How do I prepare my 7D for extreme cold temperatures (South Pole -40 F)

[microhunter]

My son is taking my 7D with him on his attempt to be the first to bike to the South Pole.  What do I need to do to prepare the 7D for extreme cold?

[Skirball]

As I said, point and shoot in the inside pocket.  I don't know much about Antarctica exploration, but I can tell you what works for high elevation mountaineering, which seems to share a lot of the same issues.   Size and weight are primary concerns.  There will be plenty of light in Antarctica when he’s there, and not much is moving, so a point and shoot will do just fine for quality.  Weather sealing means nothing in that situation; if you can’t keep it next to the skin it won’t matter anyway.  An SLR is impractical unless you’re doing serious photography/video, in which case you’re going to have support.  Keep it in your inside pocket with the battery reversed inbetween use, and keep extra batteries.  It works up past 26,000 feet, it should work down south. Be cognizant of button size when selecting a camera, you’ll have large gloves on.  I’d buy a camera to fit my use, the cost of a point and shoot is trivial to the cost of an expedition to Antarctica.  Learn how to turn off the preview screen, that will eat up batteries.  A lightweight solar panel can trickle charge if need be, they can just drape over your backpack, you don’t even notice.  Don’t use flash, way too much juice.

Although film cameras don’t require the electronics, the film doesn’t care for static electricity.  There’s plenty in the dry air at elevation, not sure if that’s an issue down south or not.

[cicopo]

According to the blog he'll have solar charging equipment for his sat phones / emergency equipment.

[Skirball]

Got it, sorry, wasn't able to read the blog through this firewall.

[cicopo]

It's a pretty ambitious undertaking. From what I read he's going solo for the entire ride to & from the pole using a mountain bike with 4" wide tires, saddlebags & I think pulling a sled with supplies. There will be supplies dropped off in 3 locations along the intended route plus at the ploe.

[microhunter]

I really appreciate all the suggestions.  My first job after graduate school was at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks (as a Marine biologist).  I know first hand how difficult it is to do even simple things at -55 degrees F.   This was in 1964 and we used simple 35 mm film cameras.  My friend did considerable work at the South Pole and even through he has been retired for 20+ years, I wrote him to see if he knew anyone currently doing work there and what they used for cameras.  Here is his reply

I used to have grantsto do research at the South Pole. Unfortunately, all the research grants doing research in the South Pole were canceled by NSF. However, I can tell you that we did not take any precautions and took pictures left and right. What happened to the 35 mm pictures, I did not know but we had no trouble.

One of my friends by the name of Wolf Vishniac lost his life doing research in the South Pole. As a result, his widowed wife had to teach microbiology at Oklahoma State University (the only job she could find) at the time.

The grant for working in the South Pole was the fastest grant to be funded that I every had in my life. All the South Pole grants that came across my desk at NSF (as well as reviewed at OSU) were given a 10 (lowest mark possible). The program director got mad at me and told me to write one up and do the work down there. I did and my students made two trips to the Antarctic and had no trouble with using an ordinary 35 mm camera. All the grants dealing with the South Pole were canceled by NSF so as far as research is concerned, the entire program was canceled.

I doubt if any precautions are need with a camera in the South Pole. I had no trouble with my camera at Point Barrow in Alaska.

Hope your son gets some good pictures at the South Pole. If you want to seek more information you might want to check with Steve Hayasaka at Clemson University.

Hope your son the best of luck

Having said that, I am very concerned about using the 7D without getting it treated with special lubricants etc.  I am also lending my son (Daniel) two lens, a wide angle lens to use in the tent at night and a medium ranges telephoto zoom for general work.   The 7D will also be his main video camera.  The only other video camera that would give the quality of video we want costs close to $10,000.

Also, let me say something about photo quality.  I ran a professional photography business on the side and used the best Hasselblad camera and Zeiss lens possible.  To me, 35 mm cameras were nice for snap shots, but not good enough for serious photography.  The reason the 7D is available for my son to use is that I have a 5D Mark III and L series lens I'm keeping at home.

I have toyed with Tamron lens and have found most of them lacking in their ability to produce the quality of pictures I demand and I have never found a point and shoot camera that satisfys me.  However, I agree, a non-functional 7D is only dead weight and because of that, I have spent the better part of a day searching for a point and shoot camera that Daniel can carry inside his coat pocket.  At the moment the Canon G16 looks like a good candidate, but I am open for any and all suggestions.   I would be nice if it had a GPS.

I would like the details of what Nat Geo did to their cameras to work in the cold.   I have seen several really good photos taken by cheaper (Rebel T3i), so know that DSLR can be made to work at the South Pole. 

Thanks again for all the comments, I really do appreciate your help, time and effort.  We would like to be able to produce a commercial grade document that would help offset the cost of this trip.

MicroHunter

[cicopo]

I suggest that you join this forum & post in the appropriate sections (Canon gear, Nature & Wildlife or any other where trips to the far north or south would be common. There are a lot of very skilled & well travelled members from around the world.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/

I have also got a simple test you can run on your camera & lens. Bag it up & place it in the freezer for a couple of days without the battery . You'll need to keep it from forming condensation before it cools down so that's the purpose of the bagging. My interpretation of his journey is that he won't have any way to protect it from the cold while travelling, & therefore it will be nearly impossible to keep it from getting very cold by days end & just as difficult to warm it overnight while sleeping.

Normal expeditions have vehicles, huts etc where things can be kept warmer than the outdoor temp allowing on & off use in the cold & then back into the warmer air.

[cicopo]

Forgot to add this re the differences between film SLR's & DSLR's which would be where I think the DSLR will fail. It contains too many electro mechanical devices and each has a design limit on how much power it can consume to do it's job. If something hangs up (in this case because it too tight from contraction or thickened lube etc) the camera will shut down & give an error code instead of supplying more power (amps) to the component. Mechanical film cameras & lenses didn't have this potential problem & relied on springs, levers etc.

I long ago got rid of all my photography magazines or I'd search the house for the article but it was rather lengthy & it said National Geographic had it's own department who did the work & from memory everything was torn down & modified lubed etc as necessary & I'd bet some of it was learned  as the result of failures in the field.

[microhunter]

Thanks everyone!  I've got to get something ordered today, Daniel is leaving next week.  I'll keep you posted.

Here is a news spot on his trip.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=27523174&nid=148&title=man-aims-to-set-record-by-bicycling-to-south-pole&fm=...

[microhunter]

Tamron support sent the following.  The link to additional information is useful.   Daniel leaves this Friday for Chile from which he will leave for Antarctica.  He is taking the Canon 7D, a 10-24 zoom lens, a 28-135 zoom lens, a Canon G16 and a Sony video camera.   I will keep everyone posted as to how everything works.

Thank you for contacting Tamron. Unfortunately are lenses are not made to withstand temperatures that low. At extreme sub 0 temperatures the lens could contract and completely seize up. There are some companies that sell lens blankets to protect lenses from moisture and the elements but I think he would need a heating blanket of some kind. I don’t know of any brands but I have heard of cinematographers using lens heating blankets in these environments. I found this article on cold weather photography that may be of some help: http://photography.about.com/od/takingpictures/a/coldweathrphoto.htm

Should you have any other questions please ask.

Kind regards,

Brian Marley

[cicopo]

I'll be quite interested in how it goes. Not one bit surprised with Tamron's answer.