Low-temperature operation - EOS 40D, PS A-620

The specs on my EOS 40D and my PowerShot A-620 both give a lower limit of operating temperature as 32° F.

Carla and I will be going this upcoming Thursday to see a fabulous ice sculpture exhibit at the Gaylord Texas Hotel-Resort.

The exhibit is in a room held at 9° F.

What are the realities of operating either of these cameras at such a temperature?

I could of course keep the A-620 in my pocket between shots, which might help some.

Thanks.

Doug_Kerr said:

The exhibit is in a room held at 9° F.

What are the realities of operating either of these cameras at such a temperature?

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LCD will become slower in updating/refreshing, and battery capacity will diminish rapidly as temperature falls.

The only precaution is in getting back to normal room temperature, after a prolonged stay in the cold. Wrap the camera in a plastic bag while cold, with little air inside, then heat up without condensation.

Bart

Hi Doug

9 deg Fahrenheit = - 12.7 degs Celsius is quite cold, but a lot will depend on the use.
It probably will be ok for some shots, as long as the cam is not to long exposed to the cold. Therefore heating up the cams with your body make sense.

The weak point will be the batteries anway, following my experiences that I had in temperatures about 18 deg. Fahrenheit, with the 1 Ds-2.

Don't forget to take some fingergloves with you: in these temperatures metal starts to °glue° on skin, quite scary. You can't handle a cam with the big warm gloves, I' ve some that keep warm until minus 13 Fahrenheit, that's - 25 deg Celsius, but you can't feel the buttons anymore. Therefore 2 paires of gloves is the way to go - and a cup of hot wine punch ;-)

Bart, Michael,

Thanks so much for the tips.

I'm only going to take the A-620 - I can keep it in an inside pocket between shots. The "social" context is such that the 40D would be bit difficult to handle anyway.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Best regards,

Doug

Re. battery

Doug

if you intend to stay longer in the cold, its obviously a good idea, to have some spare batteries. After a serie of shots, you can exchange the used one and warm it up.
That's the "strategy" I'll use for the long exposures in cold with my starstitches

Remebering now the fabric of the thin fingergloves; they' re made with fleece material, branded Thinsulate.

Hi, Michael,

Michael Fontana said:

Doug

if you intend to stay longer in the cold, its obviously a good idea, to have some spare batteries. After a serie of shots, you can exchange the used one and warm it up.

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A good idea.

Remebering now the fabric of the thin fingergloves; they' re made with fleece material, branded Thinsulate.

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Yes, I recognize that name. Thanks.

Best regards,

Doug

Hey Doug,
If you haven't taken off already, here's a tip that works well for me - use the chemical hand warmers. A couple in your pocket will keep both your hands and your camera toasty warm. I usually drop a large one in my camera bag when street shooting in the winter. It works really well.

Hi, John,

John Angulat said:

Hey Doug,
If you haven't taken off already, here's a tip that works well for me - use the chemical hand warmers. A couple in your pocket will keep both your hands and your camera toasty warm. I usually drop a large one in my camera bag when street shooting in the winter. It works really well.

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Great suggestion. I think I may even have one in stock.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Doug

Doug,

Down to at least about 0 degrees (F), I've used everything from the now ancient D30 to the 20D and the 5D for periods up to two or three hours without any problem. Last winter I also used the SD800 IS in similar circumstances - usually just carrying it in my gloved hand which was enough to keep it functionally warm. There's a lot more latitude than the specs lead you to believe in all these cameras.

As others mentioned, the battery life declines much more quickly - hey, maybe you've done a paper on that - so a spare one or two in an inside shirt pocket is good insurance if the battery isn't brand new.

Also as mentioned, keeping the camera in a bag until it's equalized to the room temperature once brought back inside helps, too. But even if you get a fogged up lens from condensation, just let it sit and eventually it all sorts itself out.

Mike

Hi, Mike,

Mike Bailey said:

Doug,

Down to at least about 0 degrees (F), I've used everything from the now ancient D30 to the 20D and the 5D for periods up to two or three hours without any problem.

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That's great news.

As I mentioned, for a number of reasons, I am only taking my A-620 on the expedition (for which we will leave momentarily).

Thanks again so much.

Best regards,

Doug

Folks, very informative posts.

Could you please let me know what finger gloves are and what are chemical hand warmers? where do you get them?

Thanks.

Hi Fahim,
Chemical hand warmers are small packets containing 2 or more ingredients, separately stored. By shaking the package (or simply opening some types) starts an exothermic reaction - heat!
They're great for inserting in your gloves or boots on those cold winter days! Just Google "hand warmers" and you'll get plenty of on-line companies selling them. Also, most outdoor/expedition type of stores sell them.
Here's a link to Wiki's description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_warmer

I'm not sure what "finger gloves" are but in really cold weather I use a glove/mitten combo called a "Glomitt". You have the benefit of mittens which are always warmer than gloves, but the mitten end folds back and you have your fingertips free to adjust your camera. I bought mine at Cabelas.com

fahim mohammed said:

Folks, very informative posts.

Could you please let me know what finger gloves are and what are chemical hand warmers? where do you get them?

Thanks.

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Fahim

these are good gloves against the BIG cold, as theyre in two layers - the inner for keeping warm, the outer for protecting against rain and wind ...but you can't take photos with it:




That type now - fingergloves - don't keep as warm, but you you can dial the knobs of a cam:

John, Michael, thanks a lot for that information. Interesting and sorely needed!

Regards.