Winter shooting with an M3

Uncle Bill

Uncle Bill

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My M3 was CLA'd last winter and was not used until march when dad gave it to me. I would like to do some outdoor shooting, should I be concerned at all or should I leave my baby at home until march and play with my OM-1 and Nikon F's. The tempretures around here are at -5C with a windchill of -12c.

Bill
 
I've been using the IIIc as recently as yesterday (no CLA done on it yet) and the images look fine - I think you'll have no issue at all Bill. :)

Dave
 
Windchill does not matter for cameras. Real temperature does.

Minus 5 should be no problem at all.
 
I've taken my M3, M2, and CL out in much colder weather than that. No problem. I had a J-3 that froze up! My Leica lenses were all fine; I relubed the Jupiter's aperture ring.
 
I used an M6TTL all through last winter here, and it was a bad one! No problems at all - use that M3! :)

 
Use it without fear of any kind. Sure, it's your baby, but it's also a reliable tool. Besides, as Peter says, you're more likely to have battery trouble with the M6 and the M6TTL than with any mechanical camera.
 
just don't forget your gloves!

i found some gardening gloves that have those rounded plastic knobbies on them. great for gripping cold metal.
you can find them at photo stores for about 25 bucks cdn but mine were a buck a pair at safeway.
joe
 
back alley said:
just don't forget your gloves!

i found some gardening gloves that have those rounded plastic knobbies on them. great for gripping cold metal.
you can find them at photo stores for about 25 bucks cdn but mine were a buck a pair at safeway.
joe
Click to expand...

I can do one better :)

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...older_id=2534374302698971&bmUID=1134017065058

Mountain Equipment Co-Op has got these puppies for $25
non-lined and wind proof but they are the ultimate photo glove :)

Cheers
Dave
 
dcsang said:
ya ya.. maybe not.. but they're good gloves :)

Now... if you have a spare Canon 50 1.4 at your price..... ;)

Dave
Click to expand...


wouldn't that be loverly...:)

i have a pair of 'shell' gloves that work with a thinsulate liner and also with my garden gloves, got them at mark's work wearhouse.
more than a buck though...;)

joe
 
The only two problems I know of for cold weather is static discharges during rewind - wind slowly if it is really dry. And when the temperature gets really cold (think arctic), film becomes brittle so take care winding on and rewinding - not a problem at -5 though.
 
Had my M4 out over the weekend (only -5 C) and it did very well in the wind and driven snow. Wouldn't have expected less, really. The winter is my fav time to RF, I guess. I use a pair of plate glass handling gloves a friend gave me, like what Joe's got, rubberized with little grippy dots. Thin enough to operate the camera without taking them off, which is darn nice.

Snowy 16 Rule: Same as Sunny 16 but for maybe two stops. Well, I'm working on it ...
 
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With some cameras it's a good idea to seal the camera in a ziploc bag before bringing it indoors from the cold, and don't open the bag until it comes up to room temperature. This is to eliminate condensation. However, a little moisture probably wouldn't hurt an M3.
 
Check out a pair of neoprene fishing glove at Wally World or CTC for your winter shooting needs. As for exposure I thought sunny 16 worked in winter also and any problem is with reflected light meter readings fooling the meter. A reflected meter reading of snow with a couple of stops added should be close to sunny 16. Enjoy your winter shooting.

Bob
 
Why you shoot in -40, does the film freeze and how does the winding action help preserve structural integrity of the film? I would it imagine it cracking and breaking...
 
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