taking camera back indoors from cold?

[Hwood]

i have recently purchased my first camera. i wanted one for many years for nature shots and that includes the winter, i hope. i have to imagine that condensation will build inside the body and the lens when i bring it back inside after being outside in cold weather. tonight i was out trying to get a pic of the bright planets and when i came in i put it inside a cold jacket and let it warm up that way thinking that might prevent condensation if warmed very slowly. am i pushing my luck, doing good, or worring to much about it? any feed back would be helpful thanks. Hwood.

[Steve Foss]

Dec. 1 will be the best night (assuming it's clear) for the planet/moon alignment, Hwood.

As for bringing a cold camera into a warm place, you can put the camera in a zip-loc bag while it's still outside and leave it in the bag for an hour or two once you get inside, or you can put it in a camera bag/backpack and it will have the same effect. I have a padded camera backpack, and before I come in from a cold day's shooting, I put the gear in there while I'm still outside, and pull my memory card(s) from the cameras before I stow them in the bag.

That way, when I get in the house, I can immediately start to download images while all the camera gear slowly acclimates in the bag and doesn't gather condensation.

You're right to be concerned. While condensation on the lens elements isn't a big deal (except of course that you can't use the lenses again until they dry out), condensation that forms on the camera sensor can, once dry, embed specks of dust and make them very difficult to remove. I also think it's a bad idea to let condensation build on lens/camera electrical contacts.

[Hwood]

just the man i had hoped would reply. thanks steve. taking the memory card out before i pack the camera away is a good idea since i become rather impatient to see what i got. is there a temperature that you say, that's it, it's to cold, and best not take camera out or same rules apply regardless and maybe go manual and turm off IS?

[Steve Foss]

My motto is, if you have IS, never turn it off. I've used it to -42 F with no probs.

As for temps and fogging, if the lens feels cold to the touch, the camera will fog when you take it indoors or into a warm vehicle, so that's the point at which it gets the "padded bag treatment."

[Hwood]

thanks much. I am more at ease about going out this winter.