It's SNOWING.....I want to go out and shoot....but questions.

Blitz55 · Jan 17, 2012

Just had a couple of questions as it has been snowing here and id like to get out sometime and take some photos.

Whats the deal on getting snow on your camera. I honestly have never taken it out in the snow, is it best to have something to wrap over the camera? Is snow not that much of a problem just as long as you don't just let your camera sit out there in it of course.
I mean, I wouldn't take my camera out in the rain without something.

Any settings or techniques that work best when shooting snow?

Thanks in advance for any help, wow its really coming down out there.

From the posts below I take it I should have posted what Camera I have haha.
My bad.

Sony A550

Bossy · Jan 17, 2012

I usually run around with a beanie tied over my camera hah. Its technically weather sealed, but I don't want to take chances. What camera do you have?

GnipGnop · Jan 17, 2012

What kind of camera do you have? What does the manual say about shooting in inclement weather?

analog.universe · Jan 17, 2012

It does depend on the camera and lens... some cameras will just never care, but those are more money.

If it's really cold out, and I don't expect the snow to melt quickly, then I don't cover the camera. I just sling it around my shoulder and brush the snow off when a bunch accumulates. If it's a questionable temperature, then I just keep it in a small camera bag and take it out to shoot.

(keep an extra battery in a pocket close to your body if you can, batteries hate the cold. you can even revive them a little bit when they die by getting them back up to body temp)

Big Mike · Jan 17, 2012

Yes, the first thing to know is what camera model you have. Some models are made to work perfectly in a rain storm, others may not have any extra weather sealing (but they're not made of sugar either).

Snow itself, probably won't do any damage. If it melts into water, then you'll want to avoid getting it on (into) your camera. Just use your common sense.

As for shooting out in the cold, there are other things to be concerned about. Firstly, cold temps will make the battery act like it's dead. So the colder it is, the less time you'll have to shoot before your camera dies of low power. The solution is to carry more than one battery and keep the spare warm (close to your body). When the cold one dies, just swap them...it should come back to life once it's warmed up.

The next thing to watch out for is condensation. If you take something cold, and bring it into a warm & humid atmosphere, condensation will form all over it. You don't want water forming all over your camera & gear, so seal up your camera before you go back into a warm house/car etc. The best thing would be an airtight plastic bag/case (large ziplock bags are great), but if all you do is keep the camera zipped up in a camera bag, that's better than nothing. Let the camera warm up before you open the bag.

As for shooting out in the snow, you should be aware of how to properly meter a scene. When your camera sees a lot of white (snow or anything), it will underexpose your photos, unless you compensate the exposure away from the meter's suggestion.
How to use a Grey Card ~ Mike Hodson Photography