Digital Cameras in winter

[oldfogie]

Anybody know if digital cameras function normally in winter temps?

 

[paul ron]

If you keep your camera under your coat so it stays warm you'll have no problems. Batteries tend to loose power when cold, condensation is a major problem with electronics and can be deadly to sensative sensors. At night keep the camera in your sleeping bag.

Otherwise... no problem.

 

[Remix]

It is very important to keep it in a sealed bag. Like paul ron says condensation can be deadly. It might freeze inside the lens. If the moisture stays inside and your operate the camera when it unfreezes, that could cause trouble too.

As far as operation goes, check your manual for operating temperature. If it operates in colder temps than what is specified, your lucky.

I lost a great roll of pictures on an APS film camera I had used in the winter because the electronics did not write the usual messages on the back of the APS film...I brought the film in to Wal-mart and the developing machine said the roll was "unexposed" and refused to process it.

 

[David Metsky]

Except for battery usage, digital cameras are better in winter than film camera, which have more moving parts and film to freeze.

Keep and extra set of batteries near your body, I like to keep the camera either on my hip belt or under the jacket. It's probably better to keep the camera cold and just the batteries warm. A zip lock is another good option.

If your camera uses AA batteries and it's really cold, use a set of lithium non-rechargables. At all other times, use NiMH AA rechargables which will work well except in extreme cold (below -20 or so). I've used my NiMH cells down to about -10 without much problem, although they do die quicker.

-dave-

 

[Artex]

I definitely notice a drop in battery performance the more below freezing it gets. If keeping the camera inside your jacket to keep it warm is a problem, you may want to consider throwing one of those chemical handwarmers inside your camera case, so long as it's not right up against the camera itself. To maximize efficiency, you could also try lining the inside of the camera case with a space blanket. I haven't tried either yet, but plan to this winter. I'll post results once I do, but it seems simple enough and I don't anticipate any problems.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I definitely notice a drop in battery performance the more below freezing it gets. If keeping the camera inside your jacket to keep it warm is a problem, you may want to consider throwing one of those chemical handwarmers inside your camera case, so long as it's not right up against the camera itself. To maximize efficiency, you could also try lining the inside of the camera case with a space blanket. I haven't tried either yet, but plan to this winter. I'll post results once I do, but it seems simple enough and I don't anticipate any problems.

Thanks to all for the great ideas! I was just thinking of combining the idea of the plastic bag and the handwarmer, but then I realized that would not work, those things need oxygen to produce heat. But, I guess as long as the handwarmer is near the bag, it would be ok.

 

[SherpaKroto]

I'm with Dave on this one. Keep camera cold, batteries hot. I can get by with 2 sets of batteries, swapping them back and forth all day. I use AA NiMH in the coldest of temps (down to -25F so far) with no real issues in my Olympus D40.

 

[Grumpy]

The battery management suggestions here are excellent. (Keep ‘em warm, and use lithiums if you can.) I can’t use lithium or other non-rechargeable batteries with the Nikon D1H cameras issued by the newspaper I work for, so I keep the rechargeable packs in an inner pocket of my clothing when shooting outdoors during frigid weather.

I also agree with advisories to avoid mositure buildup in the camera. This is very important, in my view.

While shooting a friday night football game in a downpour this fall, moisture infiltrated the D1H camera I was using. The camera just quit functioning. To my relief, the camera started coming back to life as it dried out while I was editing and doing pre-press work on photos back at the newspaper office. The next morning it seemed to be working OK; in afternoon I shot a football game with that camera (no rain!) and the thing never missed a lick.

To state the obvious: with all their electronics digitals are very different in many ways from old time, mechanical film cameras. I personally don’t think they are as reliable as the mechanical classics in most conditions (especially very harsh conditions). But it seems like the digitals are here to stay so we just have to figure out how to keep them working.

G.

point of clarification (edit):

"I keep the rechargeable packs in an inner pocket of my clothing when shooting outdoors during frigid weather." This means my spare backup battery packs, of course! I always carry several. When using digital cameras the battery packs have proven to be a real weak link in the equipment chain for me. G.

 

[Waumbek]

Likewise, keep the batteries warm and the camera cold when you're outdoors so the lens, etc., doesn't fog up when you shoot. That also applies to returning home with the cold camera. When I do finally bring the camera inside, I open the lens cover, battery compartment, card slot, everything, so that any condensation that occurs will dry up soon and not get trapped in the camera. You are supposed to stage the return into warmth but I usually can't manage the precision of that procedure at the end of trip.

 

[bobmak]

Interesting thread. I have not tried my digital winter hiking yet; instead I have been shooting with an Olympus sylus epic 35 mm (no zoom). My digital camera is a Nikon Coolpix and it has a an external power jack on the side for 4.2V. It seems like it would pretty easy to set up an external battery pack that you could keep warm which would allow you to keep the camera outside and still have normal battery life. Has anyone tried this approach?

