GOing to snow covered mountains with 20D

[Henry Low]

Hi guys,

I live in vancouver and I am planning to go to Whislter, big white and Silver Star this winter and planning to bring my 20D with me. I was wondering if it is safe to take pictures with the 20D to those kind of cold wintery weather. I am not sure if my 50mm F1.8 (mki) and my 28-105mm f4.0-5.6 lens will is weather proof. If it isnt, is it safe to bring it up to the mountains providing that its not actaully snowing but with snow on the ground?

Oh i have another question too.... i got my 20D about 2months ago and already logged in 3000 pictures on the picture count which is kinda wierd.. I didnt even feel like i took that many pictures. iguess its cause this camera is so fast that made it feel like i took alot less pictures den i really did. Thats kinda scaring me... how many shutter actuations are this cameras capable of with out breaking down?

Thanks in advance..

BTw... the 20D is a great camera... Especially for the price.. Great image quality. Very Very happy with it. GOod job Canon! Just wish it didnt have the stupid 1.6x crop factor.

[robertwgross]

We've discussed this just recently.

As far as shooting goes, just do +1 to +1.5 stops of exposure compensation for the white snow problem. Batteries will seem to drain rapidly when used in cold weather. Circular polarizers work good.

As far as protecting your camera goes... this is a bit more difficult. First of all, you have to carry it while you are skiing. If you are an expert skier, maybe you can ski without ever falling. I can't. I would sure hate to see a camera and lens get mangled in a bad fall. I have a padded camera "holster" that can be chest-supported or shoulder-strap-supported. A waist pack is the other option.

Then, suppose you get to some really good spot and your buddy is coming down the hill in 30 seconds. You want to shoot him at one spot. What are you going to do, get out your tripod and start unfolding it? No, tripods are pretty impractical for this. My ski poles have wrist straps, and one will make a good monopod for stabilizing your camera. And two can make a bipod, but this is a lot more complicated.

I have skied with my camera around my neck and within my vest or outer shell. This keeps it somewhat accessible, yet somewhat protected. It keeps it at a moderate temperature, since the extremes of cold and heat can cause condensation problems.

The frames count on your camera may be accurate, or it may have picked up the old count off a previously-used CF card.

---Bob Gross---

[Citizensmith]

3 things to remember.

Get an extra spare battery keep all your spares in an interior pocket to keep them warmer.
Camera always try to expose for midtones so if you let the camera do all the thinking you'll get dull gray snow as it underexposes. Add a stop or two of exposure compensation to fix that.
Condensation can be a killer. Try to move your camera from hot to cold areas as little as possible. When bringing it inside leave it in a ziplock bag until its warmed up. Otherwise you'll get some nice foggy photos as all that warm air condenses on your lens elements.

Oh, and it wouldn't matter if you had a nice weatherproof lens mounted as the camera isn't waterproof. Something I've done before is get a gallon ziplook, cut a couple of holes in it and use electrical tape to tape it to the lens hood and quick release plate. It could be raining fairly hard and you'd be safe. Hard to use the shoulder strap like that though.

[Henry Low]

Thanks for the quick reply but my questions wasnt quite answered.

I will not be skiing with the camera, im not an expert skiier lol. But i will mostly be taking pictures of scenary and the occasional snowboarder or skiier.

So i still want to know if my camera is able to take the cold weather, and my lens. And also, how many actuations can my 20D last?

Thanks in advance,
henry

[Adam Hicks]

Your 20D is good for 49,126 actuations.

As far as the shooting in the snow goes, another option (if you don't mind messing with it) is to meter off an 18% grey card which you can pick up at any online or brick camera shop for $5 or so. Shoot raw with the metered value and you'll do great.

Something I did when I went on a cruise a month ago was to pick up a used Canon Sure Shot A1 waterproof 35mm camera. It did great and is waterproof to 16 ft or so. Funny thing is I bought it used on B&H, used it for the period I needed it, and put it on eBay as a used camera. It sold for $127. Gotta love ebay!

Adam

[Henry Low]

Holy crap... This makes me alittle scared. lol
What happens if it starts condensening? while it ever dry up?



3 things to remember.

Get an extra spare battery keep all your spares in an interior pocket to keep them warmer.
Camera always try to expose for midtones so if you let the camera do all the thinking you'll get dull gray snow as it underexposes. Add a stop or two of exposure compensation to fix that.
Condensation can be a killer. Try to move your camera from hot to cold areas as little as possible. When bringing it inside leave it in a ziplock bag until its warmed up. Otherwise you'll get some nice foggy photos as all that warm air condenses on your lens elements.

Oh, and it wouldn't matter if you had a nice weatherproof lens mounted as the camera isn't waterproof. Something I've done before is get a gallon ziplook, cut a couple of holes in it and use electrical tape to tape it to the lens hood and quick release plate. It could be raining fairly hard and you'd be safe. Hard to use the shoulder strap like that though.

