Myth-busted: Surviving the cold weather with my 7D & 17-55


may I asked, you took out both front/rear caps?

how you protect the lens when you put in bag??

I usually carry a sling camera bag with padded lens compartments. On trips, I just leave the two ends of the lenses exposed but I always close my bag and pretty careful not to bump it around. On dusty trips, I normally close the rear end only. I do lens & camera sensor cleaning (5D is a dust magnet) with a blower and lens pen at the hotel every night. That's about it I guess. So far my lenses are pretty well kept, no scratches on the filters.
 

Your post comes couple of years too late... :bsmilie: You should have posted these findings not long after the product was launched when there was a MASSIVE online debate about the weather-sealing capabilities of the 7D... ;)
 

I'm currently based in Mongolia, where the temperature has dipped as low as -40 degrees C this week. In such temperatures, I can't use my camera outdoors very long. The problem is not my camera (a 550D), which works perfectly fine, but my hands!
 

I'm currently based in Mongolia, where the temperature has dipped as low as -40 degrees C this week. In such temperatures, I can't use my camera outdoors very long. The problem is not my camera (a 550D), which works perfectly fine, but my hands!

Yes I agree with this. It's the hands that give up well before the camera in extreme cold. You can't push buttons with gloves on. When it's -40 degrees and colder, it only takes a few seconds for skin to freeze. Frost bite is a major concern... and it hurts!
 

Recently I brought my 5DMKII with EF 17-40 F4L to Vietnam for trekking at Sapa. It’s very cold up there about 5-10c and worst still it rains heavily during my trekking days. So my 5DMKII got very wet till it gives up on me... Totally cannot work, LCD blank, all buttons no respond, AF screw up. It only recovers 2 days later on a sunny day.

So please do not think 5DMKII is "weather seal" therefore rain is not a problem. Send in to CSC for check up yesterday. Hope its fine...

Recently I also brought my 60D with EFS 15-85 to Taiwan for tour. Through out my 10 days tour, it rain almost everyday so my 60D also got so wet. Temp was like 12-16c. But it works flawless through out, I am so surprise it survive....

You mean the 15-85 also survived the rain and temperature?
 

Yes it was my hands that gave up one me when I was on the mountain at Yong Pyong 3 weeks ago. -17C.
Was using a Sony TX10 waterproof camera and a Nex 5N. Could not switch modes on the TX10 because it is a total touch screen interface! Even for the few minutes I tried without gloves, the screen refused my taps... my fingers were so cold I gave up.
The Nex however, performed well but it is a power hungry thing and would drain down to 40% by the end of each day's shooting. The guide was shooting with a 40D with kit 18-55 (non IS) and EF 75-300 mk III....not what I'd consider Canon's finest lenses... and he brought back excellent pictures with no problems at all.
 

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Why would you think it won't?
because it's not a weathered sealed and does not uses internal zoom. The temperature i don't think will be an issue but rain will definitely seep through the 'zoom' portion of the lens.(at least tt's what I would think)
 

because it's not a weathered sealed and does not uses internal zoom. The temperature i don't think will be an issue but rain will definitely seep through the 'zoom' portion of the lens.(at least tt's what I would think)

Even that is a NON-issue. Just dry the lens totally with a hair dryer or heater (without over-heating it) before storing it. The lens will last for many more years.
 

Even that is a NON-issue. Just dry the lens totally with a hair dryer or heater (without over-heating it) before storing it. The lens will last for many more years.

But there are electronic inside won't they be affected by the water?
 

Actually, what TS experienced is "typical" of cold weather conditions if you want to talk about battery life expectancy.

Fully charged, 7D battery should do close to 700 shots. With a mix of indoor and outdoor use, one should expect about 20-25% drop in battery life for Li-Ion batteries. Which coincides with your "60% left after 200 shots" experience. As you should get a total of close to 500 shots. But bear in mind that the 60% is approximate, with further cold exposure, you should get about 400 shots in total in relative capacity terms if you continue to use your camera outdoors till battery is completely exhausted. Note too that the use of flash and IS on lenses will affect your battery life even more greatly.

In my experience, the ones that are hopeless are the Alkaline cells in the cold. I once tried to use some 'fresh' off the supermarket shelf alkaline AA cells in -22 degree conditions on an old Canon Powershot (think it was the A series) which belonged to a colleague ( as we were working in those abysmal conditions) some ten years back. It lasted a miserly 8 shots ! Yes ... 8, "eight" shots !!! My Nikon Coolpix 4500 back then did almost 90 in those conditions ( was actually worse as part of it was at -32 C in the dark and had to use flash) and I still had some juice left after it.

So, if in the cold, forget about those Alkaline cells, get those lithium ones if your camera allows (or needs) it. (The Canon battery grips allow for AA cells with the adaptor carrier that comes with it)
 

because it's not a weathered sealed and does not uses internal zoom. The temperature i don't think will be an issue but rain will definitely seep through the 'zoom' portion of the lens.(at least tt's what I would think)

I used my camera and kit lens in the rain...not thunderstorm or typhoon kinda..but heavier than drizzling. Its became so wet after my shooting. Apparently both the body and lens are not WS/WR. But it is still working fine today. Yea u can say im lucky..but i already done it for like 4 times and its still going strong. Just shoot and wipe away the water as you go along. It should be ok. It will only stop working if you drop it into the pond/river whatever. Even then..even if its WS/WR might not help.
 

This maybe a bit out of topic but it may serve as precaution.
Some cameras are not weather sealed

This 50D was not as lucky. According to the owner, camera was caught in the rain

DSC_4247-1.jpg



DSC_4248-1.jpg
 

Sorry to ask a potentially off topic question but what is that white stuff on the circuit board? Usually I see this near batteries but I don't think there's a battery near that area. Any thoughts?
 

You mean the 15-85 also survived the rain and temperature?

Ya, its really a tough lens in rain and cold weather. Another lens i brought along is the 10-22 it also survived the weather in Tawain.
 

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Sorry to ask a potentially off topic question but what is that white stuff on the circuit board? Usually I see this near batteries but I don't think there's a battery near that area. Any thoughts?

wow! is that frost or fungus?

That's corrosion. This is how the camera internal looks like when it is flooded with sea water.
:think: :think: I'm not really sure if the damage is really caused by rain water.
But since the corrosion is not all over, it could be camera splashed with sea water during a shoot on the beach.
 

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