Photography Coldest temperatures you use your equipment at

[Tina Boes]

I've got winter coming up shortly and we can get extremely cold temperatures. A couple years ago we were down to 20 degrees below zero for quite a while. I realize this isn't like the Arctic temperatures, but I'm talking about in the states or areas with weather like here.
I have not really trekked out for a "field trip" in the colder temps, mostly because I hate the cold. LOL This year I want to get those winter photos, and maybe a nice ice storm covering trees and foliage. I don't want to ruin my equipment though.

What are the coldest temperatures you have operated your equipment at, cameras...flash units....remote triggers...etc. And do you do anything to keep your equipment warm while out there in the cold?

 

[Greg Shchepanek]

Oh I live in Ottawa the great white north & we get the polar vortex that come down from the north bring those beautiful Snowy Owls that we find in the country side ... I limit my outings to shorter trails & a near by car to jump into when it gets too frigid. My main subject of choice is the Snowshoe Hares of our woods who are always frolicking & up to their antics during the most coldest of days. I haven't come across any complications brought on by the cold climates ... just the frosty extremities the particularly windy days bring on discomforts. Not much macro shots out there during these times but do come across some little critters here & there that would make for a great macro subject but they are too darn fast to be able to snag them.

 

[Tina Boes]

Oh I live in Ottawa the great white north & we get the polar vortex that come down from the north bring those beautiful Snowy Owls that we find in the country side ... I limit my outings to shorter trails & a near by car to jump into when it gets too frigid. My main subject of choice is the Snowshoe Hares of our woods who are always frolicking & up to their antics during the most coldest of days. I haven't come across any complications brought on by the cold climates ... just the frosty extremities the particularly windy days bring on discomforts. Not much macro shots out there during these times but do come across some little critters here & there that would make for a great macro subject but they are too darn fast to be able to snag them.

I worry about condensation due to cold then warm on the equipment. We get some of that arctic cold here as well.

 

[Helix_2648]

Condensation might be a problem but not in general but only for a while. Normally such lenses are designed for such conditions. I used my lens last year in the morning at -17°C without problems.

 

[Greg Shchepanek]

-20 to -30 temperatures and I have suffered no complications in my camera gear

 

[Chavezshutter]

Hello,

Where I live we dont get too cold even in winter time, average temperatures for winter in Melbourne is about 15C (59F) but winter is also the best time to get shots of the Milky Way core so I get out and about till the early morning hours to do astro where temperatures can drop below 0 C (32F). Condensation and dew become an issue at these temperatures and since I am doing timelapses anywhere between 1-6 hours I cannot stop midway to clean the lens so I use a lens warmer, I plug it into a powerbank via USB, secure the warmer around the lens and set the temperature and its set. They are not too pricey and are a must for astro and other photography in the cold. This is a link to the warmer I use:

Amazon - Lens warmer

Cheers

 

[Helix_2648]

Never have heard of a lens warmer. I mean it makes sense but since I never tried astro photography I never had such problems before.

 

[Guest 1012]

I have use a drone at -10 degrees Celsius at the ground. I don’t know what temperature was at 100-200meters above the ground, but clearly it was colder.

 

[H3AdBaBY]

I’ve used a Nikon FM film camera in -20F (-29C) temps for a week but for digital, the coldest I’ve used the Nikon D7200 in is about 10F (-12C) for up to six hours. Once my rig is outdoors in the cold I leave it out so that everything is at a constant temperature. I always remove the SD cards, then put the body and lens in a small plastic trash bag, squeeze out as much air as I can, and seal the bag best as possible before bringing it indoors and let it fully warm before removing it.