Camera Care and Behaviour in Cold Weather

[Brownbear]

This morning I headed to Brackendale trying for eagle shots and the weather up there was super cold, about ~ -5 C.

After about 3 hours of waiting for eagles I became bored and changed to landscapes. I set my camera to mirror up and used the remote release. I managed a couple of images and then my camera just died, no power at all. (The battery level was almost 50%)

I walked into town and headed into a coffee shop to get warm. After an hour had passed my camera was fully operational again.

Earlier in the morning, I had trouble focusing (including manual focus) and even pressing the shutter button. Yes, I was cold too but I do think my camera was struggling to operate normally.

Is this normal? Is their a time limitation for a camera being outside in cold weather? Or perhaps the behaviour of my camera has something to do with the mirror-up mode?

Thank you.

[PhotomanJohn]

Christina - On the surface, it doesn't sound like there is anything wrong with your camera. Battery performance degrades significantly when their temperature gets low. A common trick is to keep an extra set of batteries or battery in a pocket inside your coat against your body. Then one can periodically trade the battery in the camera with the warm one inside the coat. This is something you should do. Others will have more cold weather help I'm sure.

John

[Mike Buckley]

There is lots of stuff on the Internet about how to deal with such cold weather. I never need to look it up because I'm not crazy enough to be outside in such low temperatures.

[Manfred M]

Christina - this is 100% for sure a battery problem. I shoot in far colder conditions than the -5C and generally carry one or two spare batteries that I keep close to my body to keep them warm. The last time I was out for a few hours, temperatures were in the -20C range. As John as said, battery performance is temperature related so if my camera stops working or the battery level drops to a point where I could have problems, I take one of the warm ones out and put it in the camera.

The cold battery gets put under my jacket and close to the body to warm it up again, and it gets back to normal power levels

[Brownbear]

Thanks John. I forgot to say that I did have spare battery. I changed it right then and there but my camera was still dead, and yes I was worried but it is working just fine now.

Mike the only reason I was outside was because of the Eagles and to attend a wedding party where each guest received a bottle of Chateuaneuf de Pape which they had to break after the bride and groom spoke their vows. It was a big wedding

I did do an internet search and truly the only useful thing I found was about the batteries (Which I already knew for some reason) and condensation but there was no condensation on my camera because it was just out in the cold, ie; no warm place to go.

[Brownbear]

Hi Manfred,

I had ruled that out but I suppose everything in my bag was frozen cold, including the spare battery. I purchased a hot chocolate and I noted to the server how frozen cold all the coins I used to pay for it were.

Next time I will wrap up my spare battery in something warm. -20 sounds very cold indeed.

Thank you.

Christina - this is 100% for sure a battery problem. I shoot in far colder conditions than the -5C and generally carry one or two spare batteries that I keep close to my body to keep them warm. The last time I was out for a few hours, temperatures were in the -20C range. As John as said, battery performance is temperature related so if my camera stops working or the battery level drops to a point where I could have problems, I take one of the warm ones out and put it in the camera.

The cold battery gets put under my jacket and close to the body to warm it up again, and it gets back to normal power levels

[Brownbear]

Thank you. I neglected to keep my spare battery warm. Good to know.

Christina - On the surface, it doesn't sound like there is anything wrong with your camera. Battery performance degrades significantly when their temperature gets low. A common trick is to keep an extra set of batteries or battery in a pocket inside your coat against your body. Then one can periodically trade the battery in the camera with the warm one inside the coat. This is something you should do. Others will have more cold weather help I'm sure.

John

[Manfred M]

I forgot to say that I did have spare battery. I changed it right then and there but my camera was still dead, and yes I was worried but it is working just fine now.

Unfortunately for you, the spare battery was as cold as the one in your camera, if not even colder. It is not surprising that it was "dead" too. Wrapping it up is just going to insulate it a bit better (i.e. slow the cooling down process); keeping it close to the body is going to keep the battery nice and warm. I tend to carry mine in a shirt pocket so that they are right beside a heat source - me.

[picsfrommt]

Does the mirror up mode automatically turn on live view? If so, I'd bet that's the culprit. Cold does decrease battery performance, but it shouldn't be that bad.

[Brownbear]

Hi Craig,

No the mirror-up mode doesn't turn on live view but thank you for sharing the possibility.

Does the mirror up mode automatically turn on live view? If so, I'd bet that's the culprit. Cold does decrease battery performance, but it shouldn't be that bad.

[Colin Southern]

In the Canon world ...

The mirror retracts anytime LiveView is used - otherwise it blocks the sensor.

Also, in LV mode, AF or even manual focus confirmation doesn't work with most cameras because the light can't reach the AF module because the mirror is up.

Not sure what kind of camera you have though, so this may or may not apply.

[Brownbear]

Hi Colin,

I'm not sure if this is meant for me or Craig.

If for me I have a Nikon D7100 and I wasn't in live view mode when the camera battery died. Learning live view is on my to learn list but I find it very awkward to use and by the time I figure it out the light is gone.

I was having trouble grabbing focus and even pressing the shutter button earlier in the day while trying to photograph and eagle on a river bank. I suppose it is likely in part because I myself was very cold but hard to believe that I couldn't even depress the shutter button.

In the Canon world ...

The mirror retracts anytime LiveView is used - otherwise it blocks the sensor.

