Low Temperature Operation

G

Gugulino

Active member
I plan to go to Kiruna in Sweden in March. The temperature will not climb over 0 °C, I think. In the User manual of the AF100 it is written that the ambient operating temperature for the AF100 is between 0 °C and 40 °C. Now, the question is, if I can use my AF100 in Kiruna and what should I do to prevent malfunction in low temperature?
By the way, in Kiruna is now -18 °C. In March the weather will be a little bit "warmer".

Thanks
LV
 
Gugulino said:
I plan to go to Kiruna in Sweden in March. The temperature will not climb over 0 °C, I think. In the User manual of the AF100 it is written that the ambient operating temperature for the AF100 is between 0 °C and 40 °C. Now, the question is, if I can use my AF100 in Kiruna and what should I do to prevent malfunction in low temperature?
By the way, in Kiruna is now -18 °C. In March the weather will be a little bit "warmer".

Thanks
LV
Click to expand...

I've used the AF100 and GH2 for 6-8 hour days in -15 to -20f without any camera issues and I've used them briefly in even colder temps, battery life was surprisingly good. Lenses and viewfinders are the issue, unless you have "winterized" lenses, focus and iris are going to get very stiff. My Leica Rs and Canon FDs were still useable but after an hour or two the Lumix lenses would not iris or focus. Any amount of breath in those temperatures will attach to glass and plastic interfaces including front lens elements and viewfinders, the solution is to hold your breath when shooting and step away from the camera to resuscitate. I've also used the portabrace polar bear cover with heat packs for all day shoots in -35f and thereabouts with several cameras, but the glass and viewfinder issues are persistant.
 
This topic has come up at least a couple times before, & the consensus seem to be keep your spare batteries warm & you'll be fine.
 
Gugulino said:
Thanks for your tips!

LyleGorch: Do you speak of temperature measured in Fahrenheit or Celsius?
Click to expand...

Fahrenheit. Honestly, I think wet-tropical is a lot more difficult to work in than cold-arctic. PM me for details if you want.
 
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