Digital Cameras & Freezing Temps?

[df3photo]

ok, I just read a thread on Freezing temps effect on film speed...

heres my question... What about the Freezing Temps on Digital cameras?
is there a problem with freezing CCDs or LCDs? or anything else...

I understand the whole condensation from bringing the camera from Cold To warm and keeping the camera in a bag so it slowly changes temps...
but most of my digital camera work has been in studio temp controlled atmospheres or warmer weather... I just purchased a new digital and was wondering. I have had my small point and shoot digital camera out in the cold but its mostly kept in my pocket so it stays warm... though when i shot some video with it there where odd color changes on the images...

any thoughts on this?

 

[Majik Imaje]

well .. I do know this for a FACT: I am sorry and I don't want to sound the wrong way here. I have proven kodak wrong too many times. what you read about film speed vs cold ? I don't' buy it one bit!

I have no idea what have read. But I speak from experience. ONLY!

Where do I start? 50 below cold enough? I have shot hundreds of rolls slides, negatives,, with absolutly no light meter . or compensaton

and I am surrounded by white ice everywhere.! I shoot one stop diff. that is all.

Condensaton? yeah.. watch out.

Batteries.have tons of em if your going digital.. but.

DONT TAKE THAT CHANCE! USE FILM

in extreme cold.. a digital camera freezes up quickly. THEN WHEN THE SHOT COMES ALONG. you miss it because your trying to warm up your camera.

My best advice for cold weather shooting.. use film as is..no compensaton

Use a mehanical camera i.e. one that doesnt require a battrey to work

like a Pentax K-1000 PERFECT! Oh yes.. it does use a battery. BUT ONLY FOR THE LIGHT METER. I never use them.

there is no need to. really.! Wanna learn how to shoot?

A sunny day at noon.. is the same no matter where in the world it is..
A coudly day at non is the same etc. differnt levels of darkness

lets stay in the sun for a while...

iso 100 ev 15 125@f16 that is the only number I have to know

to fill out.. in all detail.. all 22 ev charts EXPOSURE VALUES

THERE are ONLY three things that can happen (ev wise) when you expose that film

TOO DARK
PERFECT
TOO LIGHT

that's all! there is no (I am going to experiment) I always sigh when i hear that. because they are not aware of this basic principle

BRIGHT SUN DISTINCT SHADOWS.. SUBJECT IS LIT FROM THE FRONT OR SIDES

125 @ F 16 you can walk around and take those pictuers forever at that one setting! and have gorgeous results.

250 @ f 11 is = the same EV

500 @ f 8 = same EV.. NOW finish the complete chart. up and down

the ONLY THING that is changing.. is the depth of field ONLY

f 2 f 4 f 5.6 f8 f11 f16 f22 f32 f45 f64 f90 f128

that is the complete RANGE of F-stops. the bigger the number the better your images will look

now what do you do if your not sure.. ? JUST OPEN ONE STOP OR CLOSE ONE STOP

It will not take you long to learn this.. HOW TO RECOGNISE LIGHT.

LOOK AT IT. ISO 100 CLOUDY DAY.. EV 15 125 F? well you know.f 16 wont work. so open to f5.6 now look at your scene.. is it dark?

open one stop what is gong to happen if your wrong

too dark
perfect
too light

color films have lattitude.. negative films have wide lattitude..VERICOLOR

IS THE MOST MAGNIFICENT FILM KODAK HAS EVER MADE.

you can be as much as 3 f stops off and still get a magnificent image!

Kodak states (look it up) Latent image.. once you expose that film..you need to have it processed. how long can you keep that film in a freezer.. and leave it there.? Kodak says up to one year

I have an image here.. 5 years latent image! no freeezer..this sat in anchorage. for 5 years. before it ever got processed

http://majikimaje.com/AapaNAakaweb.JPG

Not every thing Kodak says is true.. 99.2 % of it is! I found the . 8 percent that didn't in many other ways! (later)

GO OUT..learn BY practice.. HOW TO SHOOT FROM THE HIP

no light meter. you dont need it. you need to just TRAIN your eyes and brain .. EV wise!

125 @ f16 100 iso EV 15 WHAT IF i WANT TO GO UP to 400 iso?

thats EV 17 125 @ f32 you know how to fill out the rest of that chart

and you thought this was hard ? nope.. get out.. practice and shoot!

WowoW !!


F.A.S.T = FOCUS APETURE SHUTTER THINK -=click=-

 

[Orgnoi1]

We backpack our cameras in on snowmobiling expeditions all the time... temps droop down into the - numbers constantly... aside from premature battery drain the cold will effect YOU before it will effect the camera....

 

[darich]

Well it wasn't quite as cold as that for me but i've had my 5D, and my 20D before that, out on a triopod in temperatures around zero numerous times and the only problem i've come across is falling snow landing on the camera and then melting when i use the camera to take a shot.

i used my hat to cover the camera last time i was out because my head has at least some hair to protect me - the camera was "naked".

 

[dewey]

Being a Floridian I am by no means the cold weather expert, but I have had my D80 in the minus twenties numerous times over the past month with no ill effects... yet.

I bought one of these so I could shoot in snow and it rocks:

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/E-702-Large-Digital-Camera-Raincover/dp/B0001VB1QU[/ame]

Battery life is the only thing... they go FAST in weather that cold. Keep your spare batteries in your poket and keep the camera close to you when your not shooting.

Dewey

 

[Big Mike]

I've had my camera out in some very cold temps before...the only problems I've had are with the batteries dieing very fast.

