Equipment SLR in cold wather

Hello all.

The winter is making it's return up here in the cold north. Of course there is lots of nice things to photograph in the winter as well, but i am a bit worried about condensation when going from sub zero temperatures, to normal room temperature.

How well does cameras handle this sudden change in temperature? Will condensation be a big problem?

I'm fairly sure that there won't be any problems (as long as it isn't turned on the first few minutes after getting indoors), but I'm curious to see if anyone else have given this any thought.

 

I never really had any problems when I was in New York last winter. Lenses steamed up a bit, but I never really needed to shoot anything inside anyway.

 

I seem to remember that there's a fair degree of weather sealing on most D-SLR bodies, so that shouldn't be too much trouble, the only real problem I'd foresee would be coming in and immediately changing a lens.

 

Oh, I've also had it in an air conditioned house, going straight out into 100F weather with high humidity. Again, steamed up, but cleared after a while. Was no problem.

 

RTFM. There's usually some information about environmental operations and that kind of stuff - safe operating temperature and humidity ranges.

 

I think Smilodon has a very valid question here.
I was worried about the exact same thing the other day: "Is there risk of condensation when switching cold/hot lenses out in cold/hot weather?"
Having to wait for your lenses and camera to reach the same temp sounds rather silly to me... but you never know right.

 

P+S cameras I have never had a problem with, but with any device (camera or not) I usually warm it up with my body for about 5 minutes when going from cold to hot, and I let it sit for about 5 minutes from hot to cold. Most cameras are fine, just let them sit for a bit, especially DSLRs. Do NOT change lenses unless you absolutely have to, the difference in temperature/humidity is the real cause of condensation.

Yup. A good strategy, if you're going to be outside for a while, is to take a plastic Ziploc bag with you. When coming inside, put the camera in it, take it inside, and let it acclimate for about an hour. That usually warms it up enough so that condensation isn't a problem.

Hells yes RTFM. I was concerned that I toasted my camera when I was shooting at 0F last winter, but the manual basically said "Be careful, but you're fine."

Last winter I got massive condensation because I accidentally took the lens off the body after only a couple minutes inside after a couple hours outside. It went away, but it's a pain in the ass.

 

Amen. I've done that even today when it was probably only 8 deg outside, but still not worth the risk.

I adopted the same technique Christmas in Romania last year when it was -15 outside and ~23deg inside (silly cold women). Hour or so in an air-tight bag in the porch (where the temperature difference wasn't quite so extreme) and all was super.

 

If you are travelling via car between locations then i strongly recomend leaving the heater off, and a window slightly open so the tempertures are equal. DSLR bodies are sealed but there is a big sealing issue between the lens and the body so the lens will fog due to trapped cold air inside the camera. Try to avoid lens changes as this introduces more cold air into the body.

Another tip is cold weather kills batteries much quicker, so keep your spare inside your jacket as close as possible to your core temperture, keeping them warm helps maintain the battery life.

Another good bit of advice is quality thin gloves so you can keep your hands warm and still operate the camera. Cold hands are no good!