Heya,
I realize winter is a few months away but I thought I'd ask for advice while the questions are on my mind
1) Can you shoot with "frozen" film and if so, does the ISO or color balance change at all?
2) How do you deal with condensation on film and lenses?
3) How big of a problem is static?
Feel free to offer any other info.
Thanks
T
1) Films are better at a lower temperature. How low? I don't know.
2) Assume my gears are in my pack for couple hours, they usually won't be that warm to get condensation.
3) Static...I've never thought about that. The only problem I can associate with static is dust and the shock to electronics. LF gears aren't really threatened by those two when it's out there in the field. Just don't blow the dust on your lens by mouth, or it will take FOREVER for the condensation to disappear.
Also, focusing on groundglass can be annoying when you are breathing out on the glass.
Use a cheap skin-diving snorkel, and stick the tube outside the dark-cloth.Originally Posted by 400d
We don't look goofy enough when we're shooting? Now we gotta wear swimming gear when it's thirty below?
Speak for yourself, Michael. I look dignified and professional when I'm shooting LF, with my dark cloth (a black t-shirt) around my neck and hanging loose after I straighten up from the ground glass.
I only look goofy when I'm shooting my Altoids Gum pinhole cameras on my tiny pocket tripod. Well, or any other tripod I own, come to that...
If a contact print at arm's length is too small to see, you need a bigger camera. :D
1) Your film doesn't know that water has frozen
2) Going from cold to warm presents a problem. I place my gear in Ziploc bags, Lock-n-Lock containers, or Pelican cases before coming back inside. Let your gear reach ambient temperature inside the dry environment, then open it up without the risk of condensation forming on lenses and electronics. If you plan to store gear in a watertight environment you should have silica gel or some form of desiccant inside to sop-up the evil moisture.
3) I haven't had to deal with static.
X) I use Patagonia lightweight Capilene glove livers inside of mittens - the liners don't compromise dexterity, and the thick felted woolen mittens provide warmth when waiting for the light of moving to a new location. Fingerless mitts/gloves are also useful in milder temps - mine don't fit well inside mittens; this combo compromises blood flow and turns out to be colder than the lighter Capilene liners plus mitten combo. YMMV.
Y) 400d's ground glass point is always a problem - I've tried to train myself to breath away from the glass or viewfinder but I haven't had much success. Maybe the next-generation Black-Jacket will have a snorkel hole (patent pending
Last edited by Eric James; 2-Sep-2006 at 15:53.
Snorkel.
That's Brilliant! Better than rinsing one's mouth with anti-freeze. HA!
Static, that's a problem in cold temperature with low humidity in roll film cameras as the film moves through the camera. In LF the film never moves, and I've never heard of static discharge problems with the dark slide.
Always let your gear slowly come to temperature. No sudden moves from warm, humid environments to cold, or back again. It's always a problem with cave photography on a hot summer day.
The snorkel idea might not be so dumb. Not thinking about my diving snorkel, but a foot-long section of soft food grade vinyl hose that can just hang down from your mouth, and a set of swimmer's nose clips for your nose...
i don't think you'll look goofy ... you'll look like a Ghostbuster.
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