A couple of questions from a beginner

poker_jake

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I recently bought a Canon 60d and see all the statistics for battery life only go down to 0 deg C/32 deg F. Since I live in Minnesota and have a few beautiful days of winter, would it be wise to snap some shots outside when its below 32 deg F? How about below 0 deg F? Also, does anyone have any tips/projects that would expose a beginner to different types of shots that require different camera settings? I plan to stay in manual until I learn the ins and outs of the camera. This is my first DSLR and always wanted to get into the photography as a hobby with a decent camera.
 
It takes several minutes for a battery to freeze if it's left outside by itself.

It take even longer to feeze when it's in a camera. The colder the battery gets, the less power it can produce, until it is warmed up again.

So a cold weather tactic is to have a couple of spare batteries and keep them close to your body so they stay warm.

I just left the batteries (2) in the camera grip and made all the exposures for this HDR image on a day the air temperature with wind chill was -15°F, or 47° below freezing. Wading through the snow and snow drifts getting to the location, setting up the tripod, making preliminary images, and waiting for the Sun to get into position, took about 90 minutes though the camera and lens were in a backpack most of that time and not out in the breeze on the tripod.

OnlineHDRSunset.jpg
 
That is a beautiful shot, is it bad on the camera or lens being that cold?
 
The only possible effects of cold are shortened battery life and condensation in/on the camera when brought back inside. You can always place the camera in a zip lock freezer type bag before going inside. This will help with the condensation. Also, inanimate objects are oblivious to wind chill. Same can't be said for the photographer :lol:.
 
You can also get those pocket warmer things and keep the batteries near them in your pockets.
 
You can also get those pocket warmer things and keep the batteries near them in your pockets.

Yeah, I've heard of people stringing some hand/foot warmers together to kind of make a warming shell for their DSLR for extended outdoor use. Haven't tried it myself, but the theory is solid.
 
Keep extra batteries in a warm place like inside coat pocket so they get some of the body heat to help keep them warm. This is what I do and it works for me.
 
Thanks for all the tips. Now just need to practice and then maybe post some for feedback. Photo Guy I see you're from western wisonsin, any interesting places you like to go to shoot?
 
I am surprised no one has mentioned a sleeve. They make sleeves to protect your camera from the rain and snow. They are beneficial in the cold not only for the camera, but for your hands too!
I believe Camera Duck makes one with warmer packs.
 
Everybody has covered the battery thing here but my question is why are you shooting in Manual mode, especially if you have no experience with a dslr.
I would suggest Aperture priority and getting really familiar with how to make exposure compensation adjustments.
 
I took a photography course as a freshman in college about 8 yrs ago and I became familiar with aperture, ISO, shutter speed and how they relate to each other along with post processing and other stuff. Hopefully it will be an easy transition from my previous camera Olympus sp-500uz. Here are a couple examples of the Olympus:

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The 60d should be here tomorrow so I'll be able to mess around a little this weekend.
 
As mentioned, the biggest problem will likely be the batteries. So keep some spares with you and keep them warm.

The other big issue will be condensation. If you bring a cold camera (or anything) into a warm & humid location, condensation will form on all the surfaces (likely including the inside of your camera & lenses). That isn't good.

So the best thing to do, is to let your gear warm up before exposing it to the warm air. Maybe just leaving it in a zipped up camera bag will be enough (although the padding will act like a cooler and require more time to warm up). An alternative is to put the gear into a sealed plastic bag or case (big ziplock bags are ideal). Let the gear warm up before you take it out.

Also, it wouldn't hurt to put some desiccant packs in your camera bag. desiccant
 
That is a beautiful shot, is it bad on the camera or lens being that cold?
Thanks. Being an HDR it is made from 6 exposures and was post processed in Photomatix Pro and Photoshop CS4.

The cold makes some of the lubricants in the camera thicken up which can slow down the shutter mechanism. But since the shutter is deep in the heart of the camera is the last place to get cold.

Possible condensation was mentioned. Condesation happens when the camera goes from a cold environment to a warm and humid environment.

So condensation will happen when going from outside to inside in the winter, and when going from an air conditioned inside, to a hot humid outside in the summer.
 

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