Camera and COLD weather.

[dennykyser]

I have always tried to live by the saying "Cant take the picture if your camera is not with you" But how about when you live in Northern PA and the hight temps for the day are around 0 and your camera has to sit in your truck all day, is this safe. Has anyone had any troubles with there 10D in cold weather? Do any of you keep your equipment in your vehicle in such temps?

[Belmondo]

One side of me says, 'leave it in the car.' The other side says, 'don't do it!' Logic suggests that repeatedly taking it in and out of the warm house and then subjecting it to extreme cold will eventually create condensation problems.

BTW, where in Northern PA are you? My wife is from Scranton.

[dennykyser]

BTW, where in Northern PA are you? My wife is from Scranton

Just East of Erie, Just South of Jamestown, Ny

[TeraGram93013]

Freezing-cold air is dryer than warm air, so if your camera is sitting in 0 degree temps all day in your truck, it would be wise to place it in an air-tight bag BEFORE bringing it into the house.

And you know, (stops to look lovingly at her own 10D) how could you let your faithful companion sit in the truck all day? It probably got lonely. I bet it reformats your CF card out of spite the next time you get a real good shot.

[PacAce]

I have always tried to live by the saying "Cant take the picture if your camera is not with you" But how about when you live in Northern PA and the hight temps for the day are around 0 and your camera has to sit in your truck all day, is this safe. Has anyone had any troubles with there 10D in cold weather? Do any of you keep your equipment in your vehicle in such temps?

The 10D and the DRebel have an operating temperature range of 0-40 degrees C or 32-104 degrees F so it shouldn't be a problem keeping the camera in your vehicle all day. However, if you do do that, I wouldn't try to operate the camera until it's had a chance to thaw out first.

Me, I like to play it safe and alway take my camera with me. If it's too darn cold for me to be out all day, then it's too darn cold for my camera, too! :mrgreen:

[dennykyser]

:D I do leave her tucked in my Tamrac bag covered by a coat. :D But like its been said above, if its too cold to operate then I should go ahead and leave her at home. :( Hopefully, with in the next month or so she will warm up to 30 F or so and I can start taking her with me again. Its been like getting a brand new 10 spd bike in the middle of winter.

[CoolToolGuy]

When film was king, the trick for cold weather was to have most or all of the lubrication removed from the camera and lenses because grease (for lack of a better term) actually slowed things down when it gets really cold (shutter, film transport, mirror, lens mechanisms, etc).
In the DSLR world, that leaves the shutter, mirror, and lens mechanisms. I don't know if it is a big issue or not. Any thoughts out there? How about the focus mechanism?

Have Fun
Rick 8)

[Canuck]

There was some discussion on this a short time ago on this topic that I started, being it has been in the -20sF to -50sF back home at the time and still is. I was told it was -29F Sun morning! Need I say more? Here's the thread:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22429

[figment]

CF cards wont like those temps. My Sandisk Ultra 1Gb made the camera error 99 and I had to swap the flash so it would work again. And that was at 29-33F.

[Phil Hall]

When I lived in Alberta I always kept my camera inside my parka. This was good down to -20f. Humidity was not a problem. The ultimate solution was to move to California.

[bertelm]

I have used the camera in -35C. The limitting factor isn't the camera - it's your fingers!

[ssim]

I have used my 10D in extreme cold temperatures. The following shot was taken yesterday near Montreal with the windchill hovering around -43. I had walked for about 20 minutes when this was taken. I did get some condensation on the lens but it disappeared in a few minutes. Took some shots a few minutes later and they turned out ok.

http://www.pbase.com/image/25467276.jpg

I wouldn't consider leaving my baby in the car at any point in time. I'm more concerned with someone liking it more than me. Notwithstanding that I always warm my vehicle up before taking my camera into it and then never leave it in the car.

[Motorsports Photo]

LCD's typically dont like the real cold weather too. Anyone have an LCD watch that turned black out in the cold? Luckily it was OK when it warmed up but the cold can damage the seals between "pixels" and you'll get a blob of color.

I think out gear hates being cold as much as we do. :)

-Pete

[Jim_T]

I had my 10D on a tripod outside at 27 below F for 1/2 hr..

The camera was so cold, it hurt when my cheek touched it as I looked through the viewfinder. I couldn't touch the metal tripod for more than a second without gloves.

I wouldn't say it's the safest thing to do.. but in my case, the camera worked fine :)

[yeaton]

Dude...you leave your sidekick in the truck all day in the freezing cold??? What kind of camera owner are you? :P