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From: citrin@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU (Wayne Citrin)
Newsgroups: net.rec.photo
Subject: Re: Low temp camera operation
Message-ID: <11929@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Wed, 19-Feb-86 17:44:28 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.11929
Posted: Wed Feb 19 17:44:28 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Feb-86 05:15:23 EST
References: <1113@vax2.fluke.UUCP> <7819@watrose.UUCP>
Reply-To: citrin@ucbvax.berkeley.edu.UUCP (Wayne Citrin)
Distribution: net
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 47

In article <1113@vax2.fluke.UUCP> behemoth@fluke.UUCP (Pat Gallagher) writes:
>
>I am planning a cold weather photography trip and I am looking for a 
>camera that will operate at about -10 F.  I would also appreciate any
>hints or warnings about camera and film operation at low temperatures.

It's been a while, but here are some things I remember about cold
weather photography:

What Tom Hapaanen said about mechanical vs. electronic cameras is true;
battery function deteriorates at low temperatures.  In addition, don't use
motor drives or autowinders, even windup ones.  Film becomes brittle
at low temperatures and can break.  When winding film, be very careful
and wind it very slowly.  It's also important to wind and rewind the
film slowly because in cold dry air, static electricity can form,
and sparks that can ruin an image may be generated.

You might consider having the lubrication in your camera removed and replaced
with graphite.  (When you get back to warm weather, have the graphite
removed and replaced with the original type of lubricant.)  For really 
cold weather (arctic and subarctic conditions), you might even have all
the lubrication removed for the duration of the cold weather.  This 
increases wear on the camera but assures that there's no lubricant to gum
up at very cold temperatures.  Gummy lubricants can slow down a shutter.

One very important point for cold weather photography is to be very careful
when taking the camera inside from the cold outdoors.  Moisture from
the warm air can condense on the film, the internal mechanism, and 
particularly on the cold lens elements.  To avoid this, put the camera
into a plastic bag and seal it with a twist tie before taking it inside.
Moisture will now condense on the outside of the bag, but not inside the
camera.  (All the moisture has already condensed out of the cold air in
the bag.)  When the camera has had a chance to warm up, it can be removed
from the bag.

Use a rubber eye cup when shooting in cold weather.  You don't want your
eyelids or your eye freezing onto the eyepiece.  Wear two layers of gloves:
a thin inner glove and a thick outer mitten.  That way, you can remove the
outer glove to use the camera and your hands will stay reasonably warm
and functional.  Also, this will prevent your fingers from freezing
onto the camera body.

For other information, there was an article about this in American Photographer
about a year ago that concentrated especially on clothing.

Wayne Citrin
(ucbvax!citrin)