Photography In Winter

[flamenco]

Does the usual camera shop sell such gloves?

Got mine in Beijing. Seen em in shops in Tokyo as well. Cheap n decent brand is safratto, think they are made in China.

Matin makes them too. The equipment is not the limiting factor, your frozen fingers will be .... I live in Beijing, so know a thing or 2 about the cold

Let me go dig up some pictures of the gloves.

 

[Oly5050]

I do not have the setup you have. Abt 3 yrs ago, i went to Beijing in winter, climbed the Great Wall. Was about -10c with strong wind. I hung my E-P1 with the zoom kit lens on my neck. No protection or whatever. Not even in my coat. No problems using it, manage to get 200+ shots on one battery with some power left. I am pretty confident that your OM-D should be ok too. Not sure abt your lens thou.

What you should be more concern (i think) is how do you protect your fingers. Your joints will be painful in cold. If you do not have a good pair of gloves, try going to those outdoor or travel shop to get a glove that is thin yet able to keep some warmth, so that you can use your camera easily.

Agreed. Too much concern abt equipment protection.

 

[trd2970]

Keep the hotshoe port protected in case of snow falling onto it and water seeping inside.

And keep extra batteries handy cos they tend to drain faster than normal.

 

[microcosm]

Couldn't dig up the old thread about weather sealed systems from Olympus. I had my camera + lens falling into snow, frozen rivers, out for days in temp between -5˚C to -15˚C. Only time I had problem was at the Russian border at -39˚C where all LCD displays went nuts. It was common for me to drive out to shoot wintery stuff. The Olympus weather seal is good. Only when they are a little older, that is when you have to send in the gear to have the gaskets changed. So it is the photographer that needs more protection.

The heating pads mentioned by wonglp is a good recommendation for those who are not used to the cold. There are some mitts (no finger gloves) that you can wear over thinner gloves for shooting. All depends on the photographer. But do be careful (I am not sure how cold is it going to get) with metals. Try not to touch metals with unprotected skin. Going to be an unforgettable experience.

Your ears (if unprotected) are your best gauge on when to get out of the cold. If you cannot feel them anymore, its time to get indoors or into a heated vehicle and get warmed up before heading out into the cold again.

All said, enjoy your trip.

One last thing, if the weather is near 0˚C and it starts raining, get indoors or into shelter to dry up as it will quickly freeze into ice. And wear shoes with thick soles. Anything until -10˚C is really no drama. Unless you really cannot take the cold.

 

[Oly5050]

Keep the hotshoe port protected in case of snow falling onto it and water seeping inside.

And keep extra batteries handy cos they tend to drain faster than normal.

Sorry....Your first point is another fallacy...

 

[pasta]

there shouldn't be any problem, brought my ep3 to harbin last year withstanding with a temperature of -29. As what all others have mentioned, i do notice that the battery do drain faster than usual in this cold weather. Other than that, it's working perfectly fine. It's usually your finger that is not working fine in this kinda weather. :bsmilie:

 

[Blu-By-U]

Read those threads on keeping the equipment warm..you gotta be kidding right?

Back in 2008, I went to Harbin.(E-330). Temperatures at -20 to -25C. My mistake in the early part of the tour, was to put my lens into my jacket inside pocket. the lens, (7-14) fogged up with minutes when I swap a warm lens with a cold body. Only got about 10 shots. I could not do anything to clean it as the fogging was inside the lens. From that day on, I left all my lenses in my sling and not in my pocket. The bag temperature would be close to the outside. I then never experience any fogging.

Then in 2011, to Korea (E-5), not as cold but then it was still -10 to -20C Same thing, lenses and camera in the sling and as close to the outside temperature as possible.

As for batteries, I had 2 in my vest pocket and 1 in my camera. I keep swapping the batteries and charging all of them at night. AAs for the flash were all charged every night irregardless if they were use or not.

Other than that, I think nothing untoward would happen to the cameras..maybe a cranky LCD.

Wait..E-m5 uses a LCD for a VF..I won;t know if that would have any effect in the extreme cold.

 

[keithwee]

One point to consider. I brought along 3 extra batts (eh , kiasi Singaporean here) to Seoul. Took around 200-300 shots per day , typically used around 2 fully charged ones per day in around zero to sub zero temp.

My advice , do bring along 2 extra having extra chargers do help too. No more damaging than missing that shot due to a dead batt. No amount of keeping the batt warm will help if u r just brining one batt along and expecting it to last e whole day

 

[greenpost]

I do not have the setup you have. Abt 3 yrs ago, i went to Beijing in winter, climbed the Great Wall. Was about -10c with strong wind. I hung my E-P1 with the zoom kit lens on my neck. No protection or whatever. Not even in my coat. No problems using it, manage to get 200+ shots on one battery with some power left. I am pretty confident that your OM-D should be ok too. Not sure abt your lens thou.

