Digital Cameras and Cold Weather

[TBSN]

Hey, I've got a pretty simple question.

I am going on a backpacking excursion (in NY in Febuary) and it is going to get quite cold. I'd like to bring my DSLR (a Nikon D70s, but that doesn't really matter). I would guess that the lowest temperature would probably be 15 degrees, just as a rough guesstimate.

Does anyone know if this would damage the camera? I know LCD's sometimes do weird stuff in the cold, but I don't know if it would actually damage anything...

Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks!

If I can't bring it, I'll have to break out my good ol' 35mm F2.

 

[jpeyton]

It'll work fine, but a couple of things to remember:

1) Battery life drops in cold temperatures

2) Acclimatize your gear before using it to avoid condensation. One example is the seal between your camera/lens, which can often be airtight (or nearly so). I would mount your lens in the cold (at operating temperature), so you're not trapping hot/moist air inside your camera before taking it outside into cold/dry air.

 

[Fardringle]

Ken Rockwell tested his D70 at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 C) and while the camera wasn't happy (it was slow to respond), it did work and didn't harm the camera in any way. It seems like the biggest issue is that you need to make sure the battery stays warm or it will die quickly.

 

[996GT2]

I used my 40D to do some star trails in late December and the battery lasted all of about about 30 minutes. It usually lasts for well over 1,000 shots...

The other issue is making sure that your lenses don't get fogged up. It helps to put some silicone packets on your lens and then wrap it up with some hand warmers so that your equipment stays dry and warm.

 

[GoSharks]

Keep a spare battery in a warm inner pocket. Otherwise you should be fine.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

I've used my Pentax K100D w/ lithium AA's and rechargeable AA's in ambient temps of less than 15F for hours with zero problems. No problems with LCD, responsiveness or stamina (other than mine).

 

[jamesbond007]

Last year for the lunar eclipse (I think it was in March) I tried using my 30D to give me some extra reach, but it didn't last more than 10-15 minutes in the cold. Granted, it was around -20F with a windchill in the -30F, so it was pretty bad. I put on my 1D-Mark III body on my setup and continued to grab some fantastic shots for about 40 minutes, covering the sequence.

I actually have a scar on the top of my left hand from that night where my tripod touched my skin too long and I got pretty bad frost bite. I had some gloves on, my but remote shutter release cable was stiff as a board, so I took my gloves off to remove it and just setup the timed shutter release instead. Ouch!

 

[TBSN]

Thanks for all the first-hand experience! I'm not too worried about the slow LCD, I'll probably just turn it off. But it's good to know the camera won't get destroyed.