Michael McCullough |
Digital Performance in Cold Weather I have a question about digital SLR camera performance in sub zero winter conditions. Just how well will these wonders perform in very cold weather extremes?
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Jon Close |
Mostly fine. No moving parts (except the lens), no film to get brittle. Only problem is that battery life drops precipitously with the temperature.
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x |
Does film get brittle in the cold? I keep mine in the freezer. I hope that's okay. :)
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Davin Edridge |
Hello All, I believe that it depends upon how cold you mean? Compact Flash and Smart Media have extremes which they will not go beyond. Smart Media - according to the Fuji S2 Manual - should not be used below 0*C. I believe that compact Flash and microdrives will suffer a similar fate. I also believe that the LCDs are limited to operating in certain temperatures as well - should be in your manual, or on the camera manufacturers Web site. I have seen examples of work done in the Antartic. The photographer used a manual camera and film - (no camera LCDs etc - batteries only operated the exposure meter in the camera). He mentioned that one of the biggest problems was using the camera through the mittens - or the possibility of frost-bite if removing the mittens. He also mentioned that the film was brittle and he damaged the odd roll of film trying to load it into the camera, and as already mentioned batteries do not last long. As far as keeping your film in the freezer (or the fridge)- it is ok as long as you let it come to room temperature before using it. This stops condensation entering the camera and the possible tearing of the film due to the brittleness if trying to load it when brittle. Regards,
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Mike Fitzgerald |
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Dan Throckmorton |
Actually digital cameras perform better at lower tempratures. Digital "noise" is drastically reduced at extreemly low tempratures. The batteries are your weak link. Try keeping them in your pocket or a heated vehicle until you are ready to shoot. The biggest problem for your digital camera is condensation that could damage fragile electronics. I allways try to let my equipment aclimate by leaveng it in the bag (Tamrac backpack in my case) so it can slowly change temprature before taking it out for use, keeping batteries warm seperately. Hope these tips help.
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Nicole C. West |
Okay, I'm thrown off by the talk of batteries loosing life in the cold. I have always been told the best place to store my unused batteries is in the freezer, and so I do. Am I shortening their life span? Where is the best place to store them?
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Jon Close |
Storage and use are two different things. Refrigerating/freezing batteries increases their storage life by slowing down the chemical reactions that expend the charge. But at the same time, cold increases the internal resisitance of the battery, making it unable to deliver that charge. When working in the cold, the battery will appear to quickly lose its charge and be unable to power the device. But it doesn't need recharging so much as it just needs to be warmed up.
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Wing Wong |
Another factor you will want to consider is condensation. Digital cameras are even more sensative to condensation than electronic film cameras. The condensation can cause internal corrosion and/or shorts. The battery issue can be worked around by bringing extra batteries. Go with CF cards as opposed to hard drive based storage. So no microdrives and such. The only other concern would be the various rubber and rubberized plastic parts of some digital cameras. The extreme code may render them brittle and/or cracking.
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Bob Duerr |
Good evening Mike: I just came back from Fairbanks, AK I was using the Oly c-700 with Smart Media memory card and metel-Nickel batteries. I had no problems at all. If concerned about temps u may keep your Hope this helps to relieve the fear of
busmanbob@juno.com
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