shooting in sub-zero temps

T

tawsy

Active member
OK guys and girls I have a question, well two actually.

Has anyone on here shot in sub-zero (celsius) temps, say down to -15 to -20? I am going to be shooting some stuff up a rather large mountain (well large as far as Australian standards go :) probably a pimple to a lot of you!) in the middle of our winter and it can get bloody cold up there and even colder when your standing out on the very exposed ridges and copping the gale force winds. So how does our little battler of a camera stand up to these sort of conditions? I have a Porta brace and will be holding all of my batteries under about 4000 layers of thermals but I'm still a bit worried about drive mechs and the lens getting condensation inside.

The second question; is there a 12Vdc charger available for the batteries? I will be up the mountain for 2 weeks and the only source of power for charging is a 12Vdc solar system in one of the huts down the side of the mountain. As you can imagine I don't intend on carrying enough batteries to last me 2 weeks (god knows carrying the camera, tripod and all my food and supplies up is going to be bad enough!) so I will need to recharge somehow.

Any comments will be much appreciated. :)
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

The Lenmar MSC-1 Alpha Speed Charger will charge DVX batteries about twice as fast as the Panasonic charger, and it includes a 12V cigarette-lighter adapter cord.
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

never tried the DVX yet, but we shoot about 25 days every winter here in austria at sub zero (celsius) with BetaSPs and SONY DVCams.
just beware that the battery dies in about 25% of the time when it is cold. and it does not help too much keep the battery warm. if the cam is cold, then the battery cools in a few seconds and then drops its powerlevel.
the tapes and drivemechansim should not have a problem.

where do you go? thredbo area, nsw?
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

i shot for about 1:30 in -15 to -25 degrees at night last winter. then i had to stop cause i was freezing my rear off. but the dvx worked fine. it was very very cold even when i got it home, and the tape was cold when i pulled it out..LOL but i let it sit warm and dry for a while, and never had a hitch. just watch out for condesation if its going to be changing environments alot from cold to warm and such. also there was a documentary where some uy took it up mt everest around when it first came out, and i think they had 2 of them.. and they said they worked great as well.
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

Thanks guys :)
That charger looks the go Barry. I guess you have not had any issues with it? how heavy/bulky is it?

alpi69 - I'm going to Mt. Bogong (highest Mt in Victoria) with some mates who do a lot of backcountry telemark sking, should be interesting.
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

Another question Barry, that charger did you have to get a different adapter plate for the DVX batteries? The sites I've been to don't include the CGA series batteries as being supported. ???
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

Does anyone recall the discussions about 6 months ago on one of the boards where the guy had used the DVX100 on a documentary in arctic conditions? I've searched the archives over at 2pop - seems that's where it was. He had a web page talking about how the DVX performed. Said it worked great.
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

i didnt think any digital cam would work well in subzero temps. i know for sure the LCD would freeze.

good topic
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

Hmm just had a quick check of the manual and the recomended operating temperature is 0 - 40 degrees (32 - 104).
should still be right I hope, normally they're pretty conservative with things like that. :-/
 
Re: shooting in sub-zero temps

i had several cams out at -25 degrees celsius (about 0° F?) in heavy snowfall and storms. never a DVX but i guess it reacts the same.

the only problems are mentioned already:
1. batteries die in an instant. you can get these oxidizing "sockwarmers" that get stuck into your shoes. use them in your pockets with the batteries to keep them warm.
2. water/snow: bring a raincover to keep the cam dry
3. condensation when getting back inside be careful all the cam is stuck for hours due to condensation. leave it first in a windsafe area (way warmer already without windchill) and then bring it to the coolest place inside, then finally inside (understandable english??).

can´t comment on the LCD, but can imagine that it gets "slower" in these temperatures. but then again. i was in australian mountains in winter and they are windy and wet, but not too cold. anyway not compared to here..... ;)
 
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