experiences in cold weather / strong sun / finland?

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nachteule

New member
Hi everybody!
i will be shooting with the af100 in finland the next 2 weeks.
has anybody used this camera in really cold climate (like -25 degrees celsius)?
any problems?

and, any recommendations according picture profile?
(i am expecting a lot of pure white snow and ice, and hopefully sun, blue sky,.......)

thanks a lot and greetings from austria,

michael rusam
 
Greetings from Finland. The temperature today in Helsinki is about -20 C and in the north it is -40 C. I would not expect a lot of bright sunshine at this time of the year. Plenty of fresh white snow though. Light/contrast (sun, snow, shadows) is probably less of a problem now, more a problem later in the spring.


You may want to protect your gear with some kind of polar warmer or at least a skiing jacket with a few warmer packs in the inside pockets (shops here are out of stock of warmer packs just now!). Batteries will probably run out a bit faster than normal, so consider bringing extra ones. I don't know how well zoom lenses will function in the cold, probably depends on the type and brand. When you bring the cam back inside, you may have some condensation issues. May be a good idea to put the camera in a sealed bag when still outside and let it slowly get warmer inside.
 
Hey, I'm heading to Finland from Uganda tonight (via Istanbul - long flight....)!

I heard it was going to be about -30 in Kajaani where I am heading first, and getting on to -40 in Kuusamo. Probably not a big deal except I am right now in the airport wearing shorts, t-shirt, and only a hoodie in my bag!

D'OH!
 
Thanks a lot for your ideas and tips, looking forward to shooting there.
have v-mount batteries, so those should last even in cold weather.
will use Canon FD glass, no modern zoom lenses (dont own modern zoom lenses for the af100 anyways....)

the condensation thing is something to be considered.

will be there for the next 2 weeks, hope for good weather.
 
nachteule said:
Thanks a lot for your ideas and tips, looking forward to shooting there.have v-mount batteries, so those should last even in cold weather.will use Canon FD glass, no modern zoom lenses (dont own modern zoom lenses for the af100 anyways....)the condensation thing is something to be considered.will be there for the next 2 weeks, hope for good weather.[/QUOTE


Consider a dry bag large enough for the camera to fit inside and close properly. Put the camera in the dry bag when you are outside and the camera is cold BEFORE you transition to a warm interior. Make sure the bag is closed properly , then take the camera inside and allow the camera to warm up before opening the bag. If you have batteries to spare, leave the camera powered up while it's in the bag and it will transition to a warmer temperature faster that way.
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Here is a recent thread about winter problems:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xd...e-going-cold-warm-foggy-lens.html#post1713292

The biggest issue when shooting in very bright snow conditions is not to under expose.

I usually white balance on clean snow, watch out for the yellow stuff. And I set exposure manually, I never auto iris ever, especially in bright snow scenes. I usually use someones face or even my own hand to get the right exposure, my hand should be around 65-75, your hands may vary. But they are a good reference.
 
Porta-Brace doesn't make a polar-bear jacket for the AF100 (yet) maybe if enough cold-weather shooters expressed an interest they would.

I was recently (last week) shooting outdoors with the AF100 in -40 f, I used the internal viewfinder and had my Tokina 11-16 mounted. No problems, just the normal 'icing viewfinder' issues and a polar-bear type cover doesn't really help that very much, I've been working on my hold-your-breath while shooting technique for years but I don't seem to be getting any better at it, so viewfinders and lenses will ice if you breath on them.

caveat: I was in the cold with the camera for less than an hour, if you intend on spending multiple hours shooting in -20c and colder I suggest doing some testing. Keeping the camera "dry" at -20c and colder is not an issue, there isn't going to be any liquid water vapor at those temperatures, you will experience moisture problems if you transition to room temperature and back out. All of this was a much bigger problem with tape-transport mechanisms.
 
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Letzring said:
Porta-Brace doesn't make a polar-bear jacket for the AF100 (yet) maybe if enough cold-weather shooters expressed an interest they would.

I was recently (last week) shooting outdoors with the AF100 in -40 f, I used the internal viewfinder and had my Tokina 11-16 mounted. No problems, just the normal 'icing viewfinder' issues and a polar-bear type cover doesn't really help that very much, I've been working on my hold-your-breath while shooting technique for years but I don't seem to be getting any better at it, so viewfinders and lenses will ice if you breath on them.

caveat: I was in the cold with the camera for less than an hour, if you intend on spending multiple hours shooting in -20c and colder I suggest doing some testing. Keeping the camera "dry" at -20c and colder is not an issue, there isn't going to be any liquid water vapor at those temperatures, you will experience moisture problems if you transition to room temperature and back out. All of this was a much bigger problem with tape-transport mechanisms.
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I use a Polar Bear jackets made for Betacams back in the 90's on my AF100, EX3, EX1, DSR500 and even have used it on a 5DmkII. It is a loose fit but works very well. And it keeps your hands warm too.

Try one at your dealer to find one that works for you.
 
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