how many batteries for a winter trip?

[Mad Armour]

Hi, I just came back from a 2 week plus tour in Switzerland, Italy and Austria. It was snowing in Switzerland and Austria. I only brought ONE spare original battery. I brought along my Olympus E-620 and E-P1 (both uses the same type of batt). I did not bring along my flash. Night shots are limited to long exposure. Here's my experience.

1) Batt life IS indeed shorter in cold weather BUT the day is very much shorter too. Good available light is from 8am to 4pm!

2) I only need to use the spare batt on 4 occasions, and that's when it's already getting dark.

3) I recharge my batts every night so I start with fresh batts the next day.

4) I read about keeping the cam and batt warm but I think in practice it's not practical. Once you take the batt out, it will rapidly cool to the surrounding temp. It is also not practical to keep the camera inside your winter clothing - just think of the trouble you will go through just to shoot, not to mention the coldness you will suffer.

5) Condensation is a real issue when you get into a warm and humid environment. Happened to me once when I entered a butterfly park in Vienna. My lens was severely condensed. However, the camera still works perfectly. It is not an issue when you get into a non-humidified environment, like a museum/shop/concert hall etc.

6) I shot a total of 3.5 x 8G CF and almost 3 x 8G SDHC. Not sure if that's too many, just enough or too little. Just for you to have a basic idea.

Hope it helps.

Cheers!

 

[kennyfowler]

Check this out on the battery:
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/New...-To-Ask-Before-You-Invest-In-Lithium-Ion.aspx

If you don't use the LCD screens often, I think you can get by with 2 batteries each day easily. For my 350D, I used 1 battery per day during my trip to Sweden. Also make sure you warm the battery a bit before you slot it into the camera, in case you get some ice on the contacts.

 

[daredevil123]

Just came back from a trip to Northeast China near the borders of Russia and North Korea. Temp ranging from -18 to -30 deg C. Brought 4 original batteries with me. One had 3/4 charge the rest fully charged. In the end, I only had to switch once, and the 2nd one is still at 80% charge. Then again, I only took around only 300 pictures. Lasted me all of the 16 day trip for me. And since I was visiting relatives, I have to show them pics on my LCD all the time. Even with that, the battery lasted that long.

Inherited a 3rd party batt with a D40x a while back, and it performed badly compared to the original in 5-15 deg C weather. I am very impressed with how the D90 and original batteries held up in the extreme cold. No problems whatsoever. Original all the way for me now.

 

[fellas]

when I go to Yunnan, China, last January, what I face is winter with out snow, the degrees about 0 - 10Celcius.
I bring 2 batteries (without battery grip). I think it will be finish 1,5 until 2 battery per day. ^_^

 

[mynameisgreg]

i XXth the 2 batts motiion

unless u always forget to charge ur batts like me. u only need 1 spare just in case. act u should gauge how many shots u normally take b4 u recharge ur batt normally. if u use 2 batts a day then u should bring 3.

 

[Magix88]

Just to share my experience,

Was in South Korea in January earlier this year and I brought my D80 together with 1 original battery and 2 3rd party batteries without vertical grip. Unused batteries are kept inside my warm jacket until ready for use.

Temp was between -12'C to -16'C most of the time and it hit -19'C on a day or two. I was out in the cold about 8-12hours a day, walking in the streets, taking photos. Never really shield my camera from the cold when I am not taking photos. Camera perform flawlessly, no jams or faults. All the batteries hold their charge well. Was able to shoot atleast 350-450photos per battery before switching batteries. LCD was off 100% of the time except for ocassions when I need to review the photos once a while.

However, the tripod leg warmer became loose due to the metal leg contraction in the cold. Once back in my hostel, the metal expanded back to the original state and the leg warmer is securely firm at its position. Original shutter release cable for D80 perform flawlessly too except that the cold hardened up the cable and rubber insulation of the cable, making it like a iron wire when you want to coil it up for keeping after use.

 

[ivenoair]

I was with my D300 last winter in Korea and I did not even need any spare battery at all.
The camera perform very well under the super cold weather when even human cannot handle the chill, but my camera did!

Good luck for your trip!

 

[jamesr]

It's always better to have more batteries. I might be a special case, that actually puts a battery in the bag thinking it's charged when it's low to empty, but I have never had any problems with 2 batteries. Although, one time, I was really on the edge.

But in Lithuania, 2 batteries should do it. Unless you do a stop motion movie of you making a snowman.



p.s. If you actually do it, make sure to private msg me the link

 

[samtcy]

2 batteries at least, thought it's safer if you have 3 batts.
And do charge your batteries every night.

 

[irphotography]

I shoot on envelop AA using grip. I normally bring 16 to be shared between camera and flash with one 8 cell charger. Saves me alot of problem, plus if I run out I can always get spares at a nearby store.

 

[sf_kang]

Ideally, it's good to bring 2 fully charged batteries for each day's shooting. Batteries produce their electricity (power) via a chemical reaction, and as in all chemical reactions, the lower the temperature, the slower the reaction, hence lesser power. Warm the battery up and it'll produce power again.

If you're taking you camera out into the cold, do some few minutes of shooting, and then return indoors, or back into your car or bus, then 1 battery should last the usual way. But say, if you're out trekking in the forest, and staying out in the cold for extended periods, then expect perhaps on 50% the number of shots from each fully charged battery.

The way I did it when I lived in Sweden and stayed out in the cold for long periods, is to have a second battery kept in the inside pocket of your jacket and kept close to your body. When the first battery 'dies', replace with the 'warm' one and continue shooting. Place the first on inside the jacket to warm it up, and some power will return.

So you can alternate between the 1st and 2nd battery and get through your shooting day.

Try also to conserve power. Instead of using the built-in flash, use an external flash with it's own batteries. When not shooting fast action, e.g. when shooting landscape, I set to manual focus, further helping to conserve the camera's battery power. Some common sense things like this will stretch the battery through quite many shots. Couple of years back, we stayed in Austria in sub-zero temperatures for one whole week, using two batteries and alternating between them got us through thousands of shots.

Hope this helps.

 

[dapier]

I carry 3 extra for 1 body (battery cant take many shots) and 1 extra for another body. The battery went flat because of cold before, thought my shutter was spolit initially