 

[oldfogie]

Many of the camera descriptions give a temp operating range and most begin at 32F. So I suspect they can't guarantee working below freezing. But I wonder if that is an artificially created range to keep any moisture from freezing inside the camera which could cause damage. It may be that digitals can operate well below freezing as long as there is no moisture in or around the camera. I used to be an amateur astronomer and I always had to put my telescope outdoors to acclimate it before viewing. Fortunately winter is usually pretty dry, so maybe just keeping lithium batteries in it and carrying the camera in, say an outside pocket would do the trick. I do hike and camp in temps as low as -20 and would hate to lose a photo record of such craziness.

 

[David Metsky]

It may be that digitals can operate well below freezing as long as there is no moisture in or around the camera. I used to be an amateur astronomer and I always had to put my telescope outdoors to acclimate it before viewing. Fortunately winter is usually pretty dry, so maybe just keeping lithium batteries in it and carrying the camera in, say an outside pocket would do the trick. I do hike and camp in temps as low as -20 and would hate to lose a photo record of such craziness.

I've operated several digital cameras in temps below -20 and I can assure you that they do work just fine, as long as they have battery power. I've had film actually break in the camera at those temps, so from that standpoint I'd say that digital is better.

Olympus has two compact models (300 and 410) that are weatherproof, which means they'll do a fine job of keeping mosture out in weather short of a full dunking. They don't have all the features I'm currently looking for, but they might be right for you if moisture is a prime concern.

-dave-

 

[spencer]

Thanks for all the good advice from the camera experts!

I always use a ziploc inside my camera case, but sometimes I wonder that the bag doesn't allow any moisture to escape, potentially doing more harm than good.

thoughts?

spencer

 

[Adi]

Battery Conservation

This may be stating the obvious but, when using my digital camera in the winter, I find that not using the LCD display makes an enormous difference in battery conservation.

 

[David Metsky]

This may be stating the obvious but, when using my digital camera in the winter, I find that not using the LCD display makes an enormous difference in battery conservation.

It's true summer or winter. If you are going to be hiking for several days, use the optical viewfinder and keep the previewing (and flash usage) to a minimum. You can increase battery life from 150 shots to 400, for example. In winter, scale those numbers down but the ratios are probably the same.

-dave-

 

[afka_bob]

underwater housing

Dave's suggestion to use a weather-proof camera is a great one, but if you already have one that isn't w.p., see if a dive housing is available for it. A little bulky for some, but I use one with mine and it works great. The price seems a bit steep until you compare it to the price of the camera -- and, you can go ahead and use it for diving in the summer.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

My digital camera is a Nikon Coolpix and it has a an external power jack on the side for 4.2V. It seems like it would pretty easy to set up an external battery pack that you could keep warm which would allow you to keep the camera outside and still have normal battery life. Has anyone tried this approach?

I use an external battery pack with my Canon A2E (film camera). It works just fine for keeping the batteries warm under layers of clothing and the camera cold for no fog and no condensation usage. bobmak, It sounds like your digital camera has a simple plug to easily detach the battery pack. That will sure help when you are adding/removing layers of clothing, or making other equipment adjustments. I wish my older setup was that easy as the connecting cord is not easily detached. As you would expect the cord often gets in the way.

The cord is always the weak link in the external battery pack systems. My external packs generally last 3-4 years before a short develops usually in the cord. Also external packs are often very quirky. I relay the following in case somebody experiences a similar problem. If I use my external batteries all they way down to no power and then change the batteries -- when I turn the camera back on it still indicates a dead battery. It was only by trial and error that I learned that I needed to turn the camera on and off without any batteries in the external pack. That resets the dead battery indicator in the camera. The camera and battery pack instructions were no help in diagnosing the problem.

It is always a good idea to carry a spare lithium battery for the camera for the rare case when the external system fails. That has saved my photo opportunities on several occasions.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

This thread has certainly had some very useful information. I just bought a Minolta Dimage Z2. It's 4mp with 10x optical zoom. I almost bought a kodak that was very similar but I couldn't get an extra battery. The camera shop told me they had had the battery on order from the Kodak company for a long time and they were unable to get it. I wanted an extra battery because I didn't want to be on top of a mountain and run out of battery power. Now I see that winter batteries are another reason for spares (warm batteries). I also bought an extra set of Ni-MH rechargeables.

 

[Sonny Peak]

I bought an Olympus C-770 this summer. I was planning to use it this winter, but the specification in the manual says the temperature range is 32F to 104F. Based on what I see here, it appears that if I keep it warm and condensate free, it should be OK. Any one know of any reason why I should not try it?

 

[David Metsky]

I carry my Olympus C-720 in winter all the time, it's essentially the same camera. Keep the camera from going through extreme temperature changes (to avoid condensation) and it'll will likely work just fine.

-dave-