameras. Soon after the fogging they failed. They would drain the battery overnight. I was unable to repair them. I hoped I could swap parts between the two but they were different versions. Also, had a third one fail, my fault. I was able to repair a burnt spot on the power board circuit trace. These have all failed within a couple of months. Since one was in a slightly covered area, I am concerned this might be the start of a trend. I have taken three apart, they really are not sealed that well.