DSLR Operating Temperature

Dan7312

A quick scan and it looks like almost all DSLR's have a minimum operating temperature of 32F, but I've seen tons of great outdoor Winter photos.

What are the practical implications of going below 32F... more noise, color messed up in a way that can't be corrected or what? Do pro's do anything special on cold shoots because of this?

Just curious...

Scott_Quier

Dan7312 wrote:

A quick scan and it looks like almost all DSLR's have a minimum operating temperature of 32F, but I've seen tons of great outdoor Winter photos.

What are the practical implications of going below 32F... more noise, color messed up in a way that can't be corrected or what? Do pro's do anything special on cold shoots because of this?

Just curious...

Don't know if I qualify as a pro in this regard, but I've taken my share of photos in cold environs. I have spent the better part of 4 hours in 5°F with a 30D and experience no issues. I kept a spare battery in an inside pocket but never had to use it - the battery in the camera never failed me.

As for color - didn't have any problems with that either.

Noise - we all know that noise increases with increased temperature. I don't know that I've read anything that addresses an increase in noise with a decrease in temperature. In fact, everything I've read indicates that the cooler the sensor at capture time, the less noise will be seen in the image. But, I suspect this is really in reference to the difference between, for example, 90°F and say 110°F.

The only special precautions I've taken when shooting in colder weather is to be sure to allow the equipment to warm up sealed bags of some sort to reduce the amount of water condensing out on the equipment. I take the card out of the camere before I enter the house and leave all the equipment in my sealed (zippered) camera bag for a couple of hours before opening up the bag.

ziggy53

Cold weather can be tough on cameras for a number of reasons. The imager chip itself actually should produce less noise in cold temepratures, but you need to equalize the internal and external temperatures gradually for any safety.

Any battery system will have reduced output and capacity in cold weather. A good strategy is to keep a spare battery, or two, inside a warmer environment (like inside your coat) until ready to use.

Be sure to enclose the camera and lenses inside either a camera bag or plastic bag when going from cold to warm, especially if the warm environment has some humidity, like most houses. If you ever had your glasses fog over coming in from the cold, you know the mechanism. If the condensation gets inside a camera body or internal to a lens, it can be difficult to remove.

If condensation should occur, treat it before going into the cold again. Generally using a very moderate heat and moving air should do the trick, but avoid drastic temperature differences.

Cold temperatures make both plastic and metal more brittle, so be especially careful of knocks and drops when the camera and lens are cold. If the lens should bind for any reason, discontinue using in the cold immediately.

Nikolai

Scott_Quier wrote:

Don't know if I qualify as a pro in this regard, but I've taken my share of photos in cold environs. I have spent the better part of 4 hours in 5°F with a 30D and experience no issues. I kept a spare battery in an inside pocket but never had to use it - the battery in the camera never failed me.

As for color - didn't have any problems with that either.

Noise - we all know that noise increases with increased temperature. I don't know that I've read anything that addresses an increase in noise with a decrease in temperature. In fact, everything I've read indicates that the cooler the sensor at capture time, the less noise will be seen in the image. But, I suspect this is really in reference to the difference between, for example, 90°F and say 110°F.

The only special precautions I've taken when shooting in colder weather is to be sure to allow the equipment to warm up sealed bags of some sort to reduce the amount of water condensing out on the equipment. I take the card out of the camere before I enter the house and leave all the equipment in my sealed (zippered) camera bag for a couple of hours before opening up the bag.

As Scott said, your biggest foe would be bringing stuff back to warmth. And maybe battery.

Dan7312

Thanks for the replies!

Pixoul

This article has been making its rounds, but I'll repost since it's appropriate.

• http://canonfieldreviews.com/7d-1-weather-sealing/

gecko0

Pixoul wrote:

This article has been making its rounds, but I'll repost since it's appropriate.

• http://canonfieldreviews.com/7d-1-weather-sealing/

w...o...w.

i would never do this to my equipment, but glad to see it can handle extremes, in case something accidental happens some time!

