Out in the COLD

deb22 · October 30, 2011

Hi guys and gals, How long can your camera be out in the cold? When I am out getting shots like this one - I can stay out a long time but I am always running back to the vehicle to warm up the camera and lens. Do I have to or is a camera and lens o.k. in the cold and I do mean cold, I live in Northern Alberta. Thanks for any info on this.

oops forgot pic [IMG]http://[/img]

PGM · October 31, 2011

Great question, and I would like to know the answer, too! Best, Pam

Harryb · October 31, 2011

How cold is cold?

korandoke · October 31, 2011

it's not so good camera to your temparature differences expose.
This causes condensation and is not as good for the electronics of your camera.
therefore it is better in your camera bag and make some time to get used to the temparature difference

pathfinder · October 31, 2011

I have had mine out in the low teens in the Fahrenheit scale.

The camera tolerates the cold fairly well, but does not take well to the transition from cold to warm as well, due to condensation as mentioned by the previous poster above. Leave the camera in your camera bag when returning indoors, or put it in a plastic garbage bag to prevent moisture entry.

I have had frost form on the front element of my 500mm f4 IS L after it was out for several hours in 14 degree winter weather and I exhaled onto it in my trucks cab.. When it warmed up, the frost evaporated and all was fine. I spent hours at the falls at 14 degrees in the sun

Be aware, the manual for the Canon 7D, says the working temperature range is 32 degrees to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. But my cameras have spent days in the desert at 115 degrees without incident, and even took fine pictures at that temperature as seen here - http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Travel/A-Weekend-at-Toroweap-in-110/9031094_K8gpW8#759884763_zXTuB Just don't tell Canon.

deb22 · November 1, 2011

Thanks for all the info people, Harry it is usually -35 or so on the cold stretches but that's when the scenery is so crisp so it's a good time to go out. I usually leave the camera out of the bag so it does not go through the constant warm and cold but that's why I go back to the vehicle for a slow warm up so often.

kdog · November 2, 2011

deb22 wrote: »

Thanks for all the info people, Harry it is usually -35 or so on the cold stretches but that's when the scenery is so crisp so it's a good time to go out. I usually leave the camera out of the bag so it does not go through the constant warm and cold but that's why I go back to the vehicle for a slow warm up so often.

-35 is really cold. The coldest I've shot at is -10F at Yellowstone in the winter, but haven't had any problems. I don't understand your last comment about keeping the camera out of the bag and returning to your car for a slow warmup. Are you bringing your camera with you? If so, that's probably the last thing you want to do. What I would do is leave the camera out of the car when I go to warm up. Or if I'm moving location with the car, then I'll put the camera in its bag to keep it insulated so it doesn't warm up. I keep the car interior pretty cold as well to further reduce warming up the camera gear.

I'll also keep a spare battery in my pocket so the battery stays warm. You could even pull the battery out of your camera while you're not shooting, and put that in your pocket too. The battery power drops drastically if the battery is cold. That's your biggest worry about getting your camera cold I believe. I've heard that the internal lubrication in the camera can get sluggish when the camera gets super cold, but I don't know anyone who's actually experienced that. That would be really difficult to deal with if its true because you don't want to be cycling the temperature of your camera. That might be a concern for you at those temps, but I wouldn't try to address it unless you actually experience the problem.

JSPhotography · November 2, 2011

I have no idea what -35 does to a camera/lens.

Hopefully, you got the message though, don't take your camera and lens back and forth from cold and warm. Bad, Bad, Very Bad. I use a tip from here and put my camera and lens in zip lock bags to warm up so they do not have condensation issues. Pull the battery and card first. As stated above, keep your spare battery near your body. When the power level drops, switch batteries. You can do this a number of times before they are both truly dead.

Ric Grupe · November 2, 2011

JSPhotography wrote: »

I have no idea what -35 does to a camera/lens.

Hopefully, you got the message though, don't take your camera and lens back and forth from cold and warm. Bad, Bad, Very Bad. I use a tip from here and put my camera and lens in zip lock bags to warm up so they do not have condensation issues. Pull the battery and card first. As stated above, keep your spare battery near your body. When the power level drops, switch batteries. You can do this a number of times before they are both truly dead.

Took the words out of my fingers.

Then again, it only gets to minus 20 or so here.

Out in the COLD

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