Cold winter shooting and frosting the ground glass

[James Phillips]

This week I managed to get out in the cold weather and snow and shoot a few time s. Considering that it was hovering around 2? Fahrenheit and with the occasional wind blowing I managed to do not too bad. Early during both sessions I managed to control my breathing under the dark cloth and had no problems with condensat ion/frost on either the lens or ground glass. But as chance would have it I beca me more engrossed with each shot and soon forgot to control my breathing cycles. As you would expect I eventually ended up breathing on the ground glass. Of cou rse the inevitable happened, an instant layer of frost occurred randomly over di fferent parts of the glass and this eventually brought my session to an end.

I have read different ideas such as using a snorkeling tube to prevent this but do not wish to add additional equipment to my shooting sessions. I already have enough in my hands and pockets trying to keep them at the proper temperature wit hout sucking on a tube whilst not knocking something over or stepping on my prec ious gear.

How do you clean the ground glass once you have created a layer of frost on it? I have tried using my warm hand and then a gentle wiping but the heat just cause s the glass to re-frost the minute I remove my hand. I also am now concerned wit h this problem should I accidentally breath on a lens and cause frost to occur. Would your idea also work for cleaning the lens?

As I conclude here I thought that it might also be appropriate in this thread to ask about carbon fiber tripods and the cold. I really do not need nor can affor d a nice Gitzo but recently my Manfrotto metal tripod is terribly cold to handle once it has been outdoors. Does a carbon fiber tripod seem much warmer to the h ands during these cold conditions?

Kind Regards,

[scott jones]

Well this is not an answer, but a request to add in another question to our group on this topic. What about keeping hands warm in these conditions? What do people use; any special gloves?

[Kevin J. Kolosky]

I can only speak about the coldness of the tripod. I used to use a metal tripod but it gets damn cold here in Minnesota. I went to a used Zone VI wood tripod and found the wood much easier to take as far as handling it without gloves on. The wood just doesn't seem as cold to hands. Alot cheaper than carbon fiber as well.

Kevin

[Paul Schilliger]

Hi Greywolf. Difficult to keep the GG free from frost. A folding hood used in c onjunction with a long focussing loupe instead of the dark cloth can help. Best however is the binocular viewer. For the tripod problem in the cold, I have used successfully the kind of self-adhesive cork and rubber mixture tape that is sold in D.I.Y. stores to protect the bike's handle-bar, with some black gaffer tape to secure b oth ends. It is not too thick but still very insulating. A pair of gloves that my wife got me from the lady's wear, with a removable cover for the fingers are a real blessing! Happy new year!

[Mike Mahoney]

I'd be careful with any kind of silicone around glass, as it's pretty much impossible to remove afterwards - learned that the hard way with a car windshield.

You can get a kind of plumbers foam pipe wrap for the tripod legs, and there are a number of solutions to keeping hands warm - the small packets that you unwrap and shake work very well, last for hours, and are inexpensive. Visit your local ski or outdoor gear shop for more elegant solutions, including battery powered heated gloves, and heated gel gloves.

[M.]

I don't understand. Why is this a problem?

[David Flockhart]

You can 'insulate' the metal tripod by putting neoprene type pipe insulation over the tubes. You can disassemble the tripod and slip the stuff over the main tubes. The cold doesn't transfer as noticeably and it provides cushioning if you carry the tripod on your shoulder.

[David Willis]

I was in a fly fishing shop the other day finding a gift for my father-in-law and saw a pair of polartec fleece gloves with a slit near the end of the finger and the thumb. The slit allows you to poke the end of your first finger and thumb outside the gloves while keeping the rest of your hands warm.

DW

[David Richhart]

The foam pipe insulation is a great solution for the tripod. Cheap and light, it also pads the tripod for carrying and protects it from scratches. The disposable paper masks can be help avoid breath on the gg.

Check out the hunting departments for personal cold weather equipment. There are chemical heat packs that can help the hands, and battery powered ones as well.

...and, a good bottle of cheap wine can make the ears "glow" {;^D

Best wishes to all for a peaceful and productive new year... -Dave

[Bob Krantz]

So far, I have been able to handle temps down to about -20F without too much trouble. I have never had problems icing up the GG (maybe I don't breath hard enough?), so I can't help with that. The carbon fiber Gitzo legs are definitely more finger freindly, but the metal parts still hurt. I have tried a number of gloves: for moderately cold weather, I like fleece gloves that have rubber traction surfaces on all fingers and palm. For colder temps, I have big overmitts or gloves that I can manage tripod set-up with, before stripping down to the fleece gloves. I have noticed that my ball-head loses grip when it gets really cold.