What you should be more concern (i think) is how do you protect your fingers. Your joints will be painful in cold. If you do not have a good pair of gloves, try going to those outdoor or travel shop to get a glove that is thin yet able to keep some warmth, so that you can use your camera easily.

I agree with the above statement on the gloves part. U might wan to get thin leather gloves to navigate the camera buttons.

In Seoul now, OMD survived without a bag. At times when its too cold, the batteries life is shorten. It would be back to normal when you warm it for a while.

Agreed with Oly5050 on the filter when you get from cold to warm areas, it would get fogged up, just let it rest a while and the fog be gone.

xllms is right on the grip, i missed my extra grip with gloves on...

So just enjoy shooting and worry less on the camera

 

[kenly]

lol. dont get me wrong. I'm pretty sure it will be ok. Just adding another line. The camera MAY be abit "retarded" or slow sometimes due to coldness. So..dont panic ok.
yea.. enjoy your trip

Hi milktea, thanks for the sharing.

 

[kenly]

Hi all, thank you so much for the sharing of your experiences in winter time.

 

[dniwkh]

I do not have the setup you have. Abt 3 yrs ago, i went to Beijing in winter, climbed the Great Wall. Was about -10c with strong wind. I hung my E-P1 with the zoom kit lens on my neck. No protection or whatever. Not even in my coat. No problems using it, manage to get 200+ shots on one battery with some power left. I am pretty confident that your OM-D should be ok too. Not sure abt your lens thou.

What you should be more concern (i think) is how do you protect your fingers. Your joints will be painful in cold. If you do not have a good pair of gloves, try going to those outdoor or travel shop to get a glove that is thin yet able to keep some warmth, so that you can use your camera easily.

zero degrees you should not need gloves to shoot as it is not too cold.

For me at -10deg C and below, I need a good pair of thinsulate gloves. I think timberland got sell some of these. Very thin gloves.

 

[Blu-By-U]

As for me, I cut a the tips off the index and middle (right hand only) of a wool woven gloves. That was when I went to Jiuzhaigau in the 2006. I have been using that glove since. On top of Jiuzhaigau, the pair have seen Harbin, Japan, and Korea.

 

[daredevil123]

For condensation/fogging, you only need to worry when moving from a cold environment into a warm one. The best method is still to put your camera into a ziploc bag. after the condensation dries up on the outside of the bag, remove the camera and you will be fine. When going from warm environment out into the cold, no condensation/fogging will happen.

For batteries, put your spare batteries in your jacket pockets on the inside of the jacket. It will keep them warm.

For shooting in white ice and snow, start with EV +1.7

For protection against cold. The most important parts of the body to keep warm are: head, feet, ears and hands.

 

[microcosm]

As for me, I cut a the tips off the index and middle (right hand only) of a wool woven gloves. That was when I went to Jiuzhaigau in the 2006. I have been using that glove since. On top of Jiuzhaigau, the pair have seen Harbin, Japan, and Korea.

This is a classic tip, thanks for sharing Blu.

The best I have tried was to buy one of those 3M Thinsulate photographers' glove, cut off the thumb and index finger at the tip. (Select one that doesn't fray after you cut it). Then wear mitts over it (looks like the cooking gloves, no fingers kind). That will keep you very warm until the next shot.

 

[daredevil123]

This is a classic tip, thanks for sharing Blu.

The best I have tried was to buy one of those 3M Thinsulate photographers' glove, cut off the thumb and index finger at the tip. (Select one that doesn't fray after you cut it). Then wear mitts over it (looks like the cooking gloves, no fingers kind). That will keep you very warm until the next shot.

Or you can get one of these kind of gloves, available in many countries, especially China.

 

[Oly5050]

For condensation/fogging, you only need to worry when moving from a cold environment into a warm one. The best method is still to put your camera into a ziploc bag. after the condensation dries up on the outside of the bag, remove the camera and you will be fine. When going from warm environment out into the cold, no condensation/fogging will happen.

For batteries, put your spare batteries in your jacket pockets on the inside of the jacket. It will keep them warm.

For shooting in white ice and snow, start with EV +1.7

For protection against cold. The most important parts of the body to keep warm are: head, feet, ears and hands.

Amen...some good practical advice finally.

 

[Blu-By-U]

Or you can get one of these kind of gloves, available in many countries, especially China.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6457673469_20024f660e_z.jpg

This is really nice..individual finger covers. I will be looking out for these in my next trip.