That was totally my fault. The day before, rain was pouring down like cats and dogs and knowing my lens was not water resistant, I still went out and took pictures in the rain. The air was moist and rain was beating on my camera body and lens. I did not care so much about the camera as the D7000 is supposed to be somewhat weather sealed. However, I did not take the same precautions I used to take with my lens. Before, I would shoot in the rain but would always have a plastic cover to protect the lens. I did not have anything this time around. So, what happened? Slowly, water got it into two chambers of the lens barrel!
I was quite mad when I realized I could no longer use the lens. I brought two others lenses along but this 18-200mm was my primary, all-purpose lens. On my drive from the Fundy National Park (in New Brunswick) to the Confederation Bridge, I started to think how I could get the moisture inside the lens out. It would be nice to have a vacuum cleaner of some sort and suck all the moisture out, but it would not be that easy anyway. Well, as luck would have it, the sky had cleared up, the sun was out, and the air was dry. Inside my car, without air circulation, it would take a minute or so to feel the temperature rise. I had an idea.
The lens can zoom in and out, so it has to draw air in and out. When the lens zooms in, the barrel extends out, air is pulled in. When the lens zooms out, the barrel retracts, and air is pushed out. I let the temperature in my car rise. It became warm and dry, perfect for drying out the inside of the lens! I simply ran the lens through a couple of dozen zooming motions. As I retracted and extended the lens barrel, I could feel and actually see moisture collecting on the outside of the barrel, drawn from inside lens. I could clearly see the condensation inside the lens thinning out slowly, so I kept on zooming in and out until the inside lens elements were clear again..
I was so relieved the lens became usable once again. A lesson learned.
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