DSLR Use In Winter

[DougPaul]

I use lightweight windblocking fleece gloves (with leather-like gripping surfaces) to handle the camera in the cold. The dexterity is good and my hands stay warm enough.

I just put the lenscap in a pocket.

Be careful not to exhale on the camera. Also just holding it up to your eye can fog the viewfinder and back of the camera so work fast.

Doug

[DayTrip]

I use lightweight windblocking fleece gloves (with leather-like gripping surfaces) to handle the camera in the cold. The dexterity is good and my hands stay warm enough.

I just put the lenscap in a pocket.

Be careful not to exhale on the camera. Also just holding it up to your eye can fog the viewfinder and back of the camera so work fast.

Doug

I used the LCD for what I did and it stayed responsive for the time I used it. Helps to keep my breathe well away from camera, which was fortunate because I really hadn't even thought of that. In Night Mode I believe I have to use the viewfinder so that is a good tip. I have a Cold Avenger mask I usually wear when it's that cold/windy but I was having an issue getting it on so I just tossed it back in my pack. I have liner gloves that I generally wear in my convertible mittens as well but I like the greater dexterity the nitrile gloves provide if I know I'll be snapping a lot of pictures or using my GoPro. If it is really cold I wear both but that gets a bit tedious. My hands get cold quite easily.

[iAmKrzys]

I've used a DSLR for astrophotography (AP) where one leaves the camera outside all night, so far down to 4F and have had no problems.

I have recently bought a Sony RX100 vii and took it for a multi-day hike in West Canada Lakes Wilderness. One of the things that I tried was taking pictures of night sky. I really love being able to shoot in raw format and then fine-tune the pictures in Adobe Lightroom. Here is one of the pictures I took:

While the camera is lightweight and has a number of features that I was missing while taking pictures with a smartphone, I am not sure if it will work in extremely cold weather - the buttons are too small for operating the camera with gloves on, and Sony rates it down to 32F only.

[DayTrip]

I have recently bought a Sony RX100 vii and took it for a multi-day hike in West Canada Lakes Wilderness. One of the things that I tried was taking pictures of night sky. I really love being able to shoot in raw format and then fine-tune the pictures in Adobe Lightroom. Here is one of the pictures I took:

While the camera is lightweight and has a number of features that I was missing while taking pictures with a smartphone, I am not sure if it will work in extremely cold weather - the buttons are too small for operating the camera with gloves on, and Sony rates it down to 32F only.

Night photography was a big motivation for a "real camera". Haven't figured it out on mine yet though.

[DougPaul]

Night photography was a big motivation for a "real camera". Haven't figured it out on mine yet though.

Use a tripod and manual control for everything (focus, aperture, and exposure time)--the automation will not work in the dark.

For terrestrial night photography, just use the above and:
* shoot a range of exposures
* shoot RAW for the greater dynamic range
* be very careful to minimize vibration (use a remote release, mirror lockup, and a delayed shutter)

For astrophotography:
* Exposure time is limited by the earth's rotation--a rule of thumb is to use a maximum of n/FL seconds where n is between ~150 and ~600 (depends on the camera, the lens and the desired sharpness). You can use longer exposures near the poles. If the exposure is longer, the stars will streak. (Of course, an exposure of hours will result in intentional star streaks.)
* You can use FLs from your widest wide angle to your longest telephotos.
* Use the largest apertures (unless you need to stop down to reduce lens aberrations).*
* Shoot a range of exposures--you cannot tell what you have until you see it on a big screen.
* Shoot RAW for the larger dynamic range.
* be very careful to minimize vibration (use a remote release, mirror lockup, and a delayed shutter)

The above will work for brighter objects--the moon, planets out to Saturn, constellations, and stars (perhaps you can resolve some double stars with a telephoto). You might even have a chance of imaging the M42 nebula (the middle "star" of Orion's sword). (You can see a bit of the nebula with binocs.)

The next step requires a motorized tracking drive to compensate for the earth's rotation. Then you start shooting multiple sub-exposures and combining them on the computer...

There is a nice tutorial on fixed tripod astrophotography at http://www.bobatkins.com/photography...otography.html

Two samples shot from my backyard using a DSLR and a 400mm lens on a tracking mount: the M 31 Andromeda Nebula (100 min total exposure) and the M 42 Orion Nebula (26 min total exposure):


Doug

[DayTrip]

Use a tripod and manual control for everything (focus, aperture, and exposure time)--the automation will not work in the dark.

For terrestrial night photography, just use the above and:
* shoot a range of exposures
* shoot RAW for the greater dynamic range
* be very careful to minimize vibration (use a remote release, mirror lockup, and a delayed shutter)

For astrophotography:
* Exposure time is limited by the earth's rotation--a rule of thumb is to use a maximum of n/FL seconds where n is between ~150 and ~600 (depends on the camera, the lens and the desired sharpness). You can use longer exposures near the poles. If the exposure is longer, the stars will streak. (Of course, an exposure of hours will result in intentional star streaks.)
* You can use FLs from your widest wide angle to your longest telephotos.
* Use the largest apertures (unless you need to stop down to reduce lens aberrations).*
* Shoot a range of exposures--you cannot tell what you have until you see it on a big screen.
* Shoot RAW for the larger dynamic range.
* be very careful to minimize vibration (use a remote release, mirror lockup, and a delayed shutter)

The above will work for brighter objects--the moon, planets out to Saturn, constellations, and stars (perhaps you can resolve some double stars with a telephoto). You might even have a chance of imaging the M42 nebula (the middle "star" of Orion's sword). (You can see a bit of the nebula with binocs.)

The next step requires a motorized tracking drive to compensate for the earth's rotation. Then you start shooting multiple sub-exposures and combining them on the computer...

There is a nice tutorial on fixed tripod astrophotography at http://www.bobatkins.com/photography...otography.html

Two samples shot from my backyard using a DSLR and a 400mm lens on a tracking mount: the M 31 Andromeda Nebula (100 min total exposure) and the M 42 Orion Nebula (26 min total exposure):


Doug

Thanks for the info and link! I've done some basic reading and goofed around with the "scene" modes on the camera but they didn't really do what I expected. Will be my Winter "project" learning how to use the camera in greater depth. I already have a decent tripod from when I got my GoPro so I have that covered.