A Cold Weather Rangefinder? (film)

[_goodtimez]

Nikonos III and a pocket warmed lightmeter would do it I'm sure.

 

[back alley]

extra batteries in your inside pocket
coat pockets don't work well, no insulation on the outside of the pocket

never had a camera freeze up...even in -40 temps

my rd1 works in -20 to -30c, no problems, change out the batteries occasionally.

 

[Corto]

Nikonos III and a pocket warmed lightmeter would do it I'm sure.

Yeah, I didnt even think of that.

Must be one of the best options so far.

I've been eyeballing one in my local camera shop, If i can get the price down I'll get it as the ultimate "Bad Weather" camera.

 

[dogbunny]

Hmm, once again this site gives me many many many options to consider. Thanks for the comments. If it was as easy as just keeping extra batteries around I would do that, but I live in a kind of remote place where buying film and specialized camera batteries is near impossible. I use the Internet a lot for shopping, but it's hit or miss if the stuff will actually arrive. A lot of things "disappear" passing through customs. Luckily, I stocked up on film my last trip back to the States. I didn't think to buy batteries because I had recently replaced all the batteries in my cameras. I might try the battery route and hope they arrive through the mail. I would much rather spend my money on new lenses.

Cheers,

DB

 

[andybeals]

You're in Siberia and you're not going to shoot with a Kiev this winter? LTM, full-on mechanical. Probably nothing the customs guys would steal -- and if you order it from within Russia, no customs guys at all.

 

[Colin Corneau]

Not sure about the brink of Siberia, but here in Canada you can buy small packets that heat up (usually by pressing down on them, activating a dry chemical pack). I've heard some people keep them close to the battery pack of their cameras when out in cold for extended periods of time, in order to not have them lose power.

Keeping them inside a coat and sheltered is about the only other way, barring getting a totally mechanical camera. Anything reliant on batteries fall prey to the same problem car batteries have -- their composition makes them vulnerable to cold.

 

[Crazy Fedya]

Kiev is Contax mount, not LTM.😛

You're in Siberia and you're not going to shoot with a Kiev this winter? LTM, full-on mechanical. Probably nothing the customs guys would steal -- and if you order it from within Russia, no customs guys at all.

 

[rxmd]

You're in Siberia and you're not going to shoot with a Kiev this winter? LTM, full-on mechanical. Probably nothing the customs guys would steal -- and if you order it from within Russia, no customs guys at all.

The man is in Kazakhstan, not in Russia. They're different countries. He's in the north, which is technically a part of Siberia-the-geographic-region.

I live in a kind of remote place where buying film and specialized camera batteries is near impossible. I use the Internet a lot for shopping, but it's hit or miss if the stuff will actually arrive. A lot of things "disappear" passing through customs. Luckily, I stocked up on film my last trip back to the States. I didn't think to buy batteries because I had recently replaced all the batteries in my cameras. I might try the battery route and hope they arrive through the mail.

Is your Hexar an RF or AF? I see your point about batteries being difficult to get in Kokshetau, but it sounds strange to me that you can't get 2CR5s or CR2s from somewhere else within Kazakhstan; there are lots of internet shops in Almaty selling electronics that will deliver by mail, and/or you might have a friend or a friend of a friend who goes to Almaty or Astana and might bring you some.

If anything fails, try to get a mechanical camera from someone, and even if it's a Zenit SLR with an M42 lens it's a camera and better than nothing (not to speak of the feeling of fitting into the place 😀). That kind of thing you can find literally everywhere. Do you speak Russian? If not, find someone who does and ask them for help, it should be no problem.

Now if all else fails, given that I'm 1500 miles away but currently your southern RFF neighbour as it seems, I can try and give you some neighbourhood aid. I currently have the mother of a friend of a friend here who will go back to Kazakhstan (Temirtau, actually) next Friday, and I could give them either a Zorki-3M or a Kiev-19 to put in the mail for you if you give me your address. Both are mechanical cameras, the Kiev is a Nikon-mount SLR with a 50/f2 Helios-81, the Zorki comes with a Jupiter-8. The Kiev has a gridline focusing screen for architecture and has a built-in lightmeter that I haven't tried. I'm emotionally attached to both cameras so I'd like them back after the winter ends, but in the meantime it's better than a Hexar that doesn't work.

 

[rxmd]

Alternatively, you could just go to Astana for a weekend trip, take a good look at the crazy architecture, and go shopping at places like Planeta Elektroniki. Or place a WTB ad for whatever batteries you need on Astana City (http://astanacity.olx.kz) (or have a Russian-speaking friend do that for you) and then meet with the seller in Astana.

Or take the weekend trip to Almaty instead (I think there are daily flights, are there?), take a look at the city, have some good coffee, visit a museum or two, and check out the electronic shops there or do the WTB ad thing on Tsentr Tyazhesti (http://ct.kz).

There are lots of options, really 😀

 

[dogbunny]

The man is in Kazakhstan, not in Russia. They're different countries. He's in the north, which is technically a part of Siberia-the-geographic-region.



Is your Hexar an RF or AF?

If anything fails, try to get a mechanical camera from someone, and even if it's a Zenit SLR with an M42 lens it's a camera and better than nothing (not to speak of the feeling of fitting into the place 😀). That kind of thing you can find literally everywhere. Do you speak Russian? If not, find someone who does and ask them for help, it should be no problem.

Now if all else fails, given that I'm 1500 miles away but currently your southern RFF neighbour as it seems, I can try and give you some neighbourhood aid. I currently have the mother of a friend of a friend here who will go back to Kazakhstan (Temirtau, actually) next Friday, and I could give them either a Zorki-3M or a Kiev-19 to put in the mail for you if you give me your address. Both are mechanical cameras, the Kiev is a Nikon-mount SLR with a 50/f2 Helios-81, the Zorki comes with a Jupiter-8. The Kiev has a gridline focusing screen for architecture and has a built-in lightmeter that I haven't tried. I'm emotionally attached to both cameras so I'd like them back after the winter ends, but in the meantime it's better than a Hexar that doesn't work.

I have both the AF and the RF. It was the AF that gave me some trouble. I will try the RF next.

Thanks for the offer of the camera loan, but I will work something out. I was actually thinking about picking up a Kiev or a Zorki. I get down to Astana occasionally, but I have some trouble finding what I am looking for simply because I don't speak Russian.

I'm planning a trip to Almaty in December. From what I hear, it is much easier to get around down that way. I even found a supplier of Ilford stuff.
Scat Airlines has flights directly from Kokshetau, but all the locals seem to be afraid of using that airline. I'm not sure if it is with good reason or not.

I'll poke around on those websites you shared. I have a coworker that would be happy to post for me in Russian if I need it.

Cheers,

DB

 

[flip]

Flip, that comment about the Canon P caught my eye. Bad lubrication? Might a Canon III or a Canon IIs2 fare better in the cold? And one more thing: How cold was it?

It was in Sapporo. During rewind, it just got stuck. It was snowing and definitely minus ... degrees.