HMC focus ring sticks in cold

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booggerg2

Well-known member
I just spent 10 min outside in our drivway. It's about 31-32 deg F outside and the focus ring got noticeably "sticky".. starting and stopping ring took more effort to turn than after the ring was engaged. The zoom ring was not affected and consistent.

Anyone else shot in freezing temps? what did you find?
 
Anyone shot in even colder temps than 32F deg? Does it stick to the point of unturnable?

What the F was Panasonic thinking? I was only outside for less than 5 minutes in broad sunlight with temp hovering barely at freezing point and the focus ring stick to the point of F-ing up my shot because it jumped when I engaged the focus wheel.. There should be a recall and get the focus ring re-lubbed with something that doesn't stick so easily.

What can ya expect? Everyone cutting corners nowadays.. DVX was a much better built camera..
 
it is the silicone glide ring. if you notice how it is a nice fluid motion when you rotate it, the same issue will occur on most fluid tripod heads in these temperatures. the colder the silicone gets, the less it wants to slide. at least this is how it goes with my tripod heads lol
 
I read somewhere in one of these forums someone had gotten creative with disposable hand warmers. They were used to heat a near-frozen LCD display panel. Perhaps you can rig one up to the focus ring to keep it above freezing temps. I can't imagine how you would do this exactly, but it's an idea.
 
Sometimes its nice to be here in Florida and not back up in NH where the strongest winds and coldest temperatures have ever been recorded.


I'm sure that this would be somewhat problematic with most video cameras at extreme temps. Look at what happens to batteries. You get 50 perecent of the run time with those....
 
Justyn said:
Sometimes its nice to be here in Florida and not back up in NH where the strongest winds and coldest temperatures have ever been recorded.
Click to expand...

I love the Mt. Washington area of NH. Hope to get back there some day with the 150.
 
Justyn said:
Sometimes its nice to be here in Florida and not back up in NH where the strongest winds and coldest temperatures have ever been recorded.


I'm sure that this would be somewhat problematic with most video cameras at extreme temps. Look at what happens to batteries. You get 50 perecent of the run time with those....
Click to expand...

In extreme conditions, yes, I would say anything is fair game.. If my HMC's focus ring froze in extreme conditions, I wouldn't be so critical about it. The focus ring gummed up on a Sunny day with 32 deg outdoor temperature. It gummed up within 5 minutes of being in this environment.

Batteries has shortened run time when it's cold. Yes, we all are aware of this fact and unless Panasonic invented brand new battery technology to prevent this, the shortened battery life should be expected and the camera maker can not be faulted for it. By my own and many accounts, the DVX and HVX never exhibited the ease of sticking that the 170/150 is showing.. this is a regression in build/design quality, not the norm for a $3K prosumer camera.
 
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