Fujifilm GF670W in Cold Temps

Ted Striker

Ted Striker

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I found while out shooting in the cold that my Fujifilm GF670W is not very reliable at all. All the shutter speed numbers light up, which is very similar to what happens when the battery runs out of power. First time it happened I switched to a new batter and continued shooting. An hour or so later the same thing happened and returned the "dead" battery (which was in my pocket) to the camera and was again able to continue shooting.

It seems that this camera and/or the CR2 batteries do not like cold.

Anyone else have this experience? I don't recall this happening much with my GF670 camera, but I don't shoot a whole lot in the cold with that one.

It makes me worry about my GF670W because it's my favorite camera, VERY expensive, and not easily replaced.

Thanks.
 
I have both the GF670 and the GF670w. I have no issues (yet) with my wide. However, the battery drain issue is pretty well known, and I had it with my GF670. It got worse over time, to the point that a battery wouldn't last a whole roll.

Originally, the battery was fine in summer, but in winter it would quickly die, sometimes a battery change would last a while in winter, other times it would not. I recently sent the camera to Fuji in Japan for a repair and it works fine. The repair and shipping cost me about 300 bucks.
 
Had a Bessa III 667w that stopped working in the cold. Temp was high 20's low 30's F with a wind chill. Didn't realize it until I developed the film. The shutter was too quiet to hear and the film advanced without the battery working.
 
I used to have a Bessa III years ago when it came out and I did once have a roll with some blank frames where the shutter didn't fire. Now that I think back, it was in winter outside while it was snowing.

That being said, all batteries don't like cold so it's likely just a matter of the battery not being well insulated inside the camera, i.e. the camera itself getting cold quite quickly. I odn't know if there's any fix for this other than maybe keeping the camera inside the jacket close to the body whenever not taking a picture.
 
Indeed; the other posters are correct, the problem lies in the battery and not the camera. The cold camera obviously is a contributor but it will suffer no ill effects from the cold. I regularly use my Fujifilm Instax equipment in very cold temperatures (below zero C) with no issues.

Cheers, Robert
 
minnichphoto said:
Had a Bessa III 667w that stopped working in the cold. Temp was high 20's low 30's F with a wind chill. Didn't realize it until I developed the film. The shutter was too quiet to hear and the film advanced without the battery working.
Click to expand...

That is really weird. My film will not advance without the shutter tripping.
 
Filter Factor said:
Indeed; the other posters are correct, the problem lies in the battery and not the camera. The cold camera obviously is a contributor but it will suffer no ill effects from the cold. I regularly use my Fujifilm Instax equipment in very cold temperatures (below zero C) with no issues.

Cheers, Robert
Click to expand...

I have many other film cameras, all battery powered but none of them suffer anywhere near the performance degradation that my GF670W does. It is really profound.
 
Jamie123 said:
I used to have a Bessa III years ago when it came out and I did once have a roll with some blank frames where the shutter didn't fire. Now that I think back, it was in winter outside while it was snowing.

That being said, all batteries don't like cold so it's likely just a matter of the battery not being well insulated inside the camera, i.e. the camera itself getting cold quite quickly. I odn't know if there's any fix for this other than maybe keeping the camera inside the jacket close to the body whenever not taking a picture.
Click to expand...

How did you advance the film if the shutter would not fire? Mine wont move at all.

When the battery is weak due to cold, ALL the shutter speeds light up like a Christmas tree. It's impossible not to notice something is severely wrong. It looks like the electronics are all fried. Thankfully, that's not the case.
 
Ted—Check in with PeterS and Benji77. Peter especially, because he routinely shoots in icy snowy high elevations, and used a 667 for years. Benji has used his 670 in the mountains in Asia; maybe he’ll have some pertinent thoughts too.

Useful for me to hear all this, since I consider the 670 my go-to MF, and have experienced battery pokiness, so will pay attention (and hang onto my 2.8D).
 
I don't have the camera anymore to test, so I had to dig out the film from 2013. If I remember correctly, I started the roll at a lower elevation around 40/50˚f. Then moved to a higher elevation which was about 20/30˚f and a significant wind chill. I remember shooting and advancing the film. I have about 7 frames missing where I was at the colder temps. Next roll was at a warmer temp and was fine. Maybe, the B3w had just enough to warrant an advance, but not enough to expose?
 
I was out last winter in near 0F temps for half a day in Boston. Camera was fine the whole time. My camera is in the Fuji case, but only the bottom half.
 
~14F in Pittsburgh today. My GF670 battery stopped working after about 20 minutes out in the cold (though held in my gloved hand). I probably shot a couple of frames before noticing that display wasn't lighting up. After warming up indoors the camera is back in action.

I do wish the GF670 could at least fire the shutter at 1/60 or some fixed speed w/o battery, like the Makina 67.
 
aly324 said:
~14F in Pittsburgh today. My GF670 battery stopped working after about 20 minutes out in the cold (though held in my gloved hand). I probably shot a couple of frames before noticing that display wasn't lighting up. After warming up indoors the camera is back in action.

I do wish the GF670 could at least fire the shutter at 1/60 or some fixed speed w/o battery, like the Makina 67.
Click to expand...

The batteries that power these cameras sure are temperature sensitive!
 
I don't think this is a battery issue. My GF670w has never had an issue, my gf670 did have issues. I think it is a circuit or wiring issue. One that Fuji is aware of, as when I sent mine in, they knew exactly what the issue was and fixed it.
 
Hogarth Ferguson said:
I don't think this is a battery issue. My GF670w has never had an issue, my gf670 did have issues. I think it is a circuit or wiring issue. One that Fuji is aware of, as when I sent mine in, they knew exactly what the issue was and fixed it.
Click to expand...

Nope, it's a battery issue. My work around is to have a battery in my pants pocket, where it's warm. When my GF670W stops working I switch batteries, out with the cold one, in with the warm. The camera resumes working just fine, until the battery cools down again. I get 15-20 minutes of shooting this way.

Clearly a battery issue.
 
From my experience CR2 batteries hate the cold.

Can’t imagine it would be to difficult to craft up a dummy battery, cable, and case to get those CR2 into your jacket.

I made one for a Contax G1 which also uses CR2. I also made a battery grip for the G1 to take AAA batteries as CR2 are both expensive and hard to find locally.
 
I also think that the battery type is the issue, and the metal body. Same with the Contax T3 - drains fast when cold. I have used both the Bessa III and T3 in cold temperatures (the T3 to 7000m), keeping then tucked under my jacket.
The GF670W is relatively slim, and can be carried under a jacket. In addition, keep a spare battery in your pocket (I have a little pocket in my thermal underwear for that :D).
 
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