Cold Weather gear for DSLR

[raven.worldlrnr]

First of all HELLO, from Northern California. I'm new to this forum and have a couple of questions. It gets below freezing where I live and was wondering what you recommend for keeping my camera and lenses warm while I'm out taking landscape/nature/animal shots? I have an older DSLR Nikon D5000 and carry several lenses with me including my "Big Mama" Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G

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[Destin]

First of all HELLO, from Northern California. I'm new to this forum and have a couple of questions. It gets below freezing where I live and was wondering what you recommend for keeping my camera and lenses warm while I'm out taking landscape/nature/animal shots? I have an older DSLR Nikon D5000 and carry several lenses with me including my "Big Mama" Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G

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They should function fine in the cold. Bring extra batteries and use the disposable hand warmers to keep them warm because otherwise they will drain fast in the cold.

The bigger concern is condensation buildup on your gear when moving from cold to warm spaces (outdoors to in). To help prevent this keep your gear in a sealed camera bag or better yet a sealed zip lock bag when moving back indoors. You can remove them from the bag once they warm up a to room temperature.

 

[raven.worldlrnr]

First of all HELLO, from Northern California. I'm new to this forum and have a couple of questions. It gets below freezing where I live and was wondering what you recommend for keeping my camera and lenses warm while I'm out taking landscape/nature/animal shots? I have an older DSLR Nikon D5000 and carry several lenses with me including my "Big Mama" Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G

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They should function fine in the cold. Bring extra batteries and use the dispose hand warmers to keep them warm because otherwise they will drain fast in the cold.

The bigger concern is condensation buildup on your gear when moving from cold to warm spaces (outdoors to in). To help prevent this keep your gear in a sealed camera bag or better yet a sealed zip lock bag when moving back indoors. You can remove them from the bag once they warm up a to room temperature.

Thanks!!!!

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[KmH]

When shooting out in the cold I keep my spare batteries in an inside pocket of my clothing to keep them warm.
A battery that has gotten so cold it seems to be drained of power revitalizes when warmed back up inside where my body heat warms it back up.
So plan on changing batteries more often than usual, but they will still deliver a usable charge for about the same time as long as you keep rotating batteries in and out of the camera body.

However, you want your camera body and the lenses to be the same temperature as the air.
I've shot outside at temps as cold as 10° below zero (42° below freezing).

+1 on Destin's tips regards going back inside being the ways to keep condensation from forming.

 

[raven.worldlrnr]

When shooting out in the cold I keep my spare batteries in an inside pocket of my clothing to keep them warm.
A battery that has gotten so cold it seems to be drained of power revitalizes when warmed back up inside where my body heat warms it back up.
So plan on changing batteries more often than usual, but they will still deliver a usable charge for about the same time as long as you keep rotating batteries in and out of the camera body.

However, you want your camera body and the lenses to be the same temperature as the air.
I've shot outside at temps as cold as 10° below zero (42° below freezing).

+1 on Destin's tips regards going back inside being the ways to keep condensation from forming.

Thank you that makes total sense and why I had problems shooting on Alaska!

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[Low_Sky]

The biggest challenge I face shooting in cold weather (I live in Alaska) is my breath causing condensation/frost on my lens. When I shoot in the winter, I am usually outside long enough that my camera has cooled to ambient temperature or close to it. I don't pack all the chemical hand warmers it would take to keep a camera warm for as long as I go out in the winter. If I am shooting handheld, I usually fight condensation by holding my breath while the camera is to my eye, or at least exhaling through my nose. Never, ever exhale through your mouth with a camera to your face in cold temperatures. Same holds true for shooting on a tripod, I do all my breathing away from the camera, and hold my breath if I need to take a close look.

As has been mentioned, if you are going to be going in and out of a warm space (car, cabin, hotel), keep your camera buried in your bag until it has had time to warm up, or just leave it in there if you are going back out in the cold. You don't need to put it in a waterproof bag. Just leaving it closed up in a normal padded camera bag will give it enough insulation that it can warm to the room temperature without creating condensation. If you are in a car moving from spot to spot, put your camera bag in the trunk.

 

[raven.worldlrnr]

The biggest challenge I face shooting in cold weather (I live in Alaska) is my breath causing condensation/frost on my lens. When I shoot in the winter, I am usually outside long enough that my camera has cooled to ambient temperature or close to it. I don't pack all the chemical hand warmers it would take to keep a camera warm for as long as I go out in the winter. If I am shooting handheld, I usually fight condensation by holding my breath while the camera is to my eye, or at least exhaling through my nose. Never, ever exhale through your mouth with a camera to your face in cold temperatures. Same holds true for shooting on a tripod, I do all my breathing away from the camera, and hold my breath if I need to take a close look.

As has been mentioned, if you are going to be going in and out of a warm space (car, cabin, hotel), keep your camera buried in your bag until it has had time to warm up, or just leave it in there if you are going back out in the cold. You don't need to put it in a waterproof bag. Just leaving it closed up in a normal padded camera bag will give it enough insulation that it can warm to the room temperature without creating condensation. If you are in a car moving from spot to spot, put your camera bag in the trunk.

OMG, so that's how to keep the condensation out!!! Ok from now on holding my breath and putting it in the trunk is such a great tip!! Thanks so much!

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