MelmoK

Just this last week temps here in IN dropped. I had both my 40D and my 1D out in 8 degree weather with no ill effects. I did take precautions when moving them from the cold back into the heat of the house but I noticed no issues with the photos.

insanefred

shot 20 possibly lower yesterday for 6 hrs, no problems.

skysailor

I used to use my Nikon FM all around Baffin Island all winter. Temps were often in the -30F range. Just kept the camera inside the parka for the most part. Why would it be any different with a DSLR?

ziggy53

skysailor wrote:

I used to use my Nikon FM all around Baffin Island all winter. Temps were often in the -30F range. Just kept the camera inside the parka for the most part. Why would it be any different with a DSLR?

I know some photographers who carry their cameras in their coat in extremely cold weather, but I don't do that and I don't recommend it. The inside of a coat in cold weather is nearly 100 percent humidity, and a poor environment for a camera if it gets at all cold.

With film cameras, if any condensation would occur on the film it would get cycled through as you advanced the frame. With digital cameras if you get any condensation on the imager, it's likely to stay there a while.

I have used an ice chest (without the ice ) to help buffer the temperature of a camera in "extremely" cold weather, and that works pretty well.

Nikolai

Pixoul wrote:

This article has been making its rounds, but I'll repost since it's appropriate.

• http://canonfieldreviews.com/7d-1-weather-sealing/

ivar

my camera could maybe cope with the ice, snow and rain, but why would I want to be in those conditions?

Cool article.

pathfinder

I've shot for hours in 10 - 15 degees Fahrneheit without issues, as long as you allow them to warm up slowly so they do not get condensation when returning indoors.

Once thing - in that kind of temp, way below freezing, you do not want to exhale on the front of your lens. Can anyone guess why?

Dan7312

Probably the same reason you wouldn't want to clean your lens by licking it when it's that cold

pathfinder wrote:

. Can anyone guess why?

Scott_Quier

pathfinder wrote:

I've shot for hours in 10 - 15 degees Fahrneheit without issues, as long as you allow them to warm up slowly so they do not get condensation when returning indoors.

Once thing - in that kind of temp, way below freezing, you do not want to exhale on the front of your lens. Can anyone guess why?

At those temperatures, your breath will condense and freeze on the front element. Then, at those temperatures, the frozen water will not melt and evaporate but will only sublime back to water vapor ... and that takes a bit of time and there's nothing to be done about it until the lens warms up again.

kpmedia

My biggest deal has always been the batteries, especially if they're a few years old. I always take the AA adapter with a boatload of the AA's just in case.

The AA's don't seem to die as fast the expensive rechargables?

Rain is more my enemy, at outdoor sports events.

Art Scott

I keep a bunch of the open and shake handwarmers around for winter shootin.....buy at the end of season for real cheap.......now i do not use them to keep camera warm but I do keep them in a pocket with extra batteries.....if a batt, starts losing power I pop it into my warm pocket and put a heated batt in the camera.....the handwarmers I buy are 10 hour warmers....costing less than $1 in most cases and when on sale usually around 10-20 cents each when sold in bundles of 10 or so........................

A lot of the time I am out in the weather for 4-10 hours a day hunting for a great shot or sitting in a blind waiting for an elusive buck to stroll on by..........................

Mav

Pixoul wrote:

This article has been making its rounds, but I'll repost since it's appropriate.

• http://canonfieldreviews.com/7d-1-weather-sealing/

Gotta love the shot with the seal having a go at the tripod!!

insanefred

You still mah bucket, iz still you trypodd

Kyle D

insanefred wrote:

You still mah bucket, iz still you trypodd

<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/Laughing.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >, someone should submit that to icanhascheezburger.com!

As for being out in the cold, when I bought my D50 back in March of 2007, its very first outing was out into a 20 acre field filled with horses in a snow storm with temperatures of -20 degrees F (don't remember what the widn chill was like) with blowing snow/whiteouts etc...I was frozen by my D50 kept shooting and I'm kind of ashamed to say that I didn't even consider that the camera might not have been able to work. Too bad, none of the shots worked out from that day because it was absolutely beautiful out there, horses coming out of a white out and the like. Alas, that's when I was much younger and didn't know a thing about photography! Just slapped the camera in auto and went to town with my 18-55.

However, I still do not put anything on my camera when I go out in the cold, but I do let it gradually warm up in my bag when I come in.
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