[Henry Low]

Your 20D is good for 49,126 actuations.

As far as the shooting in the snow goes, another option (if you don't mind messing with it) is to meter off an 18% grey card which you can pick up at any online or brick camera shop for $5 or so. Shoot raw with the metered value and you'll do great.

Something I did when I went on a cruise a month ago was to pick up a used Canon Sure Shot A1 waterproof 35mm camera. It did great and is waterproof to 16 ft or so. Funny thing is I bought it used on B&H, used it for the period I needed it, and put it on eBay as a used camera. It sold for $127. Gotta love ebay!

Adam

Ah icic really.... Sounds like a good buy...
So u said my canon is good for 49K clicks. Where did u get this number from? Lol

[Adam Hicks]

Look at my avatar, and it'll give you a hint as to where I got that number. I don't know if there's anything published.

But I *DO* recommend you pick up a grey card. It's a piece of cardboard (or plastic in a few cases) that will really help you with tough metering situations (unless you spend big bucks on an incident light meter) and it will also allow you to get accurate white balance readings for custom white balance on your camera.

Adam

[robertwgross]

What happens if it starts condensening? while it ever dry up?

I think we just covered this the other day, avoiding condensation, that is. That is why they invented large Ziplock bags.

Will it ever dry up? Sure. That is why they invented large packets of silica gel.

---Bob Gross---

[Henry Low]

Thanks for all you guy's help
:)

[Bruce Watson]

Henry,

Use your 20D outside, it will work fine although batteries will fade fast in cold.

As mentioned, a ziplock bag for temperature transitions going inside or out is about the only necessary precaution.

I have used my Canon DSLR's in cold down to -30. Works fine.

[Ronin]

Yeah, I recently asked this question. I think I'll go with a Lowepro Mini Trekker AW. A DryZone might not be necessary as I don't plan on dunking my kit in water...and the AW is good in the rain so it should be fine in snow.

So what's this about ziplock bags? So when I'm shooting on the mountain, are ziplocks something I should have on WHILE shooting on afterwards when I'm relaxing at the lodge?

[Jon]

Bag it before going into the lodge; that way the warm moist air condenses on the cold plastic bag instead of the somewhat more expensive (oh, say, at least 2X as much!) cold camera inside it. Once it's warmed up to room temp. (couple of hours more-or-less, depending on whether it's in a big camera bag or all alone and dreaming of L) you can take it out of the bag.

[Henry Low]

Good idea. I have a lowpro camera bag for my camera, im assuming it insulates the camera evne emore so when i go back to room tempature it will take even longer to warm back up. but yeah i think the ziplock bag idea is a good idea. Thanks


Now im just worried about how much longer my 20D will last me lol.... hopefully more den 49k shutters

[Jon]

Once the newness wears off, you'll be trying to sniff out leads on the 40D successor model well before you hit 50K. I give you 3 years, tops, before you get something else.

[ScottE]

I have used my D60 to photograph many ski races and am looking forward to using my new 20D next weekend.

Do not worry about the cold damaging your camera. It hasn't happened to mine yet. Just remember to keep a few extra batteries in a warm inside pocket because battery life is not as long in the cold.

It is actually better if it is colder out than right at 0 C. That way the snow will just fall off your camera instead of sticking like it would at 0. Carry a small bruch to remove any snow from the camera because you don't want to blow on it. Do not use the same brush you use for cleaning your lenses because you could get grit on it if you carry it in your pocket.

Do not blow on the camera with your breath. It will fog either the lens or the eye piece, putting you out of action.

If wet snow is falling, put a plastic bag over the top of your lens and camera to keep the snow out. An elastic band around the lens can hold it on or you can purchase covers made for this purpose.

Your camera will not be damaged when you take from a warm interior, but you have to be careful about condensation when you go from outside to a warm interior. Condensation on the outside lens elements is inconvenient. If it occurs inside the lens or camera it can do damage. Do not put a cold camera inside your jacket or vest to warm it up. The warm, moist air from close to your body can get into the camera and condense. Put the camera in a plastic bag or well sealed camera case before going inside and allow it to warm to room temperature before removing.

Check your histogram fairly regularly while shooting to make sure you have exposure right. The peak for the snow should be at the right side of the display if you want your snow to look white. Exposure compensation can be used, anywhere from +2/3 to +2 depending on light conditions, but it is sometimes more reliable to use manual exposure if your composition varies so there is more or less snow content in different shots.

If you decide to ski with your camera, ski conservatively. Pushing your limits on a steep mogul run is not a good idea when you have a camera in your pack. Not only could it damage the camera, but it could hurt you too if you crash on it.