Posted by Brian Murphy on November 22, 2015 at 7:59 AM
Winter is setting in but I am hoping to stay motivated and get out for photos. What can I do to protect my gear during bad weather? Do I need to take any precautions when going between the cold outside and warmth in the house?
Brian Murphy
Posted by Jim Erhardt on November 22, 2015 at 8:06 AM
Brian, as long as there is no active precipitation, condensation on/in the gear upon returning indoors is the major issue. Best bet is to have the gear packed in your camera bag before going back indoors and let everything come up to temperature before taking the gear out of the bag.
Hi Brian,
Having spent almost 30 years as a ski photographer, I can say Jim's advice is spot on.
If you have images that you need/want to work on before the warmup can take place and you use a card reader, remove the card and put it in your pocket outside before putting the camera away in your bag so that you can leave the bag closed for the warm up. If you download images directly from the camera, let the camera warmup in the bag. The amount of time depends on how great a swing the temperature and humidity is between the two environments. If you are going from an airconditioned condo out to the warm humid air at the beach, the same rule applies.
Happy shooting!
Neil
Posted by Jim DeWitt on November 22, 2015 at 1:41 PM
Jim is right about simple cold weather. But it's a bit more complex in very cold weather. For years, I photographed in Interior Alaska, at temperatures as low as -49 F. At sub-zero temperatures, the parts of your camera differentially contract. Metal, for example, contracts more when it is very cold than glass does. So the metal rings around the glass elements of your lenses shrink more than the lens itself. I've seen lenses fall apart, glass pieces falling out on the ground, as a result of differential contraction.
Different kinds of metal contract at differing rates, too. I've seen shutters lock up completely, requiring very expensive repairs.
There are two solutions, both variations on not letting your gear get that cold. One is to not expose your camera to the cold for very long. Usually that means shooting from your car window. Carrying the camera inside your parka is a bad idea: it's damp in there and that's dangerous. If you must use that approach, keep the camera and lens in a watertight bag. The other is to insulate your camera. I did that with wool socks with the toes cut out, hand warmers and an insulated lens cover. That allowed me to keep the camera outdoors for a couple hours at a time, but it felt like playing Russian roulette with my camera and lens.
You will also need multiple batteries. Lithium batteries perform best, but even they have a greatly reduced endurance at sub-zero temperatures. Carry extras in warm pockets. Alkaline batteries are nearly worthless below zero.
If your camera has gotten cold, you must have it in a watertight bag before you bring it inside. I use a 3-gallon ziplock ag with a couple of those little resin drying widgets in the ziplock. The camera – and the smart card with the photos – stays in the bag until it is within 10-15 degrees of room tmeprature in a dry room, at room temperature if the room has much humidity.
Discussion
3 repliesBrian Murphy
Having spent almost 30 years as a ski photographer, I can say Jim's advice is spot on.
If you have images that you need/want to work on before the warmup can take place and you use a card reader, remove the card and put it in your pocket outside before putting the camera away in your bag so that you can leave the bag closed for the warm up. If you download images directly from the camera, let the camera warmup in the bag. The amount of time depends on how great a swing the temperature and humidity is between the two environments. If you are going from an airconditioned condo out to the warm humid air at the beach, the same rule applies.
Happy shooting!
Neil
Different kinds of metal contract at differing rates, too. I've seen shutters lock up completely, requiring very expensive repairs.
There are two solutions, both variations on not letting your gear get that cold. One is to not expose your camera to the cold for very long. Usually that means shooting from your car window. Carrying the camera inside your parka is a bad idea: it's damp in there and that's dangerous. If you must use that approach, keep the camera and lens in a watertight bag. The other is to insulate your camera. I did that with wool socks with the toes cut out, hand warmers and an insulated lens cover. That allowed me to keep the camera outdoors for a couple hours at a time, but it felt like playing Russian roulette with my camera and lens.
You will also need multiple batteries. Lithium batteries perform best, but even they have a greatly reduced endurance at sub-zero temperatures. Carry extras in warm pockets. Alkaline batteries are nearly worthless below zero.
If your camera has gotten cold, you must have it in a watertight bag before you bring it inside. I use a 3-gallon ziplock ag with a couple of those little resin drying widgets in the ziplock. The camera – and the smart card with the photos – stays in the bag until it is within 10-15 degrees of room tmeprature in a dry room, at room temperature if the room has much humidity.
Hope this helps.