Cam left in car in -20 C weather... uhoh?

Ian Slessor

Ian Slessor

Well-known member
Hey all,

One of my DVX cams was left in a car overnight. Very cold, around -20 degrees.

It's now in a relatively non-humid basement and the battery's removed, however there is some moisture condensing on the cam.

The cam itself was quite cold thus the condensation.

How long should I leave the camera to acclimate to room temperature again and is there a possiblity of damage?

Hope not.

Thanks for any assistance you can render.

sincerely,


ian
 
HVX has been used to shoot thousands of hours at the Iditerod in Alaska in the middle of winter. My guess is that your DVX will be just fine. Your biggest problem may be condensation. Leave the tape door open and let is come to room temperature for a good while before using it.


Jason
 
Next time, put it into a large ziplock bag before bringing it into a warm environment. That way condensation will form on the plastic bag and not on the camera.
 
I'd keep some Silica Gel Desiccant nearby while waiting for it to all evaporate...it'll help suck the moisture away from the camera.
 
Hunter beat me to it.

By sealing it (airtight!) in a plastic bag (outside, before bringing it in- ) you are trapping cold, low humidity air in with the camera. Bring it inside, warm it up completely before opening, and voila - no condensation. A couple of those desiccant packs in with the camera before sealing are a nice touch if available. Hint - save them when you buy new electronics - they're reusable, just dry out in warm oven and keep sealed in a ziplock 'till use.

Cameras actually used in the arctic are often serviced with special low temperature lubricants - which allows them to function but does nothing for the condensation problem.

Seeing condensation, you did the next best thing - remove the battery and don't touch 'till completely dry (INSIDE - not just out.) This can take less than an hour in the arctic - 2 days or more in the tropics. Totally depends on the relative humidity.

Best wishes
 
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