topic Re: Cold weather camping? in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Cold weather camping?

Rainwetzel — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 19:40:48 GMT

My school plans to go on a camping trip overnight at the Antietam battlefield in December. There will be lots of opportunities for good pictures but I want to know if my canon rebel t5i will be okay overnight in my tent? There's no where else to put it that is warmer.

Re: Cold weather camping?

Waddizzle — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 19:52:08 GMT

@Rainwetzel wrote:
My school plans to go on a camping trip overnight at the Antietam battlefield in December. There will be lots of opportunities for good pictures but I want to know if my canon rebel t5i will be okay overnight in my tent? There's no where else to put it that is warmer.

As long as temperatures stay above freezing, it should be fine. I would store the camera inside of an air-tight bag, however, which would hopefully prevent frost or dew from building up on it. Use a dessicant if you have one. Ditto for your lenses.

Your biggest concern should be your batteries. Rechargeable batteries do not like the cold. Take spare batteries, and try to keep them warm. You may also wish to bring along some sort of plastic cover, or bag, to use when shooting if the weather turns bad. If the weather is really severe, I would not recommend using your DSLR, or even bringing it.

Re: Cold weather camping?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:36:16 GMT

I wouldn't even give it a thought. Bring it and use it like it was spring time . You might want to take a spare battery(ies) and keep them in an inside pocket. But little to nothing else is required. You do have a nice camera bag to store it and any lenses in?

Re: Cold weather camping?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:38:38 GMT

If your trip is long enough you are going to need a way to recharge the battery or batteries. The life of the battery will shorten in the cold.

Re: Cold weather camping?

Peter — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 08:48:57 GMT

One hour outside when it started to snow http://kameratrollet.se/2013/04/07/fotokurs-nordvastskane-20e-och-27e-april/fotokurs-skane/

Like ebiggs1 said, I wouldn't even give it a thought.

Re: Cold weather camping?

Waddizzle — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 12:45:32 GMT

@Peter wrote:
One hour outside when it started to snow http://kameratrollet.se/2013/04/07/fotokurs-nordvastskane-20e-och-27e-april/fotokurs-skane/

Like ebiggs1 said, I wouldn't even give it a thought.

Do not both the camera and lens in your photo incorporate some weather sealing? The OP is not using a camera that has much in the way of weather sealing. It is likely the same can be said about the lenses used with the camera.

Re: Cold weather camping?

Peter — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 13:00:22 GMT

My 7D closed down after 1 hour of rain. My 6D didn't response due to condense after I went out from the volcano Thrihnukagigur.

If it is not a tent with heater, the condense shouldn't be a big problem for OP.

Re: Cold weather camping?

BurnUnit — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 20:31:01 GMT

I wonder if you could use one of these single-use hand warmer packets. Stick one in a pocket with your batteries to keep them warm. Maybe use them for your hands, too.

https://www.amazon.com/HotHands-Hand-Warmers-Pair-Value/dp/B00D7H9LIA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478031599&sr=8-2&keywords=hand+warmers

Re: Cold weather camping?

ebiggs1 — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 20:41:43 GMT

"The OP is not using a camera that has much in the way of weather sealing."

Doesn't matter. It is a non-issue. Just use the gear as is. Keep a spare battery in an insdie pocket.

Re: Cold weather camping?

Waddizzle — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 21:40:11 GMT

@BurnUnit wrote:
I wonder if you could use one of these single-use hand warmer packets. Stick one in a pocket with your batteries to keep them warm. Maybe use them for your hands, too.

[deleted]

I think the biggest worry might be morning dew and frost. Store the camera gear in a weather tight bags, and it should be good. Freezing temps is another worry, but not likely at this time of the year.

A cold battery can come back to life, if you warm it back up.

Re: Cold weather camping?

TCampbell — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 15:49:20 GMT

Cold weather is generally not a problem. Moisture can potentially be a problem depending on camera but it's easy to keep a camera dry even if it's in the cold. But bring a way to keep the camera dry just in case of rain.

Lithium batteries can handle very cold temps (temps in which alkaline batteries would freeze... a Lithium battery will keep going.) However they will work better if warm. So... if you have a spare battery then keep it in an inside (warm) pocket. If you don't have a spare battery then put your battery in an inside (warm) pocket when not shooting.

You probably wont need to worry about the battery... the weather almanac (using Baltimore) says average winter temps are lows of 27ºF and high of 46ºF. I don't think you'll have battery problems factory-original lithium polymer batteries in those temps.

YOU might appreciate a pair of photo gloves. These are gloves in which either the thumb & index fingers can be uncovered to make it easier to operate the camera (or some variation on the design) but covered to keep your fingers warm when not shooting.

Re: Cold weather camping?

Rainwetzel — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 00:43:36 GMT

I have a nice camera bag and it is just an overnight trip so I think I will be good based on everything you guys said, thanks!