billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
happy sailor wrote:
I have seen a number of posts over the last month about people wanting to know if their cameras can be operated in the freezing winter temperatures. For the past five days I was at a ski resort here in Ontario, Canada with a couple of our kids and grandchildren. The temperatures all week in the daytime ranged from -15 to -24 C and with wind chill it felt like -22 to -35C. For quick reference 0 F is -18 C and at -40 both temperature scales are the same VFC (very freakin cold).
I used my Canon 6d with either a Canon 24-105 or a Sigma 150-500 on different occasions throughout the week. Yesterday was the worst of the weather and the ski runs were shut down at 4pm as the wind chills at that time were hitting -40 to -45C. Luckily we had left two hours before that. It was snowing and blowing all day, my camera ended up covered in snow and frost on the LCD screen from me exhaling while using the viewfinder. I stayed out there for about an hour, shot stills and a few minutes of video.
The camera worked flawlessly, the lenses had no trouble with auto focus. The pictures were good (of course!!! they had my grandchildren in them, lol). I did not take a plastic bag out with me to put the camera in before coming back inside so I did have a lot of condensation form on the camera and lens coming back in to the warm chalet. I wiped off the excess and then just let the camera come to room temperature. All is good.
Canon website says the operating range for the camera is 32-104°F/0-40°C. I think that is being really conservative.
I think one time on the hog here MT Shooter posted a picture of a camera with ice hanging off of it in the real cold but can't remember for sure.
Anyway the point of this is go a head put some warm clothes on and go out and shoot.
Home today and it is -29 this morning, March and Florida can't come soon enough.
I have seen a number of posts over the last month ... (
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Generally speaking, if your outside and you put your camera up to your face to take an image and the camera gets stuck to your face it is too cold to be outside taking photographs. ie. read the manual, it will give you the operating conditions for your model.
There is also a member here which gives winter photo tours in Yellowstone np who shoots pics in some pretty cold weather with no problems.
VTMatwood
Loc: Displaced Vermonta in Central New Hampsha
-17 here as i read this... likely as not, the camera will stay in the bag today as I drink some warm beverages and stay inside. While it may very well work at those temps, i generally do not 😀
Was in New Mexico in December at -12 C and had no issues with Canon cameras. I know if Nikons working at -30 C, so the real issue is here is to accommodate the camera to the outside conditions. If it's going to be cold weather photography, keep the camera in the trunk of the car overnight so you do not get condensation on the lens, mirror or sensor when you take it out. Keep the batteries in the house and a spare in your pocket. Batteries loose power in the cold since the reaction that creates the electricity is temperature dependent.
happy sailor wrote:
I have seen a number of posts over the last month about people wanting to know if their cameras can be operated in the freezing winter temperatures. For the past five days I was at a ski resort here in Ontario, Canada with a couple of our kids and grandchildren. The temperatures all week in the daytime ranged from -15 to -24 C and with wind chill it felt like -22 to -35C. For quick reference 0 F is -18 C and at -40 both temperature scales are the same VFC (very freakin cold).
I used my Canon 6d with either a Canon 24-105 or a Sigma 150-500 on different occasions throughout the week. Yesterday was the worst of the weather and the ski runs were shut down at 4pm as the wind chills at that time were hitting -40 to -45C. Luckily we had left two hours before that. It was snowing and blowing all day, my camera ended up covered in snow and frost on the LCD screen from me exhaling while using the viewfinder. I stayed out there for about an hour, shot stills and a few minutes of video.
The camera worked flawlessly, the lenses had no trouble with auto focus. The pictures were good (of course!!! they had my grandchildren in them, lol). I did not take a plastic bag out with me to put the camera in before coming back inside so I did have a lot of condensation form on the camera and lens coming back in to the warm chalet. I wiped off the excess and then just let the camera come to room temperature. All is good.
Canon website says the operating range for the camera is 32-104°F/0-40°C. I think that is being really conservative.
