Harsh Weather and DSLR's

[sapper6fd]

Hello all!

A friend of mine that lives in Dawson city has offered me a very unique opportunity (possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity) to complete the "Trek Over the Top" run this year (also known as the Tok to Dawson Poker Run). Its basically a bunch of people that get together in Dawson City Yukon Territory and ride snowmobiles to Tok Alaska, and then participate in the big ride from Tok back to Dawson. As I’m sure a lot of you are saying - forget that! Its damn cold in Alaska and the Yukon in the dead of winter! The trip is over a few days and covers 200 miles between the two cities in each direction. So before I drag my camera gear up there for it, I have a question for you northerners.

How do DSLR's hold up in the extreme cold? I'm talking -30 to -40 Degrees Celsius (-22F to -40F). I think this would be a great opportunity to grab some arctic photos while up in the area but don’t want to risk cracking any of my glass or pooching my camera body due to the cold. I know the LCD screen won’t work very well if at all when cold, but how about the sensor and the lenses? Should I leave the D90 at home and just take a point and shoot, or take the D90 and grab some spectacular photos?

Heres a small blurb from the organizers website on the trip

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Alaska Trailblazers are the original proud sponsors of the Tok to Dawson Poker Run, a.k.a the Trek Over the Top. Going on its 18th year in 2010, the Tok to Dawson Poker Run is an event which attracts over 700 people from all over Alaska, as well as the “Lower 48.” Riders travel to Tok to make the 200 mile trek over the Alaska and Top of the World Highways to beautiful Dawson City, Yukon. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Once in Dawson, participants can sit back and enjoy the friendly Canadian hospitality at the banquets and nightly shows at Diamond Tooth Gerties. Our Canadian hosts provide entertainment, such as a scenic snowmobile ride and an afternoon of curling at the local curling club. There is never a dull moment on the Dawson Poker Run[/FONT]​

Sapper

 

[tirediron]

I'd take every bit of gear I could - that's an awesome opportunity. The one thing you will need LOTS of is batteries; they're lifespan will be very short in temperatures like that. What I would do is buy a roomy jacket and keep the body and lenses under that; not next to your skin as you'd have to deal with freezing condensation, but just under one, heavy layer. If the snowmobile has heated seats you can sit it down on there. The batteries I would keep as warm as possible, either in the engine compartment or next to your skin. If you have something like an 18-200 I would go with that as primary since it's versatile enough to greatly reduce the number of times you'll have to change lenses.

Post pictures when you're done!

 

[SrBiscuit]

i think the battery can be more of an issue than the camera itself, but i dont have any experience other than cold NH winters.
i understand that condensation can be an issue too when going from one extreme to the next...even if we're talking about -20 outside and 10 in a tent...

came across this...

Hints or tricks for extremely cold weather DSLR use? - Steve's Digicams Forums

 

[Bram]

That's intense! I would love o see these photos for sure, only one thing in that intense cold I don't think the D90 will hold up I mean they say it's weather sealed but dam! I don't know.

 

[sapper6fd]

Didn’t even think about the batteries. Guess I'm going to have to pick up a few of those.

Condensation is a big worry for me. Having spent time in the Canadian Forces, I've been north of the 60th parallel a few times. A bit of Useless info - but you always sleep with your rifle in your sleeping bag to prevent it from freezing and in the morning when you wake up its got 20 liters of condensation on it and it needs to be cleaned immediatly to prevent it from rusting. I was thinking along these lines when keeping the lenses inside my jacket to prevent them from freezing up.

The drive between the cities is a day each direction I believe. The highways are closed down I'm told in the winter due to the amount of snow they recieve so your following the hwy from one city to the next in 4 feet of arctic powder (which is totaly different from the power you get on the ski hills down south)

 

[tirediron]

...Condensation is a big worry for me. Having spent time in the Canadian Forces, I've been north of the 60th parallel a few times. A bit of Useless info - but you always sleep with your rifle in your sleeping bag to prevent it from freezing and in the morning when you wake up its got 20 liters of condensation on it and it needs to be cleaned immediatly to prevent it from rusting...

Precisely why I suggest keeping the camera under your outer-most layer, but NOT close to your skin. The hope being is that it will be warm enough not to shut-down due to cold, but not so warm as start dripping.

 

[brianT]

Sounds like an awesome trip. For this they're surely driving the Top of the World Highway just outside of Dawson City. I was up there last summer and the road really does go on top of the mountains. If it's cold in Dawson City, the top of the world highway is probably going to be really windy, so with the wind-chill it will be extra cold. Not sure what to do to protect a DSLR, but if it was me I'd just use my low-cost 35mm f/1.8 lens so if it gets condensation or the front glass elements gets blasted by snow & ice it's a small loss.

Otherwise if the weather permits some clear views the photos should be breath-taking.

 

[Big Mike]

Yup, your two biggest problem will likely be batteries and condensation.

The batteries die very quickly when they're cold, but the good news is that you shouldn't have to recharge them anymore than usual, just warm them up. So if you have a few and swap them from the camera to an inside pocket, that will help.

Condensation is pretty strait forward...a cold object that comes into contact with warmer, moist air...will collect condensation. So the times to watch out for, are when you bring your camera in from the cold. I would think that putting it under your jacket would cause condensation, so I'd avoid that (unless you put it into a zip lock bag). Of course, there are a few things that could freeze up, these things aren't designed to work when that cold...so there may be times when you just have to put it away. If you do need to warm it up, use the ziplock bags to isolate them from the warm air.

Also, I'd pack some desiccant (silica gal) in your camera bag. It should help to absorb some of the moisture that gets in there.