hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Thanks for the lead on NiCad batteries, I'll look into it.

TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

I would look at astronomy gear suppliers. Here is 1 example: https://www.optcorp.com/telescope-accessories/power-adapters-batteries-cords.html

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Don't overlook required accessories. In my neighborhood, affectionately known as felony flats, that would include a chow dog (large, mean, cold tolerant) chained to your tripod. Seriously. A neighborhood bar installed security cameras which disappeared the first night.

mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois

Years ago I had a wearable (inside outerwear) remote battery system made by Nikon with a long cord with camera adapter on the camera end. It was for a late series "F" film camera, as far as I can recall. I have no idea whether similar equipment is still available.

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Thanks for the suggestion on looking at astrophotography gear.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

I'm pretty sure it was a BMW motorcycle dealer that sells 12 volt sock and/or hand warmers for cycle riding in fridged temps and cover the battery portion . You never mentioned if noise was a problem. If noise can be get a small gas powered generator to put out the 12 volts needed. My small house generator works for about 14 hours with a full tank of gas, (5 gallons).

If noise is a problem you can get a large wet cell battery, insulate it, and put a solar charger on it to work in the sunlight. The battery it self should work all night. Note that a well maintained battery for cars etc. work fine to about -20 F.

Check out places like Wild Game Innovations, http://www.wildgameinnovations.com/ . They have many 24/7 game cameras and work in all kinds of weather. You can get good info about powering your camera from what they have for their cameras. I have an older one and it worked fine in Michigan winters.

Where I work we get and often throw away what is called "refrigerator boxes".

http://www.uline.com/Grp_93/Insulated-Shippers-and-Supplies

http://www.bing.com/images/shop/search?view=detailV2&ccid=BoeDaUht&id=57AF7DCAF11214C9B905FB3E20A386B3073DD38D&q=refrigerator+boxes+for+shipping&simid=608019408877326109&selectedIndex=3&qpvt=refrigerator+boxes+for+shipping&ajaxhist=0

They are used to mail dog and cat medical supplies to us. The boxes are very similar to Styrofoam coolers that you see people using to hold beer and pop from getting warm except the containers we get are two inches thick. They include a bottom layer of freeze packs and that's enough to keep things cold for days not like you average cooler that keep things cold only for hours. We get them in whatever size the company sends to us. Normally they are 14"W x 17"L x 12"H outside dimentions. (On rare occaisions we get bigger containers.) I have two of the smaller ones in my garage right now. Thinking opposite you could put a battery inside, a hand warmer or two inside and you should be good for several hours maybe even a day. Just poke a small hole in the container for a power cord to come out.

pheuscher

I make regular trips to -30, -35 Fairbanks and shoot the aurora borealis. I make certain that everything is ready including of course several batteries fully charged and next to my body. I've never had a problem with the camera or batteries but just with manipulation of the tripod in the cold and switching the head lamp on or off. The batteries can weaken with age.
P. Heuscher

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

In fact -10F is not at all difficult to deal with!

If you actually can get an adapter from any voltage to what those cameras need then all is easy. Probably even better is an AC powered battery replacer. Then, with either of those, power it with a sine wave inverter running from a lead acid battery. One camera and only down to -20F would easily work with a typical 12 to 20 Ah motorcycle/atv battery. If you add other equipment or move to Fairbanks you could power it with a small car battery. That would also work well for extended periods of use, such as a week or even longer unattended.

One handy AC inverter to check out would be an older Paul C. Buff unit that they sold before Li-Ion batteries. The unit is orange, comes in a custom fit bag and has a 20 Ah battery. It weighs 18 lbs, which is the way to know you're looking at the right one!

jwohlhueter

If you have access to AC take a look at the Canon ACK-E6 AC Adapter Kit for the 60D.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Regardless of the chemistry. cold is the enemy of volatge. However if you attach a differential girdle spring to one pole and a and a drawn reciprical dingle arm to the other pole you will find that the cold effect upon the battery will have exactly the same result.

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

Not sure how convenient or conservative it is, but I do quite a bit of astro-photography and had to DIY up something to allow all my equipment to run all night long in -40f preferably off a single sealed gel battery. I use a single 125Ah battery made for industrial UPS systems, but I would think a much smaller unit would work for you. I run a laptop, two CCD cameras, sometimes a DSLR or two piggybacking, along with a mount, USB hubs and various heaters I made out of Nichrome wire. I have heaters that have to wrap every piece of glass to combat any dew formation. I found sticking my battery in a cooler worked decent.

What I found works best is a length of Nichrome, depending on the gauge of wire determines the length needed. I have two circuits of about 4'-6' of 24awg works about right to keep the battery above freezing. Most all of my equipment runs off of 12vDC, except a couple of the cameras and laptop, which require step converters. All in all it was a proof of concept this winter and after all the bugs were worked out performed fairly well. You can look into DIY dew heaters, resistive wire or simply wiring resistors together works also and is what most people use.

Just food for thought,
Matthew