Keep rain off lens? Rain-X?

[TidalWaveOne]

I have a sky/weather cam and when it rains some drops form on the lens and it 'disturbs' the image.

What is the best way to keep rain drops off the lens? I don't want anything complicated. Is there something simple like Rain-X I could apply on the lens to prevent water droplets from forming & staying on the lens when it rains? Would Rain-X work?

Camera is here in case anyone is interested:
Sky & Weather Cam - Lantana, TX

 

[looney2ns]

You have to be careful, some products will attack the lens cover and possibly damage it.

 

[TidalWaveOne]

You have to be careful, some products will attack the lens cover and possibly damage it.

Yeah... which is why I'm asking. Maybe I should just leave it as it is? I'm hoping there is something safe and effective though.

 

[looney2ns]

This has been discussed before here, try some searching.

 

[TidalWaveOne]

Found this:
camera and rain!!!

Some ideas to try but no real definite answer on whether it's a good idea to use a rain repellent.

 

[Kevin_Essiambre]

Why not install a rain shield? I'm sure you're not needing to record all of the sky... Are you?

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[TidalWaveOne]

Why not install a rain shield? I'm sure you're not needing to record all of the sky... Are you?

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Well, I don't want to obstruct any of the camera view. Do you know of a rain shield that would work with a Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I ? I have searched for them but didn't see anything that I thought might work. Maybe there is a silicon one that I can wrap around the camera to provide some extra rain shielding that won't obstruct the view? See photo of the camera. It points slightly upward which probably exacerbates the problem.

 

[Kevin_Essiambre]

If that's the standard model with the 4mm sense it makes my idea harder. You could make a custom rain shield for it, that goes father over the lens to stop water from hitting it. Is there no soffit overhang somewhere where you could relocate it to protect it from the rain better?

Otherwise you could go with a box camera installed in an enclosure with a wiper on it. Hikvision makes a box camera enclosure with a wiper on it.

Of course that would be a last resort.

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[TidalWaveOne]

If that's the standard model with the 4mm sense it makes my idea harder. You could make a custom rain shield for it, that goes father over the lens to stop water from hitting it. Is there no soffit overhang somewhere where you could relocate it to protect it from the rain better?

Otherwise you could go with a box camera installed in an enclosure with a wiper on it. Hikvision makes a box camera enclosure with a wiper on it.

Of course that would be a last resort.

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Thank you.

If I knew how to easily and quickly make a custom rain shield then I might try that... but at this point I am not sure how to do that. Are you aware of any YouTube videos or web pages that would help with this?

Putting the camera under the overhang didn't work for the way I wanted this camera pointed and how far it had to stick out.

I had not seen box cameras with wipers. That sounds interesting although definitely more than I wanted to do.

 

[GentlePumpkin]

Wiper
You could DIY this with a servo, a small wiper (stick and u-shaped or o-shaped gasket) controlled by p.e. an Arduino. The wiping process could then be initiated by the cameras alarm output (if that exists and is configurable according to you needs), or alternatively, one could use a wifi/lan-capable Arduino (like the Wemos boards) that runs a website with a button "wipe". Definitely a funny idea.

Rain shield
I understand you want the rainshield to be see-through? Why not use a transparent one (perspex). A replacement glas for a faceshield (p.e. this) could be a cheap resource.

 

[Mike A.]

Rain shield
I understand you want the rainshield to be see-through? Why not use a transparent one (perspex). A replacement glas for a faceshield (p.e. this) could be a cheap resource.

I thought about scavenging a similar shield to protect a PTZ cam that I have outside that's not really an outdoor cam. It's covered but still gets completely soaked from blowing rain. Just testing something similar quickly while it keeps rain off the cam, it still gets water all over it and then you're just looking through that. Which being farther off of the lens causes the effect of drops and mist to be worse than having the lens itself wet which tends to look more like a blur vs much more obscured as in case of the shield.

 

[Kevin_Essiambre]

I had not seen box cameras with wipers. That sounds interesting although definitely more than I wanted to do.

Yes, they make them, but keep in mind that a box camera is an indoor enclosure that requires an enclosure.

See the link below for the enclosure I'm talking about.

Camera housing with bracket, heater, blower wiper

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[TidalWaveOne]

I thought about scavenging a similar shield to protect a PTZ cam that I have outside that's not really an outdoor cam. It's covered but still gets completely soaked from blowing rain. Just testing something similar quickly while it keeps rain off the cam, it still gets water all over it and then you're just looking through that. Which being farther off of the lens causes the effect of drops and mist to be worse than having the lens itself wet which tends to look more like a blur vs much more obscured as in case of the shield.

I wonder if one could you use something like that with a Rain-X type product?

 

[TidalWaveOne]

Yes, they make them, but keep in mind that a box camera is an indoor enclosure that requires an enclosure.

See the link below for the enclosure I'm talking about.
Camera housing with bracket, heater, blower wiper

Wow... that looks interesting but way more than I need and the HOA and/or my neighbors would probably complain about something that big and noticeable anyway.