Also, in LV mode, AF or even manual focus confirmation doesn't work with most cameras because the light can't reach the AF module because the mirror is up.

Not sure what kind of camera you have though, so this may or may not apply.

[Mike Buckley]

Learning live view is on my to learn list but I find it very awkward to use and by the time I figure it out the light is gone.

Gain command of using Live View indoors while using a tripod. Once you've done that it will be easy to use while in the field. When outdoor light makes it difficult to view the LCD, using a Hoodman Loupe solves the problem.

[Polar01]

Christina first rule of cold weather shooting, Thou shall have 2 not 1 battery at all times. Second rule, Thou shall keep second battery in an inside pocket close to body to keep warm, third rule if shooting outside all day then Thou shall have 3 batteries of which two shall be kept warm as per rule #2.
Now you know the first three rules of winter shooting.

Cheers: Allan

[drjuice]

Hi, Christina -

I think it's important to remember that batteries aren't the only issues. Somewhere inside your camera are moving parts, in both lens body and camera body, even if nowhere else. All moving parts are likely to have some form of lubricant, not WD-40, not bear grease, not chicken fat, but a very light lubricant to keep things moving smoothly. The consequence is that, if you're operating outside the operational temperatures of your device, chances are outstandingly enormous that the lubricant "froze up", thus causing you to think your camera is dead, even if only temporarily. My Sony alpha700 manual says 11-104 degrees Fahrenheit for my camera.

By the way, I carry an electronic copy of my manuals with me on my computer, my Kindle, and my cell, mainly because I refuse to remember stuff like that. But, it took me less than a minute to open up my .pdf reader and find what the Sony folks said about operating temperature. In my view, you can never have too many copies!

I'm jes' sayin'....

virginia

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Christina,

Or perhaps the behaviour of my camera has something to do with the mirror-up mode?

Yes, I think so - even without LiveView adding LCD drain, using MUP will drain the battery quicker - afterall, that's why they advise only attempting wet sensor cleaning with a fully charged battery (or the mains power adaptor plugged in) - to avoid the 'juice' running out and mirror flipping down while your sensor swab is still inside.

Cheers,

[Ken MT]

From Google Nikon D7100
Operating environment Temperature: 0 to 40°C/32 to 104°F; humidity: 85% or less (no condensation

[Manfred M]

From Google Nikon D7100
Operating environment Temperature: 0 to 40°C/32 to 104°F; humidity: 85% or less (no condensation

If I paid attention to the design specs I wouldn't have taken a lot of the images I have. I suspect the other cold weather shooters on the site would tend to agree with me here...

I spent a couple of hours in -20C temperatures doing these shots, and needed one battery change:









I've certainly taken pictures outside of the min / max temperature limits and certainly outside of the humidity limits. I've shot in temperatures as low as -25C and over 40C. I've taken pictures when it was raining out (humidity > 100%) and in hot tropical conditions and cold northern conditions where the gear was subjected to temperatures / humidity levels where condensation sets in (note - I use weather sealed lenses with rear gaskets when shooting under these conditions).

I tried keeping the camera underneath my coat once; and that was a mistake. Transpiration means a humid environment; so the darn camera fogged up coming from the warm, humid environment to the cold exterior environment.

[Manfred M]

Hi Christina,



Yes, I think so - even without LiveView adding LCD drain, using MUP will drain the battery quicker - afterall, that's why they advise only attempting wet sensor cleaning with a fully charged battery (or the mains power adaptor plugged in) - to avoid the 'juice' running out and mirror flipping down while your sensor swab is still inside.

Cheers,

Unfortunately, there is a bit of a complication; when the battery is draining, it is because it is supplying power. The compounds in the battery have resistance and by merely having some current flowing, one generates heat. In cold conditions, this actually helps, because chemical reactions occur in the battery and these are temperature dependent; the warmer the conditions (to a limit of course), the more efficient the battery is in producing electrical current.

The reason that batteries do not work at low temperatures is that the chemical reactions occur at such a low level, not enough (at an extreme level, none at all) current is generated to power the equipment. This is why the gentle heating of the battery by placing it against the body works; warm batteries produce current.

Where the tradeoff between keeping the camera on to warm up the battery and draining the power would be an interesting study (too many variables to be really useful); but that being said, when I shoot in the winter; I turn my camera off less often than in the summer to get a bit of the resistive heating effect. Up here in the Great White North; this is a technique we use to improve cranking power when starting our cars on a cold day. We turn on the headlights and put a bit of a load on the battery for perhaps 20 seconds before turning on the car ignition; the improvement in "cranking power" is noticeable.

[Mike Buckley]

This information is very good to know. Now that I realize that my camera is not supposed to operate below the freezing temperature of water, I can avoid going out in the cold.

On the other hand, my five-seat automobile is not supposed to carry more than 700 pounds including the luggage. I would wager 90% of the time that any five adults reading this post would weigh more than that. 50% of the time any four adults reading this post would weigh more than that.

The moral of the story is that the lawyers get involved in the writing of the specs to the point that the practical considerations of the consumer are ignored to ensure only that the manufacturer is fully protected. If my camera is not supposed to operate below the freezing temperature of water, I wonder how I spent the day making photos like this one.

I do have to admit that my camera temporarily stopped working when a rogue wave engulfed it. That put the localized humidity well over the specification of 85%.