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Cold Weather Tips

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mtlc

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Hello all,

It's winter in the upper Midwest and I'm curious if anyone has any tips on shooting in the cooler weather 20-32 F (approx. -6 to 0 C)? I'm planning on using my Icarex, 100% mechanical no batteries, with Arista 100 film. The camera works okay but I have no idea when it was last CLA'd it could be decades ago, so opinions on the wisdom of taking that out to play in the mild cold are also welcome.

I've found responses on past forums but am curious if anyone has additional tips or tricks to keep their camera happy while out in the cooler weather?

Thanks,

Matt
 
You might consider putting the camera at room temperature in a Zip-Lok bag so that when you take the camera in to the cold, it can come to ambient temperature before opening the bag. That would prevent condensation from building up.

On the other hand I took photographs with Minolta SR [SRT101 through X700] while skiing for years without using a plastic bag, however I did have CLAs done to change the lubricant of the lower temperatures.
 
Last edited:
I shot a Minolta SR1 in -20C. It hadn’t had a CLA in 20 years. I must have been out for about 2 hours in the cold. Mirror locked up on the first shot. I wasn’t able to get any photos that day. When the camera warmed up later that evening, the mirror came down and I was able to shoot again.

I have also shot in -5C to 0C with a Nikon FE2 but never during a long duration outside. Since that camera requires a battery I don’t even bother trying my luck. That camera for what it’s worth has never locked up on me.
 
Thanks everyone!
 
-6°C isn't that cold, I wouldn't expect a problem. At -15°C a (battery dependent) Minolta (probably the X570), stopped working pretty fast due to "no battery".
For my Pentax 645 I have an external battery pack which can stay under the warm coat and is connected with a cable to the camera, should try this out this winter. It also got a CLA not too long ago...
 
When working for UPI I had to shoot a story about life on a North Sea Oil platform. I had my F2 winterized, used a hand held seliume meter as the Nikon tech center told me that even the blue silicon meter of the head I was using was not going to be reliable. I was only on the top of the platform for short periods of time, with the wind chill it was really cold well below Zero. I kept the F2 in a plastic bag with lots of bags of the moisture absorbing stuff. I did not have issues with condentation. I was advised to have camera unwinterized, I did not, just kept shooting in all kinds of weather. Have no idea if any repair tech will winterize a camera.
 
-6°C isn't that cold, I wouldn't expect a problem. At -15°C a (battery dependent) Minolta (probably the X570), stopped working pretty fast due to "no battery".
For my Pentax 645 I have an external battery pack which can stay under the warm coat and is connected with a cable to the camera, should try this out this winter. It also got a CLA not too long ago...

Great thanks! I agree -6 isn't too bad, can still be out and about. When it gets down to -10 to -15 C without windchill that's a good time to be in the darkroom in my opinion!
 
When working for UPI I had to shoot a story about life on a North Sea Oil platform. I had my F2 winterized, used a hand held seliume meter as the Nikon tech center told me that even the blue silicon meter of the head I was using was not going to be reliable. I was only on the top of the platform for short periods of time, with the wind chill it was really cold well below Zero. I kept the F2 in a plastic bag with lots of bags of the moisture absorbing stuff. I did not have issues with condentation. I was advised to have camera unwinterized, I did not, just kept shooting in all kinds of weather. Have no idea if any repair tech will winterize a camera.

That sounds intense and cold!
 
I'm from northern New England, thus the weather is often similar to that in Wisconsin, and have, over the decades, spent a lot of time outdoors in all seasons.

At the temperatures you cite (20-32 F) you really don't need to take any special precautions. If you had a camera with a battery you might notice a modest shortening of its life, but probably not.

As for condensation, @Sirius Glass has it exactly backwards. You do not need to worry about condensation when taking a warm object out into the cold. Condensation occurs when a cool/cold surface is brought into a warm, high humidity environment. Thus you might want to take precautions (such as putting your camera in a zip lock bag) when you go back inside (where it is warm and moist) after being outside long enough that your camera has reached the ambient outdoor temperature.

I don't bother with precautions such as zip lock bags until the temperature is a lot colder than you have asked about. I just wait a while after coming inside to open my camera bag.

There are problems that might arise at much colder temperatures (say less that 10 or 15 F, certainly by the time one gets to zero F), including:

1) Decreased battery life (not an issue with your camera).

The solution it to keep your battery (and any extras) inside the outer layers of your clothing when not actively photographing.

Do not put the whole camera under your clothing. This is a recipe for condensation problems. It is relatively warm/wet there compared to the ambient conditions.

2) Lubricants getting too stiff.

This most often results in the mirror of an SLR failing to drop back down after an exposure but sometimes it will keep the mirror from flipping up in the first place.. Shutter issues are also a possible result.

When folks talk about winterizing a camera, this is mainly about re-lubricating the camera with grease/oil that does not stiffen up at low temperature. I have never had a camera winterized, but I'm not a professional whose income and reputation requires that they get the picture no matter what.

3) Artifacts on film resulting from static electricity, generally upon (re)winding a roll of film.

This is not caused by the low temperature per se, but rather the very low humidity that accompanies extreme cold weather. This can be minimized by (re)winding your film slowly. Again, not an issue with your camera, but it is best to avoid motorized film movements (especially rewind), if possible, at very low temperatures.

No experience with modern roll films, but back in the early 1970s, I remember talk about some films being more problematic than others in this regard, probably (I am guessing) due to differences in the film base.
 
Just discovered the other day that my OM olympuses, OM1/2 are ideal to operate whilst wearing gloves.
 
I used to take photographs when skiing. I recommend taking a light reading off the palm and closing down 1 f/stop or using an incident meter, otherwise the surface of the snow will show up nicely and everything else will be in silhouette. Also winding quickly in cold dry weather can cause static discharge across the film. It looks like lightening on a negative or slide. I have had this happen to me. Always wind film slowly in cold weather.
 
I've used Nikon F3 and F4's outside in -30°C and I didn't take any precautions other than carrying extra batteries and letting it warm up slowly to avoid condensation. Other than that, they worked as they always do.

The hardest part is operating the cameras with gloves/mitts on.
 
When photographing in very cold environments, use mittens rather than gloves for warmth, and under the mittens wear thin gloves. Tether the mittens to your sleeves, so you can slip them off and let them dangle while photographing. Avoid breathing on the camera. My fairly new Nikons and Leicas worked well at -60 degrees F without any special preparation.
 
When photographing in very cold environments, use mittens rather than gloves for warmth, and under the mittens wear thin gloves.
That's even without a camera the only way in really cold. How to get otherwise a key out of a pocket or lock a bicycle at -20°C...
 
When photographing in very cold environments, use mittens rather than gloves for warmth, and under the mittens wear thin gloves. Tether the mittens to your sleeves, so you can slip them off and let them dangle while photographing. Avoid breathing on the camera. My fairly new Nikons and Leicas worked well at -60 degrees F without any special preparation.

Growing up we called those straps, "Dumb Dumb Straps", then snowboarders started wearing gauntlet snowboard gloves with straps and quickly after that skiers started wearing them too.
 
When photographing in very cold environments, use mittens rather than gloves for warmth, and under the mittens wear thin gloves. Tether the mittens to your sleeves, so you can slip them off and let them dangle while photographing. Avoid breathing on the camera. My fairly new Nikons and Leicas worked well at -60 degrees F without any special preparation.

Try these.
 
You can also use a heat pad (the disposable type) on the artery in the wrist(they actually used to make a little wrist band holder).
Exam gloves are good for a vapor barrier(but then if you have to take them off your hands will be wet) and you'll never get them on again
 
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