Question

S

sb1

New member
I am hiking up Mt. Rainier in Washington State (14,411'). I am bringing a small HDV (Sony HC7) camera. A few questions:

1. Will it work if the temperature is down at 5-10-15 degrees F?
2. Should I assume battery life will be 25% or 50% less than at sea level due to the cold?
3. I am doing a few spots for skin cancer and also want to capture some more artistic climbing shots. Should I bring my wireless lavalier mics for the skin cancer spots? Or should I dub over them after the trip in a controlled audio environment?
4. Would I find interference with my wireless microphone up there or should the signal be pretty free and clear would you think?
5. Any other considerations or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
6. Also thinking about bringing a lightweight carbon tripod and strap it to the back of my backpack. I think that would improve production in a noticeable way?

Thanks!
 
It should work. My first thought was that the tape could have issues, but I've read that people have used various MiniDV cameras in freezing weather before (in your range). Battery life will be extremely reduced. If the battery itself is too cold it could hinder the startup, so I recommend keeping the batteries close to you in such a way that it would be less cold on startup of the camera. Same goes for the camera when possible. Try not to have it change temperatures suddenly, as the lens is glass. A few other precision parts would have an issue as well, but as long as the matierla isn't shocked I'd expect it to be fine.

If you have lavs I say bring them. You might get lucky and end up with some good audio, if not you'll at least have something to work off of if you need to dub it later. I'd assume wind would be a big issue. Interference is unlikely. Tripods are aways good, as long as you can handle carrying it around without a problem.
 
I have been told now not to bring mics, because if I bring a lavalier mic, I'll have to bring my audio recorder also and adapters and wires, etc...it could be messy and it's expensive pro stuff. I wish I had a cheap simple solution.

I guess I am wondering if its worth bringing and getting an hour of audio thru the lavalier mic and then only using 20 seconds of it....or is it best to just let the camera pick up what sound it does and then dub over when I get home...I can get wind/background noise easily and then get voice in my sound studio and mix together appropriately.

My friend though who I am doing this with would like to do more sponteanous audio stuff..I just know that in windy conditions it usually sounds like garbage even with my good cardiod mic..the wind is to strong up there I think...at least for clear sound of talking etc...or maybe I just don't know how to use the equipment well enough...not sure which?

The tripod might really make the video itself better and more of it to work with...just got to see if I can carry that piece of equipment.

Someone on another forum recommended bringing a wide angle adapter for the summit and maybe a few cool shots. I may do that, but again, I do want to try to keep it as simple as possible unless something really will make a huge difference.

Hmmmm...need to think more...any other suggestions.

Thx for all those good ones about battery and camera....I am guessing I should get at least 50% of my battery life under these conditions 50F down to 10F? Does that sound reasonable?
 
ehhhh I disagree with Cassius's optimism. I have trouble with an HVX in 30 degree weather. I would definitely bring hand warmers. Put them in plastic bags and tape them around the camera and throw a couple in the camera bag. This will help you allot as long as you keep the camera's temperature in the ball park. Mini DV tapes have a small amount of lubricant that will freeze and either drop frames or gum up your camera. Also clean the heads before this shoot because the lubricant builds up overtime inside the tape decks gears and may freeze inside there.

Best of luck
 
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