Shooting in cold climes

[sfb_dot_com]

I'm going to Lapland next week for a skiing/adventure holiday, and I'm going to take as much photo gear with me as I can, including my Bessa L, 12mm Heliar and 55mm Industar lenses. I'm aware that cold weather will have an adverse effect on battery life, and will be taking a spare with me. Of course this is a mechanical camera so should carry on even if the battery fails, and I should have a separate meter by then anyway.

I'm in particular hoping to see and capture the Northern Lights which means outside at night on a tripod. I understand that it could be really cold; as low as -30C, so I'm wondering if anyone here has experience of shooting in such conditions, and has any tips for me?

Thanks to all in advance 🙂

Andy

 

[Nikon Bob]

To make it enjoyable to be outside in that cold be sure that you dress warmly enough to be comfortable. Nothing ruins your day quicker than freezing while you wait for that prized shot. It is easy to underestimate what that cold can do. When you advance or rewind the film, do so slowly and gently as the film can get brittle and might suffer from static electricity makes if done too quickly. Never bring a camera directly into the warmth as condensation will form on and in the camera. I would place it in your bag and the camera bag in a plastic before taking it inside to warm slowly to room temp before you remove it from the bag. Have fun.

Nikon Bob

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Keep the camera(s) inside your jacket while you are hiking or scoping.

Do the long night time shots, the thirty minutes type, where you can retire to the car or a bar.

 

[Frank Granovski]

If you keep your camera warm and then whip it out into the cold, watch out for lens fogging. I always used a mechanical camera for cold shots, and in Winnipeg it can get very cold. 😎

 

[peterc]

as low as -30C,

I had my Bessa R out Friday (-18C windchill around -30C) and today (-15C, no idea what the windchill was). On Friday it was outside my jacket (I didn't really want to open my jacket to fish it out in weather that cold) for a one-hour walk. No problems.
Today there was blowing snowing so I left it outside my jacket again so that the camera would stay cold and the snow would bounce off rather than hitting and melting.

Peter

 

[Aurelius]

Btw Finland or Sweden?

Some weather maps here (click the one to the right):
http://www.yle.fi/saa/

It has been a very cold winter in Finland this year and my Bessa R has performed very well. No problems at all. But I don´t think you will face -30 C.

Welcome!

 

[Pherdinand]

battery will drain VERY fast in such cold. One spare might not be enough unless you keep the gear warm.
Wear gloves!
Try to avoid breathing on the viewfinder; but even the water evaporating from your eyes can fog it.

Dunno about the shutter of the Bessa L; my Contax iia worked in minus 20, so did the leaf shuttered minolta hi-matic 9 in minus-something.

 

[robert blu]

I have no "cold" personal experience so I cannot add more comments, but please when you come back post some photos !

 

[sfb_dot_com]

Btw Finland or Sweden?

Some weather maps here (click the one to the right):
http://www.yle.fi/saa/

It has been a very cold winter in Finland this year and my Bessa R has performed very well. No problems at all. But I don´t think you will face -30 C.

Welcome!

I think Finland: We are at Luosto which is somewhere between Rovaniemi and Kittila I think (apologies for spelling) Thanks for the weather map it was very instructive!

Thanks also to all the guys for the stuff on dealing with cold weather, particularly the stuff on fogging and film brittleness. We have been well advised by the travel company, so we should be pretty well wrapped up from the cold. And as a long time motorcyclist I'm quite well used to taking this kind of precaution.

One other thing though is that I wear glasses, and these are an inconvenience at best but I'm worried they are going to be a real hindrance in the cold?

Andy

 

[RML]

My Bessas worked perfectly well in Mongolia in winter (nice day temp of -30 degrees, night temp nearing -38). I simply keep them in bag. That way they aren't frozen but not warm. I also just take them inside and again out again. Never had any problems with condensation, except perhaps on the lens once in a while. If you need batteries in your camera, bring 2-4 spares and keep them in your coat pocket on your body. Use the cameras as you would do at home. They can handle the cold proably better than you. 🙂

 

[varjag]

As suggested, wear warm gloves. I'm not familiar with Bessa R specifically, but cameras with metal parts contacting the arm drain heat very quickly.

Bayonet mount is more handy in the cold than LTM, but people manage to change lenses anyway. I carry camera in the hand regarless of weather; condensation is an issue, but a lens cap helps. There shouldn't be condensation on film unless you open the back. I don't care much about condensation on the body, as my Kiev can withstand some abuse and isn't that expensive to begin.

One trick I use when coming in/out of the cold often is to carry two lenses (50mm for me usually), changing them before entering indoors. This allows to be ready for shoot most of the time, not waiting for the lens to 'warm up'.

With temperatures as low as -20 or -30 focus drift (due to contraction of metal parts) can become an issue. I have no idea how vulnerable Bessa is to that, but stop down a bit if possible.

 

[Aurelius]

I'm going to Lapland next week for a skiing/adventure holiday, and I'm going to take as much photo gear with me as I can, including my Bessa L, 12mm Heliar and 55mm Industar lenses. I'm aware that cold weather will have an adverse effect on battery life, and will be taking a spare with me. Of course this is a mechanical camera so should carry on even if the battery fails, and I should have a separate meter by then anyway.

I'm in particular hoping to see and capture the Northern Lights which means outside at night on a tripod. I understand that it could be really cold; as low as -30C, so I'm wondering if anyone here has experience of shooting in such conditions, and has any tips for me?

Thanks to all in advance 🙂

Andy

Any photos from Lapland??? 😀