anyone ever had their camera frozen/freeze in cold weather?

Thinking about taking my 5d2 or my olympus omd into canada and the Northwest Territories. I know its freezing up there and my gear isnt rated for the frost. What actually happens to a camera or lens if it freezes? anyone with experience?

LOL ya just every time I go out!! I've had my 7D out all day at -35 so go-shoot-and have fun

I have never had a digital camera freeze up on me, even while out ice fishing for hours.

When you go back in the house or car leave the camera in the bag, and leave it closed for an hour or two.

It basically will shut down, but likely work for awhile until the battery gets cold and fails to deliver. The LCD will also stop working. If you have a spare battery that you can keep warm popping it in will usually get thing going again, until it gets cold as well.

More critical is the cold lens and body that when brought indoors will immediately be hit with condensation. The only way to prevent this is when outside put the camera/lens into a tight sealing bag, after removing the batteries. Then bring the bagged camera indoors and put the batteries on charge. Don't open the bag for several hours. I've been to the artic circle where temps are -30 deg F and up their they recommend double bagging and waitingfor 4 to 6 hours, especially if you are outside for annextended period.

Fortunately, just about everything that can happen is reversible once the equipment warms up.

kaitanium wrote in post #16684183
What actually happens to a camera or lens if it freezes?

The same thing that normally happens to metal, plastic, and glass Battery life will be greatly reduced, but that's about it. The only special care I give my gear is to not take it directly from 0* to 70* (or the reverse). That said, I can't count the number of times my gear has gone from room temp to freezing within a 5-10 minute span, and no issues in 15 years.

Not my camera, but the flashguns and/or PW's refuse to cooperate in temps below -25.

As already said above, the biggest thing is preventing condensation inside the camera. I use a plastic bag with a couple of silica gel packets taped to the inside, and leave the camera in the bag just long enough to slow the transition in temperature. I've gone from 70 degrees fahrenheit to -2 and back on a regular basis, and never had a problem.
If you do get condensation in the camera or lens, just turn it off and leave it alone until it dries up. As long as it doesn't happen frequently, it won't do any damage. I was prompted to use the silica after reading about fungus growing in lenses. That's not a pretty (sorry for the pun) picture.

The only issues I've had with the cold weather is condensation on the mirror and the lens. I had my Rebel die on me with 6 year old batteries in it last winter. I've had both of my bodies outside all winter shooting dog sled demos and I've had no problems.

Never ever had an issue, even at -30

Never an issue for me, either.

Just last Sunday I spent the entire day out on a lake shooting motorcycle ice races. From -5 to about 10 degrees over the day. I keep my extra batteries close to my body for warmth, but other than that, nothing special.

The HDR function on my 5DM3 acts funny when the weather is in the low 30's (F).

Jim

I am not at -30* here in Japan, but I did go shooting with my 6D and 24L in the snow last week.
When I say snow I mean falling snow for 2 hours straight while walking around an urban city.
I couldn't feel my hands but it was fun and made for some great shots. Zero issues.

Keep spare batteries in a warm pocket. Otherwise, don't worry about the cold.