I think one time on the hog here MT Shooter posted a picture of a camera with ice hanging off of it in the real cold but can't remember for sure.
Anyway the point of this is go a head put some warm clothes on and go out and shoot.
Home today and it is -29 this morning, March and Florida can't come soon enough.
I have seen a number of posts over the last month ... (
show quote)
There are lots of photos of the north and south poles. I imagine it's pretty cold there.
happy sailor wrote:
I have seen a number of posts over the last month about people wanting to know if their cameras can be operated in the freezing winter temperatures. For the past five days I was at a ski resort here in Ontario, Canada with a couple of our kids and grandchildren. The temperatures all week in the daytime ranged from -15 to -24 C and with wind chill it felt like -22 to -35C. For quick reference 0 F is -18 C and at -40 both temperature scales are the same VFC (very freakin cold).
I used my Canon 6d with either a Canon 24-105 or a Sigma 150-500 on different occasions throughout the week. Yesterday was the worst of the weather and the ski runs were shut down at 4pm as the wind chills at that time were hitting -40 to -45C. Luckily we had left two hours before that. It was snowing and blowing all day, my camera ended up covered in snow and frost on the LCD screen from me exhaling while using the viewfinder. I stayed out there for about an hour, shot stills and a few minutes of video.
The camera worked flawlessly, the lenses had no trouble with auto focus. The pictures were good (of course!!! they had my grandchildren in them, lol). I did not take a plastic bag out with me to put the camera in before coming back inside so I did have a lot of condensation form on the camera and lens coming back in to the warm chalet. I wiped off the excess and then just let the camera come to room temperature. All is good.
Canon website says the operating range for the camera is 32-104°F/0-40°C. I think that is being really conservative.
I think one time on the hog here MT Shooter posted a picture of a camera with ice hanging off of it in the real cold but can't remember for sure.
Anyway the point of this is go a head put some warm clothes on and go out and shoot.
Home today and it is -29 this morning, March and Florida can't come soon enough.
I have seen a number of posts over the last month ... (
show quote)
1) no guarantees beyond the mfg stated operating range
2) they will almost assuredly work well beyond both limits
3) damage is unlikely at extreme temps (at least temps where you will survive :-)
4) friction reducers in cameras are not subject to "freezing" but may become less effective at the extreme ends....again, not in the survival temp range of a human.
...I have shot ski racing at or colder than you noted. NEVER HAD AN ISSUE. Anecdotal and sample size is 5 cameras with 2 mfgs. Not a statistical sampling.
...however...
Going in and out of the chalet is a riskier item than the extreme cold. Dew point traversals and the resultant condensation will kill your camera.
Putting the camera and lens in a ziplock bag when you come in will help. Weather sealed cameras and lenses should be ok and as you noted...just let 'em condense and dry on their own or with a little wipe until the camera body temp moves closer to ambient.
DO NOT REMOVE THE LENS. if you want to change lenses after the camera is cold...do it outside.
I worked 30 years in electronics reliability and Failure analysis including running an FA lab. If the circuit boards are not perfectly clean, condensation will create electrolytic soups that will allow for electromigration "plating" effects that will short circuit the electronics.
...experienced that in Jamaica doing a destination wedding. All 3 camera bodies showed some twitchy behaviour at or around dew point traversals. No permanent effects so far but I know I will be reducing the longjevity each time.
A friend spent some time working at the South Pole area, including a winter there. Now that's cold! However he sent back some spectacular photos. He didn't say how he did it, but obviously he got his camera to work in those temperatures.
I and my camera only operate in temps I can operate in which below 20 is the limit.
happy sailor wrote:
I have seen a number of posts over the last month about people wanting to know if their cameras can be operated in the freezing winter temperatures. For the past five days I was at a ski resort here in Ontario, Canada with a couple of our kids and grandchildren. The temperatures all week in the daytime ranged from -15 to -24 C and with wind chill it felt like -22 to -35C. For quick reference 0 F is -18 C and at -40 both temperature scales are the same VFC (very freakin cold).
