No it's not an actual fridge xD
I have a camera and 4 lenses and I just put them in my cabinet if I don't use it. I see other photographers especially on Youtube that they have this nice lighted glass cabinet especially for camera and I'm like "heh, it's just for aesthetic but me don't need that". Boy I was wrong. xD
It was until I saw some posts about their lenses getting some fungi inside. I'm like "eeewww what the hell did you do" but then I read it happened when they stored it in their camera bag or cabinet. The humidity in an uncontrolled environment and also the dark creates moisture which in turn gives the fungi a perfect place to thrive in. I got scared. And so I did some research on how to store these tools properly.
Most of the time you're lucky that the environment is just fine and no fungi develops. Some are pretty unlucky and lens cleaning is expensive and sometimes even irreversible. Of course if you have "The Last of Us" going on inside your lenses, the images would be blurry or something. xD In order to prevent these from happening, how you store it while not in use plays a very big role.
I did a few searches on the local marketplace and found some cheap alternatives. Some buy a dry box specifically for cameras with a hygrometer inside and some just DIY it with an airtight box and silica gel. It seems a bit complicated for me cos you have to manually replace the silica gels and even so you have to be precise with putting how much gels cos if you put too much then the box would be too dry, making the rubber rekt in result.
So I checked the prices for an automatic dry cabinet and surprisingly, the prices are okay.
So I got this Andbon AD-30s, an automatic dry cabinet for $67. With the costs of my camera and lenses, that price is really good than risking doing it DIY. So what it does is is automatically sets the humidity inside the cabinet and you don't have to do anything else pretty much. Just have it plugged in 24/7.
The cabinet is not that heavy but sturdy enough. It looks like a good quality for its price and big enough for my stuff. It has a tray with adjustable height. It also has a led strip inside for light, I'm not sure if it helps with preventing molds or just for aesthetic haha.
The height is fine by me so I didn't have to adjust it but it's always a nice option to have since some lenses can be really long.
For cameras, the optimal humidity is between 40-50% so I just set mine at 45%. Whenever the door is open, humidity changes but the cabinet just automatically adjusts it to 45% after the door is closed. :3
I checked my lenses and thankfully it didn't have any molds yet hahah even though I stored them for months. One lens is even stored for like 6 months without me touching it.
I was able to fit 1 mirrorless camera, 4 lenses, 1 speedlight, and 1 flash trigger. There's still a lot of room for something else so if I decide to buy another camera or lens (which is not likely to happen soon) they will still fit. :> I can probably put my lens cap or other accessories here too but I don't think I need them inside.
It's nice to be able to sleep and work peacefully without having to constantly check on my camera and lenses for maintenance. The dry cabinet is good not only for preventing molds but also for aging, rusting, and damage cos of moisture. Also it looks really nice and "professional" with it haha.
It's working good so far and I'm not sure how much amount it adds to my electricity bill but I don't think it would be much. We will see in the next few months. The cabinet is worth it for preventing damage to my expensive equipment that I have invested for myself and my work. <3
