Lenses, shutters and cold

[Ari]

I shoot quite a bit outdoors these days, and winter is approaching.
Contrary to popular belief, we do get the odd cold spell here in eastern Canada :), so I was wondering about the condition suffered by my lenses after repeated exposure to cold temperatures.
Does anyone else living in a cold climate use any tricks to protect their lenses and shutters from the cold?
Or are they tougher than I think they are?
Thanks

[BetterSense]

I don't think cold will hurt your shutters, but they might not work very well when it's cold if the cold weather gums up the lubricants.

[Scott Walker]

My lenses are a whole lot tougher than I am. The coldest temperature I have used LF in is about -25 and the only problems I had was set up, focus etc because I was too cold. All too frequently I have had to use a DSLR & or a 35mm SLR for work in temperatures as low as -45 and again the only issues had were with the operator not the equipment with the exception of auto focus. My DSLR does not like to auto focus in the cold so manual it is. Things might be different for you though, with much higher humidity than here.

[GPS]

Shoot first and you won't worry after...

[Ron Marshall]

After shooting in the cold, put your equipment into a garbage bag before taking it inside, otherwise the warm moist indoor air will condense on the cold metal and lens.

The coldest I have shot was minus 20 F. I had to wait about an hour after setting up for the light, so the shutter was at the ambient temp; it worked fine, but I used the T setting. I should have tested it on a timed setting to see how it performed, but hypothermia was the only thing on my mind at the time.

[mandoman7]

Ron's suggestion is good, as the only threat I've heard about is condensation on cold surfaces when brought from a very cold to a warm environment. The lubricants used in the shutters are not all that sensitive to temperature. Let the gear acclimate before taking it out of the bag, though.

The biggest challenge in cold weather is working the settings with cold fingers, as the gloves will need to come off usually.

[Ari]

The biggest challenge in cold weather is working the settings with cold fingers, as the gloves will need to come off usually.

Very true; I've tried for years to find a pair of gloves that are both warm and dextrous.

[GPS]

Very true; I've tried for years to find a pair of gloves that are both warm and dextrous.

The answer is - glove liners in a combination with mittens or thicker gloves...

[Roger Thoms]

As others have pointed out it's not really a problem. I have shot large format in single digit temps (positive), with no problem. I did try and leave the camera gear in the car trunk and avoid bringing in and out of the house. When I did need to bring it in I leave every thing in the camera bags and let it come up to room temp. before I messed with it. The plastic garbage bag mentioned above sounds like good idea.



Roger

[John T]

The biggest challenge in cold weather is working the settings with cold fingers, as the gloves will need to come off usually.

I have neoprene fishing gloves. They are similar to shooting (gun) gloves in that you can expose the ends of your fingers (index and middle for my gloves) when you need more dexterity. Used them in the winters of South Dakota, Minnesota and now Colorado. One of the best photo accessories I've bought

[Ari]

I've also used thin neoprene gloves with the little heat packets that you put inside the glove. They worked, for a time. I have an old Toyo, ALL metal. Brrr.
The ultimate solution, to steal an idea from the motorcycle industry, would be to have heated camera knobs and standards!

[Ivan J. Eberle]

The biggest problem I've encountered in cold weather is that any moisture at all that might be in or on the camera will freeze when the camera is to cooled to ambient temperature. Breath condenses as frost on the lens, viewfinder eyepiece, etc. With multiple warmings and coolings, condensation and even melted snow can get inside shutter mechanisms. Beyond that, the aforementioned shutter-running-show-even-hanging-fire can happen due to the viscosity change of the lube inside. Best to run shutters "dry" in extreme cold.

[Ron Marshall]

The worst problem I had was frost on the ground glass. It was so cold, -20F, that my breath froze instantly on condensing and had to be scraped off.

I think if I shoot in such conditions again I will plug my nose and breath through a snorkel. No one will be out in that weather anyway so I won't worry how I look.

[domaz]

If your shutters are running iffy then the cold will stop them all-together. I've had a synchro-compur get really slow in the cold, and a Supermatic stopped all-together. Both of them seemingly ran fan at room temperature.

[Two23]

I shoot a lot at night in the winter, and it's usually below 0(F). Last winter I was out when it ws -38F. I didn't have any problems though. Keep your lenses in a sealed bag when bring them back into the house for several hours at least. The warm air will condense. You won't see the moisture on the shutter blades and they might rust. I breathe through a wide straw so my breathe won't condense on the ground glass or anything else. For gloves I've been using the Under Armor liner gloves, in black color. They will keep your fingers moving for about 10 minutes at a time when it's colder than -30F. Otherwise I wear my polar expedition rated Outdoor Research mittens.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Under-Armour174-ColdGear174-Liner-Gloves/726100.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dunde%2Barmor%2Bgloves&Ntt=unde+armor+gloves


Kent in SD

[drew.saunders]

Has anyone tried "pop-top" mittens? They're fingerless gloves with a mitten top that you use to cover your fingers. Sierra Trading Post has about 5 different ones on sale, here are the cheapest:
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,57388_Jacob-Ash-Pop-Top-Gloves-Insulated-Ragg-Wool-For-Men.html

Just search for "pop top" to see the others.

[Two23]

Has anyone tried "pop-top" mittens? They're fingerless gloves with a mitten top that you use to cover your fingers. .

Those would work when the temp is above zero F, but when it starts getting colder than that you really don't want any flesh exposed at all. You also want a barrier between your skin and any metal knobs. Metal pulls heat out of your fingers really fast when it's 20F below.



Kent in SD

[Lynn Jones]

It just depends on the lens cement in the lenses. I know that Canada Balsam cement will separate after some time with the weather going from cold to hot.

Lynn