I used my Canon 6d with either a Canon 24-105 or a Sigma 150-500 on different occasions throughout the week. Yesterday was the worst of the weather and the ski runs were shut down at 4pm as the wind chills at that time were hitting -40 to -45C. Luckily we had left two hours before that. It was snowing and blowing all day, my camera ended up covered in snow and frost on the LCD screen from me exhaling while using the viewfinder. I stayed out there for about an hour, shot stills and a few minutes of video.
The camera worked flawlessly, the lenses had no trouble with auto focus. The pictures were good (of course!!! they had my grandchildren in them, lol). I did not take a plastic bag out with me to put the camera in before coming back inside so I did have a lot of condensation form on the camera and lens coming back in to the warm chalet. I wiped off the excess and then just let the camera come to room temperature. All is good.
Canon website says the operating range for the camera is 32-104°F/0-40°C. I think that is being really conservative.
I think one time on the hog here MT Shooter posted a picture of a camera with ice hanging off of it in the real cold but can't remember for sure.
Anyway the point of this is go a head put some warm clothes on and go out and shoot.
Home today and it is -29 this morning, March and Florida can't come soon enough.
I have seen a number of posts over the last month ... (
show quote)
I was in Minnesota over the New Year's weekend it was -15 with a -40 Windchill camera worked fine. Just make sure when you come in from the cold that you either put it in a plastic bag, doesn't have to be sealed. And let it warm up slowly otherwise the condensation will stop you from shooting indoors until the camera acclimates to the interior ambient temperature.
I have no problems with my camera's. My old Exackta is my best cold weather camera and then my Zeiss Contaflex. Neither one has batteries. and I have used them at -40F. Film has a problem at that temperatue,. It likes to brake or get static electricity strikes at those temperatures. All my newer cameras are mirrorless...Sony a99ll and a6000. No mechanical movements. Their limitation is a matter of keeping the battery warm enough to provide power. The Sony manual is just like N and C, 32'F/0'C is their lower end. I have used my Sony's at 0'F without a problem. Note: I either carry spare batteries in my shirt or pants pocket, use a power grip (2 batteries in it) or I have made an exernal battery wired to the camera with the battery in my pocket. My Canon SX50, does OK at 0'F also. And my modern Kodak Instamatic, IE known as my iPhone has no problem at cold temperatures either. Happy Shooting.
boberic
Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander
jerryc41 wrote:
There are lots of photos of the north and south poles. I imagine it's pretty cold there.
Not if they go in the summer (lol)
Happy sailor, your experience is encouraging, so thanks for sharing. I have had similar experiences in Alaska in winter. I suspect that a difference might be how long one's camera is out in the cold. Just guessing, but I think a camera may not work well if it is out in -30 or -40 F all day, but may work well up to an hour or so, or before the camera's internal parts get that cold. "GRABBER" makes a mega warmer, larger than a hand or foot warmer, which I plan to put in my camera backpack on my next trip to Alaska in a couple weeks.
oregonfrank wrote:
Happy sailor, your experience is encouraging, so thanks for sharing. I have had similar experiences in Alaska in winter. I suspect that a difference might be how long one's camera is out in the cold. Just guessing, but I think a camera may not work well if it is out in -30 or -40 F all day, but may work well up to an hour or so, or before the camera's internal parts get that cold. "GRABBER" makes a mega warmer, larger than a hand or foot warmer, which I plan to put in my camera backpack on my next trip to Alaska in a couple weeks.
Happy sailor, your experience is encouraging, so t... (
show quote)
I have found while shooting time lapses in Alaska is that the battery is the weak point. I went through a series of external batteries running my Canon 60D before I found one that worked all night with the temperature between 0 and 15.
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