Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 12/8/2007, 9:09 PM
We had a discussion on this over on another website, one user claims temps of consistent -20F. I've been in similar temps for short periods (not longer than 30 mins) with the Z1.
You could even use a double layer of fleece with the chemical handwarmers on the tape housing and lens assembly if you're concerned about it. They last for about 6 hours.
farss wrote on 12/8/2007, 11:34 PM
One important thing is to keep the batteries warm.
Also watch out for your tripod head seizing up.

Bob.
JJKizak wrote on 12/9/2007, 6:23 AM
Well -40 was kind of the limit up in Thule, Greenland. Grease freezes and oil becomes very viscous. All of the vehicles were 4 wheel drive and had engine heaters plugged in all night with the engines idling. Batteries had heaters also. 20 weight oil was in differentials with 5 wt in the engine and kerosene in the radiators with the front of the radiator blocked off to prevent air from entering as it would cool the engine so much the thermostat could not properly heat it. All of the windows had these 50 cent plastic defroster kits (they stuck to the windows with rubber adheasive around the edges) which prevented about a 1/4" of ice buildup in less than 10 seconds, impossible to see through. I would at least have some protection for your lenses or you won't shoot shit. Those 50 cent thingys were incredably effective. In the morning when starting down the road with the truck one front wheel and one rear wheel would be turning and the other two would be frozen dragging and skidding on the icy pavement and finally break loose after about a 1/4 mile. All four wheels had conventional tire chains. On the longer roads leading to "P" mountain and "J" site the tire chains would break and explode through the truck fenders like a hand grenade leaving gaping holes that the USAF was not fond of. Jet aircraft would not be allowed to take off unless they were in a hangar with heated engines prior to take off.
Make sure you are wearing proper clothing---iron pants, foul weather parka and mittins after you use the camera to get your hands warm again. Fingered gloves don't cut it for very long. Eye protection is reccommended as your eyeballs will freeze if the wind is around 50 knots. The parka (invented by the Eskimos) can close off in front of your face to form a peephole to see where you are going and keep a pocket of warm air around your face so the eyes don't freeze. Sun glasses are almost a must have as everything is white.
Of course -20F is not as scary as -40F and you can cut corners and still get away with it. I have heard of cameras being specially prepared for these kinds of excursions.
JJK
Lili wrote on 12/9/2007, 12:02 PM
thanks for the advice. It came in handy - just returned from the shoot and everything lappears intact.

I did end up wrapping a fleece scarf around the camera (thankfully it was black and did not look too cheesy) and kept the camera in my insulated bag whenever I took it from outdoors back inside to prevent condensation (which happened to me once during a very hot summer day, taking the camera from extreme heat into air conditioning and vice-versa) Experienced many dropouts from that situation and had to take the camera for servicing afterwards!

-40 F. sounds totally brutal. Fortunately (for this shoot in Montreal, Quebec) it warmed up to -13 deg. Celsius, by mid morning and the sun stayed hidden long enough so that it did not make the snow too blinding. i tried to find the handwarmers Spot recommended, but most shops are not open that early on Sunday, but will definitely make them part of my winter accessories from here on in.

Did everything handheld, as the type. of shoot lended itself to it, so the tripod problem was not an issue, but I know it definitely would have been if I had to use it. In that case, I might try taping one of those lhand warm-up baggies around the head.

thanks again for the help- happy filming and editing to all :-)

Lili