I don't think the cold will affect the electronics too much...but remember that the L in LCD, stands for liquid...and liquid will eventually freeze...so the screen may be the most vulnerable. Also, the grease on moving parts (shutter) will get thick and maybe not work so well.

 

[Majik Imaje]

was quite an education.. I had a camera mounted on a tripod.. and the camera itself. was encased in ice! I had to chip the ice out of the view finder, !!

changing film was absolute totrure!

trying to focus would crack the ice! and everything was so sluggish

I still prefer a mechanical camera! during extreme temp drops! there is nothing to worry about.

we are outside for two months!! no place to go to warm up!!

so how do we keep warm ?? well you just ain't gonna believe this, one bit.

Eskimo's have taught me lots..

Eskimo's have taught me a lot about how to keep warm in such fridgid cold(ness)
#1 "dirty clothes cannot keep you warm!!!
#2 Use as many LOOSE layers as you can when you get dressed.
We don't use long underwear up here.. TOO TIGHT
you need to build layers of AIR.. tight clothing will keep you cold not warm.
#3 EVERYONE in the village dresses basically the same. male or female.. first comes the basic undergarments that men & women wear..
then next is a pair of gym shorts!!! this is very important..next is sweatpants!! loose and looser jeans over those.. final layer is ski pants..
@ 60 below your legs are super warm.
there is nothing in the world better than "bunny boots" it is IMPOSSIBLE for your feet to get cold in them things. Especially when your standing on ice 24/7 for two months!!
#4 Top torso.. is basiclly the same.. many many layers of loose clothing. T-shirt, 2-3 loose shirts.
sweat shirt w/hood, thin spring jacket, final layer is home made eskimo parky!!!
Now your able to sleep outside @ 50 below and with a smile on your face because you can't get cold.
There are other tricks we use to keep warm that are "critical" to employ !!
What you eat is extremly important. Try this some time when you have to go out for a long time..
WARNING: don't try this and then stay inside.. you will suffer immensly.
Quaq is what we eat.. quaq is RAW frozen meat or fish (caribou 0r fish).
Take a piece of food.. (fish) and slice very thin pieces / slices.. don't chew it just swallow it.
FILL your stomach with quaq.. I like caribou much better than fish..
When you fill your stomach in this manner, your stomach has to work very hard to digest all that frozen food that is in slices.
AND YOU PUSH OUT BODY HEAT LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED IN YOUR LIFE.
if you stay inside when you do this.. you will suffer immensly..
@ 30 BELOW ZERO your taking clothes off cause your too hot !!!
Next is the hands.. !! mittens are much warmer than gloves for sure..
BUT.. we have tricks we use!!! AND THEY WORK
but.. this might offend some but we HAVE TO DO THIS..!!
When it is very cold/ windy. and you have to get on a snowmachine and travel.. the wind is like razor blades on your face cutting you up.
40 below w/50 mph winds and you have to drive into the wind at 70 mph
That hurts.!!! especially when your gonna be out in it for days or whatever..
we have to use our Kakiik on our face/ hands to keep them warm..
Kahk-eek = the stuph that is coming out of your nose.!!!
The first time I heard this I was discusted!!
I am from Boston.. ha ha..
anyway.. one day I had to roll a drum of stove oil 3/4 of a mile in the snow over many drifts.. the people were waiting for this drum and I was cold to the bone.. my hands..my fingers were killing me and there was no place to go to get warm.. I remember what they told me.. no way!!!
but the pain was too much..
took off my gloves, blew my nose, and rubbed it into my hands that were about to crack with cold, frost bit incredible pain..
INSTANTLY. as soon as I put my gloves back on.. wow.. my hands were toast.. they don't hurt when they warm up.. and they won't get cold ever again!!! (that day).

iF YOU LIVE in a damp climate this will not work.. but it sure does work in a dry climate! I was working in prudhoe Bay on the Pipelilne. and I was ousdie of course and my hands were very very very cold.. i just couldn't take it any longer.. so I did what eskimo's do when out in the remote places.. to warm my hands.. when lunch time came i went into the lunch room and evryone got up and moved ! .they were all upset with me due to what they had seen at some point. I told them why, and what the reasons were.. GROSS.! they were discusted by what I had explained to the other crews. In less than a week. .i would always catch people hiding behind something. with gloves off blowing their nose into their hands..Hey one person said..THIS REALLY WORKS!! EVERYONE.. WAS DOING IT with incredible splendid warming results! it can't hurt you.. but it sure will save your life !

I'm very cold.. I need to get WARM.. there is the quaq! caribou. .see the hack saw ? ha ha ha! pick it up. .slice / saw off a big chunk of caribou meat
swallow stips whole. FILL UP YOUR STOMACH!
aaahhh!! ha ha ha!! Now that just doesn't make sense to me. but it works!! UP here.!!
These people know a lot of "tricks" for survival, in any situation!

how do you get FRESH drinking water when your many miles out on the ocean ice?:mrgreen:

 

[df3photo]

THanks for the tips everyone! I want to go camping soon this winter, we have had snow for 20some days straight... so Id like to hit the woods with my camera and sleeping bag, I just don't want to wreck the camera...
Majik Imaje Thanks for the tips and stories... I'm big into learning nature survival from different cultures... I haven't heard about quaq but now that you mention it, in many documentaries I have seen I remember Eskimos eating large strips of fish/meat like you described...
and Kahk-eek is great! I may have to try that sometime... when Im alone...

thanks again!