silly question about the cold...

[Sparkles33]

This is my first winter with a DSLR.

Every other winter I've had something else, but I don't usually shoot outside. However, summit has been confuzzling me. (Doesn't take much to confuzzle me, just look at the sony alpha thread and you'll see that I make up camera parts just to confuzzle myslef! )

My glasses steam up when they go from cold to hot. My glasses are plastic lenses (I'm far too clumsy to wear glass ones!). My lenses for my camera are glass (obviously) they'll also steam up from the cold when I come back inside.

Doesn't that also mean that there's a risk of the glass cracking with the temperature changing and the glass expanding?

 

[nomorem6]

Simple answer - no.

The temperature change is so small in the grand scheme of things that the expansion rate is negligible. Its not going from the freezer to the cooker after all.

 

[matt_ttuk]

Never heard of a camera lens cracking because it came out of the cold in a warm room. Think you would need quite a serious temperature difference to do that.

The thing you do need to be careful on though is your other point about steaming up. If you bring a camera into a warm room after been in the cold and damp it will steam up. Try and prevent this by bringing the camera up to room temperature slowly. I try and keep my camera in the bag it was in outside and allow the bag to come to room temperature before taking it out.

Matt

 

[fracster]

No, the glass won`t crack. It will condense up as you say.

 

[grumpybadger]

I've met one person who had this happen to them but it was going from -30 to indoors.

 

[Chaz Photos]

Temperature is one thing why a lens will focus past infinity as the lens changes temperature then the focus point will change as the lens will change length. SO you see it all built in. But we are talking about Cold as well like north pole temperatures…

 

[Sparkles33]

ahh ok, thanks

 

[Arkady]

But try to put the camera kit into a bag before you bring it indoors - then it'll warm gradually and lessen the risk of condensation forming inside the camera...

 

[Sparkles33]

ok, thanks xx

so, following on from that, when you hear of people getting mould in their cameras (*shudder*) is that from condensation?

 

[robmiller]

ok, thanks xx

so, following on from that, when you hear of people getting mould in their cameras (*shudder*) is that from condensation?

Technically yes, but you don't need to be changing temperatures—it's just from moisture in the air. That's why people put silica gel in their camera bags.

 

[Sparkles33]

thanks

You know, I would be completely lost without TP!

 

[andrewc]

Technically yes, but you don't need to be changing temperatures—it's just from moisture in the air. That's why people put silica gel in their camera bags.

Even though those silica gel sachets have a very short life span!