Cold Weather Shooting/Camera consideration

[Greatwhite]

Hey Gang,

OK, if the outside ambient is, say 10f...and my camera is in my hotel room, say 70f....and I take it outside to shoot some shots in the forests....

How do you keep it from condensing in the lens...or will it...

I have been doing photography for 30+yrs, and have never had that big a swing in temps....usually stabile environment...

Any special considerations?

THX

 

[Big Mike]

When taking it outside into the cold...you might get some fogging...but it should clear right up. Obviously try not keep the temperature swing gradual rather than sudden.

The thing to watch for is when you bring it back in. Moisture in the warm humid air will cause condensation to form on the cold surfaces of the camera...inside and out. So before you bring it in, you might want to seal it in a zip lock bag...or at least leave it zipped up in your camera bag until it has had a chance to warm up.

Also, be aware that the cold temps will cause your batteries to loose power very quickly. Keep some spares close to your body.

 

[andrew99]

+1

I took my new D40 out to shoot some outdoor pics this past weekend. It was -6 C (about 20F). Taking it into the cold is no problem, it's biringing it back in. When the camera is cold, it will attract condensation when you bring it into the warm. If you wear glasses, you know that they only fog up when going from a cold environment to a warm one. Anyway, I took a plastic ziplock freezer bag with me, and put the camera in the bag just before bringing it into the warm car. I think it's important that the air in the bag is the cold air from outside, so put the camera in the bag before going inside. I let it warm up for an hour before opening the bag.

Later that day, I noticed a tiny bit of haze on the lense, but it was gone by morning, so no harm done.

 

[Jon, The Elder]

Big Mike put it well....

The thing to watch for is when you bring it back in. Moisture in the warm humid air will cause condensation to form on the cold surfaces of the camera...inside and out. So before you bring it in, you might want to seal it in a zip lock bag...or at least leave it zipped up in your camera bag until it has had a chance to warm up.

 

[GC Jr]

Holy crap... Thanks for the info. I never knew that- in fact, I brought my camera in 36f weather this morning and just brought it in the house with no consideration of condensation.. Oops. :-D

 

[logan9967]

i don't think it's as big of a deal if you bring it in like that as long as you don't power it up. i would think the problem would come not from just having water form on the electronics of it, but rather running electricity through it when it's wet and possibly shorting it out

 

[Big Mike]

i don't think it's as big of a deal if you bring it in like that as long as you don't power it up. i would think the problem would come not from just having water form on the electronics of it, but rather running electricity through it when it's wet and possibly shorting it out

I certainly don't want any water on the inside of my camera...especially on the sensor, where it would make dust stick to it.
Also, where there is moisture, there can be mold. Lenses have been ruined because of mold forming inside of them.

A little moisture probably won't kill these cameras (I soaked my 20D in the rain forests of Costa Rica) but it's certainly not a good thing.