D7200 "dying" in cold weather? Looking for thoughts/opinions on an issue that occurred to me yesterday while shooting the New England High School XC championships. While I am, by...

david vt Loc: Vermont

Looking for thoughts/opinions on an issue that occurred to me yesterday while shooting the New England High School XC championships.

While I am, by virtue of living in VT, used to colder weather outdoor sports, it was 34F yesterday during the meet. First the first time, my D7200 would occasionally "die" like it was out of power. I would hear what sounded like the mirror locking up, and it would be moderately dark through the viewfinder (like 3-4 stops of light lost). The controls would be dead, as was the top LCD. Cycled the camera off/on, pulled the battery (in grip) and put back. No immediate fix, but each time the camera would come back to life just where I had left it.

As you might imagine, this caused some short panics as to if it would come back to life before the runner arrived. Each time it did, and it would behave fine as long as I kept it active (occasionally pushing the BBF button). Battery, which is fairly new, was fully charged before the event, and 75% when done, so I don't think I was out of power, but I am wondering if the cold had an impact on available power in the battery, especially in the grip as it is not as protected as in the body itself.

This was as cold as I have ever shot (as my fingers attested to!), and I am wondering if I was just pushing the bottom end of the operating window?

Thoughts, questions, alternative Hypotheses welcome. Thanks in advance

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I think what we have here is called a coincidence. It wasn't even below freezing when you were shooting, and I've used various DSLRs near zero F. If you try the camera now, it will probably work fine, but again, that's just a coincidence. You might find a solution in the links below, or a member might have a way to get it working again. Just out of curiosity, how many clicks are on the shutter?

https://www.google.com/search?q=d7200+locking+up.&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS797US797&oq=d7200+locking+up.&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l2.5079j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

I would check things out in a more controlled environment (sorry, I am an Elec Engr). I would place the camera in the fridge for a while and see how the system operates, that way you know if is a temperature issue or not.
How does the battery level read when the camera is cold?
If you determine that the temp is the factor, I would test out the camera separately from the battery and see which is the culprit.

david vt Loc: Vermont

Thanks for the quick feedback

TomV: the battery registered full/near full before/during/after. I will try to swap out the battery with another, and try in the fridge. Will also try with/without the grip to see if that makes a difference

Jerry - less than 15K clicks.n Will research the link provided

It did come back to life each time after a minute or so, but it was panic mode for each of those minutes!!!!

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

david vt wrote:

Looking for thoughts/opinions on an issue that occ... (show quote)

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

david vt wrote:

Looking for thoughts/opinions on an issue that occ... (show quote)

That does sounds like cold issues, but 34F is not cold! I have used mine (Canon) in -37F without any of the above mentioned issues. Try again with warm batteries and see if it still behaves that way. If it does, it may be time to have it checked by Nikon!

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

The camera manual says the D7200's operating temperature is 32-104 F. I've experienced no difficulties with my D7200 (or any of my other digital Nikons) at temps in the low 20's, but in the instances I've been out shooting for extended periods in cold weather, I generally carry my camera inside my coat, next to my body, to try to keep it as warm as possible while not actively shooting, and sometimes I'll keep a spare battery in an inside pocket to keep it as warm as possible, just in case. It rarely gets bitter cold where I live, but if it did, I'd probably consider getting an external battery pack.

Bill_de Loc: US

You said you pulled the battery in the grip. What about the one in the camera?

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MT Shooter Loc: Montana

david vt wrote:

Looking for thoughts/opinions on an issue that occ... (show quote)

Sounds VERY much like a battery issue. OEM, generic, counterfeit? Fully charged both before shoot? Selected battery order? (Grip or body first?) I seriously doubt its a camera issue and would bet its a battery issue for sure.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I shot a lot of very cold pictures with my D7200 without any issues, and most of them were well below 32 degrees. Has to be a battery thing.

jcboy3

david vt wrote:

Looking for thoughts/opinions on an issue that occ... (show quote)

Are you using OEM batteries, or third party? You should not be having this problem with OEM.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Greetings from CANADA! It does get rather cold up here and I sometimes have assignments that take me out of doors for extended periods of time. Somehow, theses jobs don't tend to come in on nice days!

So...oftentimes I have experienced issues with battery inefficiency in in cold environments in cameras and electronic flash gear. The chemical action in the darn things will slow down. If by the process of elimination, you shoud isolate a battery issue, you may want to consider an outboard battery packs. In my Canon cameras I made a pack which I keep under my clothing- the old body heat keeps it ticking! I keep my spare batters warm as well. I obtained replacement connector cord for the AC converter and wired it to the batteries.

We tend to think of our digital camera as "electronic" devices, but there are also mechanical parts that may be affected by extremes in temperature. Lubricants can congeal or migrate, materials can expand and contract- all causing malfunction. Moisture or condensation can also factor in.

Frankly, I do not know if the operational integrity of semiconductors and other components of the camera's circuitry are affected by sub-freezing temperatures and if that is factored in to the temperature ranges in the specifications. Thus far, I have use my DSLRs on cold and damp environments with no issues when using the remote battery adaptations. I usually give out before the camera after an hour at -20C (we're Metric up here) that's -4 down there! Insulated bags, camera covers jackets etc- also help.

david vt Loc: Vermont

MT Shooter wrote:

Sounds VERY much like a battery issue. OEM, generic, counterfeit? Fully charged both before shoot? Selected battery order? (Grip or body first?) I seriously doubt its a camera issue and would bet its a battery issue for sure.

Hi. Generally, I don’t keep both batteries in the camera, just the one in the grip, as a big day shooting for me would be 1000 frames, which does not even touch much of the single battery. And, the camera with the 70-100 2.8 is heavy enough!.

Yes, fully charged OEM battery, and not too old, the night before. As noted, battery, when it came back on, showed fully or near fully charged the whole day, and when I got home.

I suspect it is just a cold issue, which affects voltage more than amperage. (Think car starting on a really cold day). It could be I was just dropping below the voltage threshold, and once I woke it up and kept it moving, enough electrons moving to keep warm enough.

If I get to this again, I might just drop both batteries in it to be on the safe side, though I like the earlier suggestion to experiment with the refigerator (as it is about 36F)

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

david vt wrote:

Thanks for the quick feedback

TomV: the battery registered full/near full before/during/after. I will try to swap out the battery with another, and try in the fridge. Will also try with/without the grip to see if that makes a difference

Jerry - less than 15K clicks.n Will research the link provided

It did come back to life each time after a minute or so, but it was panic mode for each of those minutes!!!!

Are these Nikon batteries in the camera and grip? AAs in the grip? When you go into menu -> little wrench symbol -> battery info -> It should show you how old the battery is between new and 4 years. If old, probably want to replace it. When batteries get cold, especially old and cold, their power level is lower than at room temperature. 3rd party batteries can have a lot shorter life than Nikon batteries. Other thing you might do is clean the contacts on the battery with a non-abrasive eraser.

duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa

I shoot my D7100 in extreme cold of -15 to -25F in the winter months and have never encountered any problems. I use a battery grip and two fresh batteries to keep a good charge. 34 is not all that cold for your camera.