Posted by Jim Salge on December 10, 2006 at 8:31 PM
I heard a great tip last week at work for keeping my camera condensation free when coming in and out of the cold during the winter.
I always find plastic bags cumbersome and annoying, especially when frozen or in the wind, so another photog told me to get a canoeing/kayaking drysack, the vinyl rollup kind, and stuff the camera in there to warm up when coming in. So simple and brillient.
Anybody else have any cold weather camera care tips we can benefit from???
Posted by Steve Foss on December 10, 2006 at 11:44 PM
I use an insulated camera backpack. Tamrac Cyberpack 8. When I'm out in the winter (up here, winter means WINTER), I leave the heat off in my vehicle, because you never know when you'll have to hop in and out. When I get close to home, I put the camera in the backpack after removing the memory card(s) and bring the backpack in the house. Because it's padded/lined, it slows the camera warmup, so lenses don't fog. More importantly, any dust specks on the sensor don't become embedded.
Posted by Kent Staubus on December 10, 2006 at 11:58 PM
Steve--
You take your camera in every night? I just leave mine out in my car all winter.
OK, my tip. When crossing a frozen lake or creek, set all your camera gear down on the ground, then walk across. If the ice holds, walk back and get the camera gear and recross. This little tip can save you thousands of dollars!
Another tip. If you drop through the ice in deep water, try using your car keys, sticking between your fingers, as ice picks to help you get enough traction to pull yourself out. Yes, this can work. Don't ask me how I know this.
Kent in SD
Posted by Ott Luuk on December 11, 2006 at 12:42 AM
Each year we get a couple of weeks between 20-30 degrees below zero (C) and this is usually a great time to soot with lots of snow and great light. I usually do as Steve suggested. Incidentally I use a Tamrac Cyberpack, too, but any well-padded camera bag should work as long as you can fight the temptation to take your stuff out too soon in the house/warm vehicle.
When working with shorter lenses in extreme cold, it sometimes pays to keep a protective filter on the lens. The point is that if you happen to breathe on the front element, it freezes quite instantly. It takes considerably less time and effort to remove the frozen filter and resume shooting than trying to melt your lens clean of frost.
In case you are as messy as me and tend to freeze up the viewfinder as well - the quickest solution is to lick it clean and breath in deep through your mouth, keeping your lips near the VF. The breathing exercise ventilates the VF window, helping the moisture evaporate quickly instead of freezing again. This has worked for me but it might not be the brightest idea if you are in Antarctica with an all-metal mechanical Nikon. Imagine the embarassment of getting your tongue stuck on your camera
Posted by Steve Foss on December 11, 2006 at 1:24 AM
Ahhh, such good fun.
Kent, I wouldn't bring it in except that I'm stuck being a photojournalist as well as a nature shooter, so I NEVER know if I'll have to shoot indoors or out.
Posted by Dan Borzynski on December 11, 2006 at 9:44 AM
Kent, if I remember correctly you shoot LF - any suggestions for dealing with a 4x5 ground glass in the winter? Little things like breathing would seem to have interesting consequences...
Posted by Kent Staubus on December 11, 2006 at 11:07 AM
To avoid fogging the ground glass, I exhale through a straw, pointed out and away from under my dark cloth. Looks silly but it works.
Add-on "baskets" for your tripod feet, the same little things that keep ski poles from plunging too deep into the snow. Gitzo makes them, and I assume other do as well.
Garbage bags. Canoe bags are tougher, but usually somewhere other than handy. I keep a couple of garbage bags in my kit, using then not only for outdoor/indoor transfers, but also as a "ground cloth" under my gear in snow.
Disposable hand and foot warmers At around a buck a pair these little beauties in gloves and socks can dramatically extend your outdoor comfort and productivity.
Posted by David Senesac on December 11, 2006 at 1:36 PM
Jim I had the same idea with those drysacks last year but never got around to buying one. So am likely to make a trip to my nearby REI this week. This winter I plan to do more 4x5 landscape work while snow camping than in the past that will include some overnight backpacking with skis or snowshoes. And a cold arctic airmass likely to sweep down to the Sierra by next weekend looks like a good chance for me to put it to use in Yosemite.
Some of the best snow landscapes occur while a storm is waning with a mix of blue sky and passing snow showers. So one item in my winter camera gear to cope with rain or snow showers while working is a 25x36 inch square 3 mil polyethelene bag that I'm am quick to pull on and off my set up field camera atop the tripod. It has a short attachment string duct taped to the bottom that I can quickly secure to a tripod leg so a gust of wind doesn't blow it away. A heavier thickness like 3mil makes dealing with the plastic much easier. Another item I'll mention is a hefty swath of synthetic chamois. These are those cheap highly absorbent hi-tech wipes often sold as thin car washing sponges. Great for soaking up water and easy to wring out. ...David
Discussion
8 repliesI always find plastic bags cumbersome and annoying, especially when frozen or in the wind, so another photog told me to get a canoeing/kayaking drysack, the vinyl rollup kind, and stuff the camera in there to warm up when coming in. So simple and brillient.
Anybody else have any cold weather camera care tips we can benefit from???
You take your camera in every night? I just leave mine out in my car all winter.
OK, my tip. When crossing a frozen lake or creek, set all your camera gear down on the ground, then walk across. If the ice holds, walk back and get the camera gear and recross. This little tip can save you thousands of dollars!
Another tip. If you drop through the ice in deep water, try using your car keys, sticking between your fingers, as ice picks to help you get enough traction to pull yourself out. Yes, this can work. Don't ask me how I know this.
Kent in SD
When working with shorter lenses in extreme cold, it sometimes pays to keep a protective filter on the lens. The point is that if you happen to breathe on the front element, it freezes quite instantly. It takes considerably less time and effort to remove the frozen filter and resume shooting than trying to melt your lens clean of frost.
In case you are as messy as me and tend to freeze up the viewfinder as well - the quickest solution is to lick it clean
Kent, I wouldn't bring it in except that I'm stuck being a photojournalist as well as a nature shooter, so I NEVER know if I'll have to shoot indoors or out.
Kent in SD
Garbage bags. Canoe bags are tougher, but usually somewhere other than handy. I keep a couple of garbage bags in my kit, using then not only for outdoor/indoor transfers, but also as a "ground cloth" under my gear in snow.
Disposable hand and foot warmers At around a buck a pair these little beauties in gloves and socks can dramatically extend your outdoor comfort and productivity.
Some of the best snow landscapes occur while a storm is waning with a mix of blue sky and passing snow showers. So one item in my winter camera gear to cope with rain or snow showers while working is a 25x36 inch square 3 mil polyethelene bag that I'm am quick to pull on and off my set up field camera atop the tripod. It has a short attachment string duct taped to the bottom that I can quickly secure to a tripod leg so a gust of wind doesn't blow it away. A heavier thickness like 3mil makes dealing with the plastic much easier. Another item I'll mention is a hefty swath of synthetic chamois. These are those cheap highly absorbent hi-tech wipes often sold as thin car washing sponges. Great for soaking up water and easy to wring out. ...David
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