Best way to protect your camera when shooting in cold weather?

Mr. Rey · #1 10-21-2012, 09:19 AM

What would be the best way to protect your camera when shooting in cold weather?

Should I believe what my manual says about the lowest temperature my camera could handle?

Winsordawson · #2 10-21-2012, 10:33 AM

How cold are we talking about?

Mr. Rey · #3 10-21-2012, 12:51 PM

Hey Winsordawson,

Around 5-10 °C.

I'll probably be doing a short shoot (30 mins) in the beginning of November.

Winsordawson · #4 10-21-2012, 01:33 PM

That doesn't seem that cold! When I was filming a little below that temperature I noticed that the batteries expired faster. However they have covers to protect a camera and to avoid condensation. Also you should have a clear lens filter that fits over the camera lens. I don't know enough to say whether that particular camera could handle that temperature, and it may depend whether you're using flash-based or tape storage.

Mr. Rey · #5 10-21-2012, 04:32 PM

Yeah, I know but I live in Toronto, Canada, and you never know with the weather out here.
Condensation is what I want to avoid. Do I have to get a specific cover? I'm working with a T4i.

I do have UV lens filters for my lenses and the flash memory card is water and weather proof.

tomr · #6 10-21-2012, 05:39 PM

Keep the battery in your breast pocket to keep it warm until you are starting to shoot. Then you get more out of the battery.

To avoid condensation it is impotent not to bring the camera directly from cold to hot environment. Directly from outside to your warm living room (from cold dry air to warm moist air) and vice versa.

Give it some time to acclimatize in the camera bag in a cold room before you take it out of the bag. I have some times put my camera in a air tight plastic bag and battery and memory card in one (they are smaller and take less time to get to room temp and you can look at the pictures earlier) before I put it in the camera bag and go home when I have been out in subzero temperatures (edit: Celsius that is).

This can also be true for very hot places. Where you go from an AC cooled room to moist hot air outside.

Mr. Rey · #7 10-22-2012, 01:27 PM

Thanks for the advice guys, I appreciate it.

Keep cool,
Rey

kpmedia · #8 10-23-2012, 09:31 AM

About 10 years ago, I shot in Canada and Alaska multiple times over a period of months. (And I have some gorgeous images, too!)

The two biggest problems were batteries and condensation on the glass.

Cold kills batteries, so I kept them inside my coat's inside pockets, as well as in the pockets of my bottom layer of cargo pants. Yes, multiple layers of pants -- it was cold! In addition to the primary rechargeables, I had a small camera bag completely full of AA batteries for both the flash, and for those AA inserts that can take the place of the rechargeables (as backups).

The lenses sometimes would not acclimate to the temps, period, and would fog up. The very act of condensation makes a mess on your lens, so no amount of waiting time changes this. I thankfully had adequate cleaning supplies, though I was sometimes a bit too rough, as seen by unevenness in the coatings on those old lenses. The worse situation was condensation between filters, or between the filter and the lens.

I was about 3,000 miles north of my outdoor comfort zone.

____

One of my friends loves to shoot in Iceland. He likes all of that early-morning freezing cold outdoors stuff, regardless of where he is. I swear he's part polar bear or something.

In fact, he recently wrote two e-books. The Iceland one is free ($0), and the Smokey Mountains one is all of $5. I suggest both of them to anybody that shoots nature, be it still photography or even video. In fact, I'd suggest following him on Facebook and Google+ as he likes to post images and tips. I may go give him a swift email kick to the pants, and tell him to come comment in this thread -- especially since I'm pimping his e-books.

Let's see what happens next...

Dusty.Doddridge · #9 10-23-2012, 08:38 PM

Ok Mr. Rey--

Since you're in Toronto, sounds like you'll be doing a fair bit of cold weather shooting. Love to take a trip up to the Canadian Rockies, beautiful country outside of Calgary.

Yes, the posts so far are spot on. As far as the camera is concerned it's condensation that you want to avoid if at all possible. If you run out of batteries, you miss the shot. If your camera gets fried then you're minus a camera! Definitely keep your camera in the camera bag before you bring it back into a warm environment. And as suggested you can also place it in a large zip loc plastic bag sealed with a little bit of air inside. This will speed up the process somewhat.

And with the batteries I would say having 2-3 extra batteries at a minimum is important. Keep the spares in your inside pocket and consider using a hand warmer to keep them warm. As one battery gets low then swap them out. Another trick is to use a hand warming pack and attach it to the battery compartment of the camera with a heavy duty rubber band.

With the lenses remember when it's really cold that your breath will freeze on the lenses and LCD so you have to be cautious about your breath around the glass. Always make sure you've got plenty of good lens cloth around regardless of the conditions.

And finally make sure you're both comfortable and safe with the proper clothing. You can't really be creative if you're miserable or worried about your well being. Focus on a moisture wicking base layer like Icebreaker or Smartwool or one of the synthetics from First Ascent. Then a breathable mid layer and finally a water proof but breathable outer layer. And pay special attention to the head, hands and feet. Layering as needed with the same concepts of moisture wicking on the base. I like to use the fleece gloves with the fingers cut out and if it's super cold you can use a heavy duty mitten over the top of that. So be comfortable and safe and most of all enjoy your time out in some of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet.

--Dusty
www.dustydoddridge.com

Mr. Rey · #10 10-27-2012, 11:21 AM

Hey KP, Hey Dusty,

Thanks for the extra info.

Dusty, I tried to download your Iceland e-book but while it was downloading, a message popped up saying that the file might be bad for my computer. Has you ever heard about this happening before?

Dusty.Doddridge · #11 10-27-2012, 01:08 PM

Hi Mr. Rey--

Thanks for checking in. Haven't heard about a security message popup from other users. But I expect each user's machine has unique security software and settings. If you were unable to complete the download I can get the PDF to you through e-mail or other means, no problem. Hope you enjoy!

Mr. Rey · #12 10-27-2012, 03:07 PM

Hey Dusty,

The message popped up again but I just made an executive decision and let it download. I got both the Iceland and the Smoky Mountains e-book. For 5 bucks, come on, you can't lose.

All of the images are great. But the image "Breidamerkursandur" in the Iceland series and the "Clingmans Dome Sunset" image in the Great Smoky Mountains series had me surreally mesmerized. The "Painted Trillium" image was truly a natural spotlight.

The books were well done and arranged. I really liked how you listed the glass and the settings that you used for each image.

Keep cool,
Rey

Dusty.Doddridge · #13 10-27-2012, 10:38 PM

That's awesome Rey--

Glad you enjoyed the e-books and appreciate the feedback. Anything I can do for you on your journey, just let me know.

--Dusty
www.dustydoddridge.com

Mr. Rey · #14 10-28-2012, 12:58 PM

I sure will. But I'll contact you through your website.

Rey

kpmedia · #15 10-28-2012, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Rey

I sure will. But I'll contact you through your website.

You're also welcome to have your Q&A here on this forum, too, so that others may learn from the conversation. I'd actually be interested in following a good conversation on nature photography, too! That's actually why this entire site now exists -- sharing technical media-related advice in public.

Just wanted to mention that.