How to keep camera warm?(!)

yangchen · Post by **yangchen** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:05 pm

Hi all,

I am planning to photograph star trails at high altitude where the temperature is sub zero, using a DSLR. Anyone has practical experience in keeping the camera reasonably insulated during very long exposures? I know most of the time people are trying to cool down their cameras but this is way too cold. I will try to improvise something on my own but just wondering whether there are any ideas already out there. Thanks for any advice.

Yangchen

Clifford60 · Post by **Clifford60** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:19 pm

May be you can use those chemical warmer where people keep themselves warm in cold area. Make sure you don't direct contact the warmer and the camera. How many warmer and size needed depends on how cold the environment temperature. Whether this will cause you a bomb, I wouldn't be able to know.

mtmannh · Post by **mtmannh** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:26 am

I live in a climate where there is snow 6 months of the year. Our temps drop to -50f. My digital cameras keep working but I use lithium batteries at those temps. The old Pentax K1000 keeps working no matter how cold it gets.

Post by **Airconvent** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 10:50 am

mtmannh wrote:I live in a climate where there is snow 6 months of the year. Our temps drop to -50f. My digital cameras keep working but I use lithium batteries at those temps. The old Pentax K1000 keeps working no matter how cold it gets.

Holy cow! 6 mths of snow every year? That's cold....brrr.
I think best bet is Lithium. I noticed when I was in Europe (temp 5-15 deg C) and the alkaline batteries last only half as long as they do here in Singapore.
And yeah...have to agree the K1000 will continue to function as long as the owner do not freeze up!
I think the plus point for cold weather photography is noise on the CCD would be at its lowest....

asterixsg · Post by **asterixsg** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:18 am

Hi Yangchen,
Maybe I can ride on this thread, rather than create another one (this query might or might not apply to you...)

How would one counter the effects of dew when the lens is exposed for 2-3 hrs ? For telescopes, I believe you can use a combination of dewshields and warmers, but how would it work for a camera ? Especially with the electronics inside the lens, would they get affected if I put a warmer on top of the lens ?

Cheers...

cataclysm · Post by **cataclysm** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:33 am

Hi, imo most digital slr will function well even at low tempreature. One possible issue may be, the camera's LCD will have sluggish response. As for the batteries, keep the spares some where warm like in your pockets b4 using it.
Just my $0.02 .

yangchen · Post by **yangchen** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:39 pm

Hi all,

thanks very much for the numerous replies. Although the D2X has one of the most powerful lithium batteries, it will still run down quite fast if I keep the shutter open for an hour or more at sub zero. Not to mention that I need more continuous power after that for long exposure NR. I will take up the pieces of advice and try to come up with some effective insulation.

Thanks Asterixsg for bringing the lens part up. I need to think about that too.

Yangchen

mtmannh · Post by **mtmannh** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:07 pm

Airconvent wrote:
mtmannh wrote:I live in a climate where there is snow 6 months of the year. Our temps drop to -50f. My digital cameras keep working but I use lithium batteries at those temps. The old Pentax K1000 keeps working no matter how cold it gets.
Holy cow! 6 mths of snow every year? That's cold....brrr.
I think best bet is Lithium. I noticed when I was in Europe (temp 5-15 deg C) and the alkaline batteries last only half as long as they do here in Singapore.
And yeah...have to agree the K1000 will continue to function as long as the owner do not freeze up!
I think the plus point for cold weather photography is noise on the CCD would be at its lowest....

Yes and the owner does freeze up and run inside from time to time

yangchen · Post by **yangchen** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:16 pm

Hi,

regarding the question by Asterixsg about warming the lens to prevent dew, I don't think that applies to me anymore - at sub zero, the water is stuck in the ground. But please feel free to discuss this in this thread. I am interested anyway.

I am looking forward to doing this star trail thing. The atmosphere at 5000+ metres is going to be almost non-existent.

Yangchen

mtmannh · Post by **mtmannh** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:16 am

At sub zero temps with a clear sky the humidity is usually very low. I can't remember having any problems with moisture under these conditions.