When is it too cold for a DSLR?

[NateNLogansDad]

With the snow comming up the East Coast I was wondering if the cold air can be harmful to your camera. I'm sure it's OK for a little while, but what about hours at a time when the temps stay between 15-30ish? Besides the LCD, what problems would you be looking forward to?

 

[Frantasmic]

I forgot what your new camera is. It's the Nikon 5000 isn't it? If so, it isn't weather-sealed and probably shouldn't be out below 35 degrees for more than 15-20 minutes.

I believe there was a thread about this earlier in the year. some of the posters with more rugged, higher-end dslrs reported taking their cameras out shooting in 14 degree weather for nearly an hour with no problems.

 

[ssanders79]

This is an option, but not a cheap one at $140.
Cozy Camera Bag for Shooting In The Cold

 

[cpbjgc]

I have a Rebel XTi and have shot with it in temperatures between -25 and -30 degrees celsius (about -13 ro -22 fahrenheit) for exended periods (hour or so) with no problems at all. You may notice a little shorter battery life, but that's about it. The only warning I have is about condensation - as soon as you get in somewhere warm, there will be condensation, just like when you are shooting in hot and humid weather and are moving in and out of air conditioned areas. One way to deal is to use a large sealable plastic bag before going into someplace warm, as has been discussed on these boards before, to let the camera come up to temperature.

Have fun shooting outside!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Thanks you for everybody's input, and yep it a D5000 no weather sealing. I keep saying it, but one day I'll stop asking the basic questions!


I do have one more though What if I left in my car overnight and it was that cold out? I haven't yet and make no plans to, I'm just asking hypothetically is it possible to ruin it?

 

[Kevitivity]

Electronics do very well in the cold. It's the heat that you have to worry about.

 

[mom2rtk]

Electronics do very well in the cold. It's the heat that you have to worry about.

Good thing it's never hot at Disney!!!!

Just out of curiosity, on the flip side, regarding the humidity in Florida: When you take it out first thing and it fogs up, what should you do, other than just be patient and wait? What SHOULD you do to prevent it?

 

[Todd_H]

Good thing it's never cold at Disney!!!!

Just out of curiosity, on the flip side, regarding the humidity in Florida: When you take it out first thing and it fogs up, what should you do, other than just be patient and wait? What SHOULD you do to prevent it?

The plastic ziplock bag that cpbjgc mentioned above is the best way to deal with it, but I have only had to use that tactic in September in WDW when it was extremely humid. After being in our air conditioned room all night, I would seal up the camera body and lenses in a couple of ziplock bags in the morning before we headed out to the parks. I then carried them by hand outside for about 15-20 minutes until they felt normal temperature through the bag (or at least until they didn't feel cold anymore). Just note that if you seal them up and then put the sealed bag inside your camera bag, you will need to allow them more time to warm up before removing them from the ziplock bag.

 

[mom2rtk]

The plastic ziplock bag that cpbjgc mentioned above is the best way to deal with it, but I have only had to use that tactic in September in WDW when it was extremely humid. After being in our air conditioned room all night, I would seal up the camera body and lenses in a couple of ziplock bags in the morning before we headed out to the parks. I then carried them by hand outside for about 15-20 minutes until they felt normal temperature through the bag (or at least until they didn't feel cold anymore). Just note that if you seal them up and then put the sealed bag inside your camera bag, you will need to allow them more time to warm up before removing them from the ziplock bag.

Thanks Todd. I'll try this next time. This actually happened to me twice now: First one morning when I got up to take sunrise pics on the beach in Sanibel last summer. By the time the camera unfogged, the sun was up already! That must have just been a really humid morning, since it didn't happen the other mornings.

The other time was our first morning at Disney this past September. It was the morning after a LOT of rain and it was REALLY humid. I had ziploc bags with me but didn't realize they would help. I'll try that next time.

 

[boBQuincy]

Electronics do very well in the cold. It's the heat that you have to worry about.

Electronics do well in cold, in fact the noise level goes down as it gets colder! It is the mechanical parts of the SLR that do not do well in cold, shutters and mirror movements can slow due to lubricant viscosity increase.

Minimum operating temperature for Canons is often listed as 0 C, battery life is shown as about 10-20% lower than at 20 C.

 

[My2Girls66]

This showed up in my e-mail today.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Learn-And-E...era-in-the-Cold.html?cid=emailledec09featured

 

[rcpromike]

That article was useful for me, as I plan on stepping outside for a bit here and taking some pictures in the snow a little later.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Same here. We just went sledding with the kids. I thought twice about it and just took the other camera. My luck I would have done something stupid with Disney just over a week away.

 

[mabas9395]

One of the blogs I read just posted this helpful article.

http://digital-photography-school.com/photography-in-extreme-cold

 

[KramBerries]

I'm pretty sure that I'll cease to function because of cold long before my camera does. I'm no fan of the cold. Hot weather can be uncomfortable, but cold weather HURTS.

 

[KramBerries]

This showed up in my e-mail today.

link remove because I'm a "newbie"

I'm OK with all of the advice except the bit about the A2 warming filter. Was that just an embedded ad? Of course, a warming filter won't make your camera any warmer at all. It will warm the light in your pictures. Wouldn't be just as easy to do this with your white balance setting? I though that colored lens filters went out of fashion with digital. Am I missing a photo fashion trend coming back from the past? What's next, dark bags for putting your camera in when you swap out your memory cards?

 

[Groucho]

FWIW, the K-7 touts its cold resistance - operating temperature range all the way down to 14' F/-10 C - so I would guess that most DSLRs are not rated to go that cold. Obviously they will work for a while, though!

You probably have to dig for the numbers, they might be in your manual... a quick search showed that the Canon 1D Mk3 is rated to 32' F, and that's a "pro" camera. ...a little more searching shows that the vast majority (probably all except the K-7) are officially rated to 32' F.

Like the others, I tend to succumb to the cold long before the camera does! That being said, I have had mine sitting in a freezing car all day this winter with no issues. (I try not to do that, but it happens!)

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I learned a lesson the hard way a few years back when I got a brand new camera and decided I'd get its first shots from the top of a mountain I was skiing on in Maine that weekend. Just so I wouldn't forget it (amidst the chaos of a 4 family ski weekend), I left it in the car overnight (at 1 degree F). I was so excited to test it out, you can imagine how I felt when I finally made it up there and the darn thing wouldn't even turn on. You got it - dead battery. (I didn't realize then that cold drains batteries.)

Anyway, now if I'm shooting in cold weather, I keep extra batteries in my clothes pockets, ie near the warmth of my body, and switch them out before they run out. Last New Years day I was bundled up in my storm coat on a frigid, windy beach shooting crazy swimmers (including my own family and friends) and this method worked out great.

Another great tip brought to you from the Dis (as it was for me).

Happy Shooting!

 

[Stephanie218]

Thanks for posting this! My husband really wanted me to get some pictures of him pheasant hunting next week, but I didn't know anything about extended cold-weather shooting (thanks to living in AZ and CA the past few years!). I'll definitely be bringing a plastic bag.

 

[lugnut33]

14 degrees F really isn't that cold. <looks at thermometer and it reads -1F>