Photography in Sub-Zero temperatures (Nikon D90)

MrEd

MrEd

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Im going to LapLand in a few months on a Snowmobile expedition to basically photograph the northen lights, the reindeer, huskies and the Sami people. so a mix of fast and long shutters speeds

However the temperature im concerned about, not for me, but my equipment.

At the time of year im going the temp ranges from around -7 degrees celsius to -35 degress celsius. Super cold then.

Now equipment im taking is:
Nikon D90
Nikkor 50mm
Sigma 10-20 wide angle
sigma 17-70mm
SB600
Nikon Shutter release

Now i dont have any cash to get a d300 etc etc so please dont tell me to upgrade, i can however stretch to things to keep it in or more batteries etc.

I have a peli case 1150 to keep it in - the issue with that is i have to keep the lens and camera apart in the case. I also have a waterproof drybag aswell as my usual lowepro photo rucksack

Now what shall i get? a bundle of batteries or a grip or what ( i have stacks of hi power rechargeables)

a bigger pelicase? I have used this for caving and its pretty good

im planning on taking a *spare* d50 or such as well as an old canon film slr (perhaps)

is there anyway to insulate the camera?

anyone done anything like this before?

ANY advice or comments appreciated, but basically its going to be a week of coldness (the lodges will have electricity and warmth so thawing it will be ok and i have all the gear for me already)

cheers

ed
 
Your gear will be fine, just look after it as you normally would.
Be a little careful of condensation back in the cabin, otherwise have fun!
 
The ideal solution would be a remote battery pack with a cord connection to the camera which you can keep in your pocket or under your clothing to keep the batteries warmer and prolong their life. I don't know if Nikon do one, (I'd be surprised if they don't) but it's possible you may find a 3rd party one compatible with your camera.
 
I remember someone else posted the same question a while back, I tried to find his thread but no luck. I did however find this link in another thread Click.

In the thread I was looking for the guy said he had no problems shooting in the sub zero temperatures apart from his batteries weren't lasting very long.
 
CT said:
The ideal solution would be a remote battery pack with a cord connection to the camera which you can keep in your pocket or under your clothing to keep the batteries warmer and prolong their life. I don't know if Nikon do one, (I'd be surprised if they don't) but it's possible you may find a 3rd party one compatible with your camera.
Click to expand...

That's the thing i would do, batteries is a chemical reaction, and low temperature affect their effectiveness.
 
CT said:
The ideal solution would be a remote battery pack with a cord connection to the camera which you can keep in your pocket or under your clothing to keep the batteries warmer and prolong their life. I don't know if Nikon do one, (I'd be surprised if they don't) but it's possible you may find a 3rd party one compatible with your camera.
Click to expand...

cool thats an idea, i was planning on either

a) investing on a battery grip (so i can use aa's)
b) just buying two more d90 batteries and keeping them in an inside pocket and periodically swapping them out

will putting the camera inside a dry bag to let it re-acclimatise to the warmth of the cabin work? surely that will prevent condensation getting in/on the camera?

my understanding is the biggest things are poor battery performance and cold cameras in warm places getting condensation inside and wrecking them

deffo think the pelicase is the best bet - mainly thinking of the journey to and from the places on the snowmobiles - i have a extreme conditions olympus p+s i was going to use inbetween times e.g. on the fly snowmobile shots etc

thinking about it i could prob use the peli case to acclimatise the camera stuff both ways to be honest

thanks for your input guys, im pretty stoked that this is going to go ahead, in a few months hopefully :D

ed
 
Leave the camera kit outside. Seriously. Most Lodges have a vestibule that isn't heated for this precise reason - all outdoor kit stays out there - skis, weapons - anything else that would be affected by moisture...if you bring it in from those temps the condensation will kill it stone dead.
I spoke to our resident expert on the arctic, a Royal Navy Phot who used to be in the Royal Marines' Arctic and Mountain Warfare Cadre and he was the one that briefed me up on how he looked after the camera equipment...
Batteries come inside and are charged-up in room-temp conditions and are then kept between layers of clothing to keep them from freezing - which will seriously affect their capacity to recharge - permanently.
All camera and optical equipment is left outside to gradually reach ambient temperature - inside a Peli case is ideal. It then is never brought back inside for the duration of the exped. When coming back to UK, cameras and lenses were wrapped in zip-loc bags and cool-packs were left inside the Peli case so that the equipment rose to ambient temperatures gradually for two days in a hangar at Okehampton before being removed and checked. The garage would do, I guess...
 
cool thanks very much.

Im going to invest in a bigger peli case and more batteries!!

i suppose if i never bring the cameras inside by the time i have flown home etc they would have acclimatised.

hmm... will have to see i guess lol
 
I must admit Rob's advice sounds sensible and bang on the money. :thumbs:
 
yeah for sure. i think im gonna get a peli 1500 and a few genuine nikon batteries and see what happens. not going to bother with a grip cos i cant see the point. the only bonus would be the aa capability.

cool :D

*better get to see the flipping northern lights*

ed
 
Well they use cameras on Mount Everest and at The North Pole don't they, but I bet they have pretty strict drills for how they store and use the gear.
 
CT said:
Well they use cameras on Mount Everest and at The North Pole don't they, but I bet they have pretty strict drills for how they store and use the gear.
Click to expand...

and massive budgbets for the best gear.......

I should be ok, my brother took a D40 snowboarding once and that was about -6 celsius and he didnt bother doing anything special and it still works fine.... surely if im carefule with the 90 it will survive!
 
Some useful hints from Andy Rouse as well online if you look for them, even though he's a fibbing idiot (one of our guys was with him on an arctic exped and he was full of his own importance apparently...one famous moment came at the presentation when AR was waxing lyrical about a photo of a penguin he'd taken - described how he'd had to stalk them for days...Our phot cried BS! and told the audience that the phot had been taken from across the car-park...red faces all round)...

But he has been there and knows how to husband the kit... and takes a really good photo despite fibbing about the circumstances...lol
 
also look at getting some of those hand warming things that you snap and they heat up. keep them with your battery's so they stay warm and will last longer. I did this when snowboarding and they lasted a long time.

but keep a layer between them to stop them getting too hot (it might not affect them but i wanted to be safe, so kept the battery's in a bag with the heaters in a different compartment.
 
CT said:
Well they use cameras on Mount Everest and at The North Pole don't they, but I bet they have pretty strict drills for how they store and use the gear.
Click to expand...

Not sure if they still do but they used to prepare bodies and lenses specially for extreme cold - including using special lubricants (if any) since even the thinnest oils can freeze solid and cause all sorts of problems.

Might be worth a call or e-mail to Nikon's technical department to see what they say.
 
one thing to remember when stocking up on new batteries,
you need to balance between cheap and quality, if you get a cheap one it might not last 5 minutes in the cold, but no point spending huge amounts as chances are in -30 its life will be short lived and wont be much use when you get back anyway.
 
fezzr said:
one thing to remember when stocking up on new batteries,
you need to balance between cheap and quality, if you get a cheap one it might not last 5 minutes in the cold, but no point spending huge amounts as chances are in -30 its life will be short lived and wont be much use when you get back anyway.
Click to expand...

a couple of genuine nikon batteries (online) will prob be worth the punt and i would prob use them when im at home anyway.

The hand warmers is a good idea, and yeah i will contact nikon's tech dept monday see what they say!
 
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