What to know about cold

[island guy]

Since I'm new to the digital world, what do I need to know about cold weather? Can I just pull my camera out of my back pack and start shooting? I do a lot of hiking and may be out in the cold a few hours b4 I find a shot. With my SLR film camera, I just shoot. Same with digital??

[hobbydog]

Pretty much the same. Cold batteries hold less charge so make sure they are charged befor you go. You have to watch for lens fogging.

[jonny_redhorse]

I'm no expert but can only relate to a couple of winters and my personal experiences with my digital...I've noticed that the batteries will last only about 50% as long as "normal" (no doubt that depends on how cold it is also)...so....I take extra batteries with me and keep those batteries "warm" in the pockets "inside" my coat or jacket...I also try and not walk around with the camera exposed to the driving wind or elements also(at least I try,and certainly not always possible)...I always take a "zip lock" plastic bag along with me and put the cold camera inside the bag and seal it "before" entering a warm environment(vehicle or home)....I do this to prevent any cronic moisture("fogging")from forming to the inside of the cold camera and lenses...the reason for the plastic bag is the moisture content of the area inside the bag that holds the air's humidity is much less the the ever abundant moisture exposed if the camera were outside and no bag was used...I leave the camera in the plastic bag until I'm sure the camera has had sufficient time to equal the temperature of the warm vehicle or warm room...If a guy doesn't do this ,it'll take alot longer to get the camera to "dry off" and who knows how long it takes for the inside of the camera to quit "sweating" and dry up(and potential damage to the electronic components)....I know this works as I've done it many times and no problems with fogging (lenses or internal parts)....it works for me ....jonny

[Steve Foss]

Yep, battery is an issue. I also bring spares and keep them warm. If the set in the camera gets cold and drains sooner, I swap them out, and pretty soon the ones I put in my inside pockets are warm and have regained part of their charge, in case I need them again later.

I have an optional battery/vertical shooting grip for my Canon, so that means I have two batteries working instead of one.

Fogging up doesn't matter much when you come home and bring everything indoors for the day. It matters a LOT, as noted, out in the field. And with digital, it's not just the lens and shutter mirrow to worry about, but fogging on the sensor. I keep the batteries in the camera as warm as possible by keeping the camera inside my anorak shell when I'm out on the cold trails. Gets some body heat but not too much that way. I keep the setup from fogging inside the car by keeping the car fairly cold when I'm driving from spot to spot. My passengers don't always like that, but I dress warm enough to begin with, and I'm there to shoot, not coddle passengers.

I've gone many a day in well below-zero temps hopping from shoot to shoot in the vehicle without worrying about fogging by simply keeping things fairly cold. If my fingers just plain get too cold, I put the camera on the hood outside and crank the heat until I'm toasty, then knock it back down.

[Dbl]

Batteries are an issue with me also and I do carry 3 sets with 2 warm in my pocket and like Steve swap them frequently. I shoot alot of college baseball in the cold spring and encounter about every weather condition you can imagine.

Snow, rain, heat, dust, you name it. Dust has been the primary culprit with second being snow and rain. Snow and rain care is common sense, dust just plain wrecks havoc. Changing lenses in the elements is the biggest challenge with digital I have found. I clean my own sensor as a cost savings and more importantly a time savings. I average a cleaning about two to three times per year. Most shops will charge about $50 and a down time up to two weeks depending on workload for sensor cleaning.

[Steve Foss]

DBL, what's your sensor cleaning routine? I've got a couple stubborn specks on mine, and I've been leery of doing anything but using a little squeeze blower to clean it.

[hobbydog]

Quote:

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DBL, what's your sensor cleaning routine? I've got a couple stubborn specks on mine, and I've been leery of doing anything but using a little squeeze blower to clean it.

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I have been using the Swab and Methanol (Eclipse) method with no problem. I use the store bought swaps now but used a homemade swab using pecc pads the first time. I tried the squeeze blower but found out that only moves the dust around at best and can make it worse. The CCD can cause the dust to become electrostatically charged so it is hard to blow it out of the chamber. If you do a google search you will find this swab and methanol method is the most common and accepted method and is not really that hard after you do it a time or two. The CCD is covered by a low pass filter and you just run the swab with a drop or two of Eclipse across the sensor.

The link below should tell you all you need to know....do's and don'ts and where you can get the needed supplies if you don't already have them. Read the whole thing before you give it a try. Once you do it once it is a piece of cake after that.

http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/

[Steve Foss]

Thanks hobbydog. Man, I hate spots on my sensor!

[Dbl]

Hobbydog already answered but I also use the Eclipse routine. It truely is very easy. The site he listed is also the site I went into to learn how to do this. I shoot sky shots at f16 or larger to see if any spots show up. As soon as they do about 5 minutes later I have a clean camera again.

Here is the link to the Copperhill method which is where I purchased my supplies and he is the oringator of this very simple cleaning process. Much better to be able to do this at home then send in the camera.

http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

[Tom Wilson]

IG,

Everybody pretty much clued you in on the cold situation... You're biggest concern will be batteries. I use two of the EN EL3's and have never run both down in a single day. I shot for over 4 hours today with only one battery. Last March I shot an entire day sunup(6AM) till sundown(6PM) at Sand Lake NWR and it did use up both batteries, but I shot until I lost my light in the evening. It was 6 degrees that morning and never got above freezing all day long. I have only had my camera freeze up one time and that was last winter. It was -8 degrees and I just kept switching batteries back and forth. When the camera would start acting up I would take out the cold battery and put in the hot one(handwarmers in pocket). That kept me shooting all morning. That was the coldest I have ever shot in. This was also mentioned, but is so very important. Do not I repeat do not bring a cold camera back to a warm car or house. You will regret it and possibly even damage your camera and lenses. I put my equipment back in the case or bag depending on which one I'm carrying, and I let it acclimate through the bag or case. It usually takes about 4 hours. What I recommend for digital is to take your cards out and leaving them in your outer jacket pocket until they acclimate. This does not seem to bother the batteries either. The electronics in your camera however you don't want wet--that's why I'm on my second D70. Getting your lenses wet on the inside is not cool either it stains them, and can possibly encourage mold growth. Mold on the inside of a lens=the cost of a new lens. What this all boils down to is this--use some common sense and cold weather shooting is no problem. In reality the heat is worse, but we'll tackle that in the summer.

Tom Wilson