A (perhaps silly) question about temperature

[Kolander]

I'll shoot next Saturday some children ice-skating, and the maximum temp will be around -5º C. No wind, no snow. Is there any risk for my lens, or my camera? I'll take a D80 with 70-200. Thanks!

 

[Patrice]

Owner's manuals are your friends.

D80 temperature limits: page 144 operating temperature limits 0 degrees celcius to 40 degrees celcius.

Did not do a search for 70-200, suppose is close to the same, maybe ok into colder temperature.

These are pretty conservative estimates, especially on the cooler end. I've had my nikons out in much colder temperatures (D70, D200, D700, FM2, F4), down to minus 30 deg c in some instances. Biggest hassle is keeping the battery warm. Be gentle warming your camera up when bringing t back indoors.

Plenty of forum posts here and elsewhere on this very issue.

 

[cbrown222]

Owner's manuals are your friends.

D80 temperature limits: page 144 operating temperature limits 0 degrees celcius to 40 degrees celcius.

Did not do a search for 70-200, suppose is close to the same, maybe ok into colder temperature.

These are pretty conservative estimates, especially on the cooler end. I've had my nikons out in much colder temperatures (D70, D200, D700, FM2, F4), down to minus 30 deg c in some instances. Biggest hassle is keeping the battery warm. Be gentle warming your camera up when bringing t back indoors.

Plenty of forum posts here and elsewhere on this very issue.

It's tough finding other threads.. at least it was for me

How do you warm up the camera gently? I want to bring my D90 skiing this weekend but I'm a little skeptical

 

[Kolander]

Thank you, Patrice! I did read it (I'm a manual fanatic, use to cover them in plastic), but the terms in other languages are not very clear.

 

[MReid]

condensation is your enemy
extreme cold to instant warm...bad

bring an extra battery

 

[analog.universe]

When you bring the camera from cold to warm or warm to cold, keep in a sealed backpack or camera bag for at least an hour, longer if you can stand it. The slower it changes temperature, the happier it'll be. Especially warming back up because it will be prone to condensation. Some folks even ziplock the camera to keep condensation out before you bring it back indoors.

Keep your batteries in pockets close to your body, the cold will weaken them. When you shoot, your battery will die quickly in the camera, but warming it back up in your pocket will get it going again. I carry 2 batteries in the cold, so I can swap as needed. They last me all day this way.

-5C isn't bad, it's beyond the spec of the gear, but I've had my stuff out in -25 with no problem.

 

[Rephargotohp]

And don't remove the lens till it is warm, the last place you want condensation, is inside

 

[Garbz]

For reference my D200 lasted about 2 hours at -55deg before it failed. It came good again after sitting under the car heater for a while. Batteries at this temp lasted about 5-10 minutes between having to be warmed up.

 

[Kolander]

Thank you, guys! :thumbup: