i am about to climb mountwashinton and i was wonering if you think that my Nikon D70 and 70-200 2.8 , 18 - 70 lenses would be safe. if so what percausions should i take. please and help is appreciated.
Posted by Kent Staubus on February 14, 2007 at 11:54 PM
They'd likely be safer there than spending a typical day with me! You will need a spare battery to keep in an inside pocket, otherwise you are wasting your time. When they get cold, keep them in the zipped shut camera bag for an hour or more when you bring them back indoors. This prevents condensation on the outside AND insides of the cameras and lenses. I was out last night in 14 below zero temps taking photos. I just left my camera in my car all night rather than bring it in. It said it didn't care.
Kent in SD
Posted by Alice Scoggins on February 15, 2007 at 8:49 AM
I had problems with my D70 once when it got cold while I was out shooting in the snow. It locked up. I went back to the car and warmed it up and it worked fine after that. Until I got it home and it wouldn't work at all. Nikon fixed it at no charge, I'm still not sure what was wrong with it. So don't be surprised if you experience something similar. I might try to keep it protected, covered up or something, between shots.
Posted by Marshall Goff on February 19, 2007 at 4:57 PM
Did you already go? If so, this may be useless information:
I was up there this weekend. We were fortunate - had probably the best summit day so far this season. Little wind, but it was snowing. Truthfully, most current cameras handle cold ok. The problems come from a few things: 1) batteries head south (ha) fast in the cold, so either keep the battery inside your glove or keep an extra one in a warm, interior pocket. 2) Sometimes, LCDs blank out below 0 or so, but the camera will keep shooting for a while longer. 3) When you get back down, don't take the camera from very cold to room temperature too quickly - water will condense on it and water and electronics don't mix. You can either warm it slowly or put it in a big ziplock bag first.
At any rate, I didn't end up using my camera much (mostly because I was having enough trouble keeping up with a group of strong climbers and because I wasn't paying enough attention to eating and drinking enough), but it held together fine and worked at the summit.
Discussion
3 repliesKent in SD
I was up there this weekend. We were fortunate - had probably the best summit day so far this season. Little wind, but it was snowing. Truthfully, most current cameras handle cold ok. The problems come from a few things: 1) batteries head south (ha) fast in the cold, so either keep the battery inside your glove or keep an extra one in a warm, interior pocket. 2) Sometimes, LCDs blank out below 0 or so, but the camera will keep shooting for a while longer. 3) When you get back down, don't take the camera from very cold to room temperature too quickly - water will condense on it and water and electronics don't mix. You can either warm it slowly or put it in a big ziplock bag first.
At any rate, I didn't end up using my camera much (mostly because I was having enough trouble keeping up with a group of strong climbers and because I wasn't paying enough attention to eating and drinking enough), but it held together fine and worked at the summit.