Out in the COLD....

GlasgowGunner

GlasgowGunner

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Kevin
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Hi all quick ?.

Is there any kind of rules to taking your gear out in the cold weather?:thinking:

I was just wondering as i've been tempted to go out the last few days a wee run in the car somewhere but dont want to wreck my new gear.


Any help would be great.
 
No... out you go :)

Cold is fine, water and fire are bad....
 
Your gear will be fine, just remember that when you go from a cold to warm place the lens will fog.

I am always out with my gear in all weathers and have not issues what so ever. Today was freezing and was out and about getting these images...

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=102298

Your battery might discharge quicker in the cold just keep your spare in a warm pocket and you will be fine. They are very durable modern cameras.

Nigel
 
It's a good idea to have some silica pouches in your camera bags to absorb any excess moisture.
 
Cheers can you buy these.

I know what you are talking about but i was'nt aware you can purchase them.
 
Not sure if you can buy them, but I've used some from my wife's new handbags and other places. Ha ha.
 
You can buy sachets of desiccant silica gel from camera shops. Jessops sell it (£2.44 for 2 sachets) and both the Buchanan Galleries and Sauchiehall St branches are showing it in stock
 
Most furniture outlet stores have loads of them, be cheeky and go in and ask........(y)
 
Flash In The Pan said:
and then you can pay it up over 4 years....on the plus side, you'll get a free sofa with each sachet :LOL:
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Can I have an ounce of what you take please Flashy?..............:D
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Fine with me, my local one still has lots of stock left :LOL:
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Spent all day emptying the one in Chester of all shop fittings,six trailer loads, it was like a feeding time at the zoo when everything went down by 90% towards the end of the day.Whole place is empty now, quite depressing really.

Sorry to the OP for the slight hijack, i`ll sod off out of your thread now.......:)
 
Im out and about around the Glasgow area with the camera.Was out yesterday and it was showing as -5 degrees at the RSPB site i use.Was out for around 4hrs. The biggest problem i has was the viewer and eye piece fogging up everytime my face went near it to take a pic.Just make sure your kept warm.
 
Yep, definitely more important to keep yourself warm. Agree about the battery usage, I was out in the freezing cold on Sunday and my battery ran down a lot quicker than usual.
 
Quick Tip:

When you come in from the cold let your gear warm up slowly, avoid putting it near a heater or some such device. I had a nasty experience where the change in temperature created fog on the lens which then collected into droplets on the internal elements. Not a nice situation to be in.
 
hyakuhei said:
Quick Tip:

When you come in from the cold let your gear warm up slowly, avoid putting it near a heater or some such device. I had a nasty experience where the change in temperature created fog on the lens which then collected into droplets on the internal elements. Not a nice situation to be in.
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Agree with that. In fact I NEVER put my camera, or any other electrical equipment for that matter, anywhere near a radiator or any other heat source.
 
It's not the cold which is the problem for your camera, it's when it comes back into the warm, when the camera will get soaked with condensation due to the sudden temperature change. The text book answer is ...before coming back indoors, seal the camera in a polythene bag or similar and let the whole thing slowly stabilise to room temperature before you open the bag.

Do I do it?. Erm no. Condensation can be the start of all sorts of electrical problems with your camera, not to mention being the start of the dreaded mildew and other fungal growths, so it's something we should be probably be taking a lot more seriously than we do.
 
Ok cheers folks lots of help points here.

I am going upto loch lomand today for some pics so i will keep all these facts in mind.
I did have some of the points in mind just through commen sense i.e. the fogging and water getting into the stuff when it comes back into the house but i just wanted to check.

so all in all thanks.

p.s, poor wollies i think a lot of us will be lost without this store.
 
Hi all went out today and got a few pics.

Im not happy with them though, I cant seem to get the colours to look the way i want them. I have put a couple of pics in the members pictures please have a look and tell me what you's think.

Cheers folk.
 
I assume these are the ice shot and the waterfall shot? They don't look as sharp as they could do, but as far as the colour goes, they're not the most colourful of subjects to begin with, and you have to remember that dull days tend to produce dull shots, A bit of sunshine makes all the difference.

I don't see a problem really with the colour given the obvious dull conditions, the lack of sharpness is more of an issue.
 
Ok fair point but what should i be doing to sharpen them up.

I should mention they where hand held and if i was to be honest a lot of the shots i took where a right mess with bluring.
I just dont think the greens and reds are as bright as they should be i see shots in mags and the colours look A1 i guess thats what im looking for but maybe not got the skill or gear needed for this.

Another point is i dont know a thing about the editing side of things i just like to take the shot and hope its what i picture it to be.

How much does you's lot edit your shots is it kind of part of the norm with digital?
 
GlasgowGunner said:
Ok fair point but what should i be doing to sharpen them up.
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The obvious answer is a faster shutter speed, and make sure you focus carefully.

I should mention they where hand held and if i was to be honest a lot of the shots i took where a right mess with bluring.
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Well I'm guessing you wanted to blur the water in the waterfall shot, so a slow shutter speed would be right for that. The camera would have had to be on a tripod though to have any chance of getting the surrounding rocks sharp - you'd have no chance of hand holding that one.

As a general rule for hand holding you should match your shutter speed to the focal length of the lens you're using. 50mm 1/50th, 200mm 1/200th, 500mm 1/500th. and you should consider those safe minimum speeds. Add freezing cold days and you're probably dithering like a fairy on a gob of lard, so going a bit quicker does no harm.

I just dont think the greens and reds are as bright as they should be i see shots in mags and the colours look A1 i guess thats what im looking for but maybe not got the skill or gear needed for this.
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I think you're fretting about nowt there - there really isn't the colour in those images anyway, and you can rest assured your gear is more than capable.
Another point is i dont know a thing about the editing side of things i just like to take the shot and hope its what i picture it to be.
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Well, you do need to get to grips with the editing, but hey, it's not a horse race. You certainly shouldn't be considering the images out of your camera to be a done deal - they'll almost always benefit from editing.

How much does you's lot edit your shots is it kind of part of the norm with digital?
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It varies to be honest, sometimes very little editing, sometimes quite a bit, but digital editing is really the norm just as darkroom work was the norm with film, but you sent those away and didn't see the work done on them. Now you have to do it yourself, and it's another hill you have to climb along with getting to grips with your camera.

Take youir time - you'll get there, and there's plenty of help here when you need it. ;)
 
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