At what temp do cameras stop working?

Byker28i

Byker28i

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Well, I kinda found out yesterday with my 40D.

With the wind chill it was -7c yesterday whilst out trying to take photo's of rugby. After the first 20 or so shots my mirror stuck up for ages with the dreaded ERR 99. Taking the battery out reset the camera OK so I tried again. A few shots and the same thing. I tried different batteries and flash cards but still the same.

Thinking it may be the cold (and my hands were freezing) I put the camera under my coat for 10 mins and it worked again for a while - briefly.

So I gave up, put it away, let it warm up again at home and it was fine.

Anyone else had anything similar?
 
Kinda interested in this myself as i'm off to siberia in a couple of weeks with my 30D and the average temperature there at the moment is -20C to -30C. I think i'm gonna have problems
 
Ahhh the beauty of film! It works in the most insane temperatures providing you are not relying on a battery for metering.
 
Keep your batteries warm and you should be OK.
 
I've used mine in minus 28 as long as you prepare you'll be fine although the weather may not be:thumbs:
 
Must admit I was surprised as I'd been out in cold weather before, in the cold spell over christmas etc, without issues.

Battery temp is a good suggestion. I've recently bought new batteries
 
My 40D worked without fault the other week in Chicago at -20c
 
In really cold conditions if you aren't using your camera for a few mins stick the battery in an inside pocket. Or have 2 batterys, one in the camera and one in your pocket, when the one in the camera runs low swap it with the one in your pocket, by the time the cold affects the one in the camera the one in your pocket will have warmed up again and be usable, rinse and repeat :)

Your LCD will probably become a bit sluggish too.

I used mine a few weeks back when it was -15 here with no probs just leaving the battery in the camera and warming it up for a few mins inside my down jacket.
 
Well, charged all my batteries last night. Tried again this morning indoors and it's ERR99 all the time. :'( The mirror locks up, err99 then a few secs later the mirror falls again.

Checked the battery terminals, checked lens pins etc still does it.
Damn. Lots like it's broken.
 
You could always use a Polar Buff as I do, they are available from Blacks or almost any outdoor store, the normal Buff is just a Polyester tube in various colours whereas the Polar variety has a fleece bottom, keeps my right hand warm all the time and attaches easily to a wrist strap with a safety pin:thumbs: you can also get a goretex one if you feel the need:thumbs:
 
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