# What was the lowest temperature have you brought your gears into?



## duydaniel (Sep 23, 2013)

Please share:
body name / lowest temperature / how long etc...

I hope we will all benefit from this info.
Thank you very much


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## Marsu42 (Sep 23, 2013)

duydaniel said:


> Please share: body name / lowest temperature / how long etc...



60d / about -15 c / not very long, maybe 10min out of the bag until the shutter started getting stuck which made me quit instantly


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## Chosenbydestiny (Sep 23, 2013)

duydaniel said:


> Please share:
> body name / lowest temperature / how long etc...
> 
> I hope we will all benefit from this info.
> Thank you very much



Plural for gear is still gear, not gears. Gears mean something completely different.


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## cocopop05 (Sep 23, 2013)

I had it in -11 degrees C (-18 with wind chill) in Denver last December for about 30 mins. Camera performed flawlessly.


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## candyman (Sep 23, 2013)

7D and 5D MK III
between minus 5 and minus 10 celcius
about one hour


Operated without problems.


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## Eldar (Sep 23, 2013)

Being Norwegian, there are plenty of opportunities to test low temp performance during our winters. All of my current and also my previous bodies have been out at temperatures below -25C (-13F). Some also below -30C (-22F). That includes 5D, 5DII, 5DIII, 1DIII, 1DsIII, 1DX and probably also the 7D (don´t really remember). I have only used L-lenses. The only precaution is to pack the camera and lens in an airtight plastic bag when I go back in, which is something I learned back in the seventies and just continue to do. I´m not sure that it´s necessary for a pro body/L-lens combo, but I am not going to test the alternative.

The only problem I have had was with my AE-1 Program, probably around 1980. The shutter curtain froze. Apart from that, I have not had any issues with neither bodies or lenses.

Attached is an early January image from the mountain area where I have my cabin. It was -32C (-26F). 5DIII w. 24-70 f2.8L II.


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## Marsu42 (Sep 23, 2013)

Eldar said:


> Attached is an early January image from the mountain area where I have my cabin. It was -32C (-26F).



Yuck! Taken from a comfy armchair next to the stove through the window  ? If not, how do you operate your gear at all @these temperatures? All the gloves I own are either too thin/cold or too thick to properly hit the buttons, but then again there might be some pro-style mt. everest gear that I've never seen.


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## Eldar (Sep 23, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> Eldar said:
> 
> 
> > Attached is an early January image from the mountain area where I have my cabin. It was -32C (-26F).
> ...


He, he; The picture was taken about 3 miles on skis from my cabin, so not through a window  . The temperature sounds worse than it is. When it gets this cold, there is normally no wind and the air is very dry, so compared to coastal temperatures, where you have much higher humidity, you´re comfortable at much lower temperatures. It´s still quite cold though, so proper clothing is important. Warm hunting gloves and some practice gives you proper control over the buttons.


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## Sella174 (Sep 23, 2013)

I'd say about 12°C ... below that and it starts raining here in South Africa. ;D


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## J.R. (Sep 23, 2013)

I've used the 5D3 as well as the 6D at -7C to -10C without any problems. Lenses used were 17-40L, 24-105L, 100mm macro, 100-400L and the 135L.


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## Don Haines (Sep 23, 2013)

I have had my 60D out for 3 days on a canoe trip with the night time temperatures dropping down to -8C and daily highs of 5C... the camera was kept in a Pelican case and everything worked perfectly for the trip.

I have had it out for several hours at -15C to -20, carrying it in a toploader bag with one of those re-usable hand warmers inside the bag to give a bit of heat, once again, no problems....

I have had it outside at -35C for a few quick pictures and after a couple of minutes the LCD shoulder display started to get real slow... I brought it inside quickly with no damage. (slipped it into a plastic bag before coming in so there were no condensation issues)

The best camera I have used in the cold was my trusty Olympus OM-1.... completely manual and all the battery did was to operate the light meter, so when the battery died from the cold you just guessed the exposure. I had it out for hours at -65C and other than the film being a lot harder than normal to wind, it worked fine.


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## adhocphotographer (Sep 23, 2013)

I have taken a 450D and kit lens into -35deg C and it was absolutely fine... I would not worry about my 5D.


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## lol (Sep 23, 2013)

50D, sub-zero (don't know exact temperature but any water outdoors was definitely in solid form), several hours. No problems even after dropping it into snow.

450D, 600D, sub-zero (don't know exact temperature but I was getting frost on the lens), several hours. No problems.


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## davidcampbellphotography (Sep 23, 2013)

I have been down to -30degC in Alaska shooting the Northern Lights with a 5D3 and 6D. I was out in these conditions for about 4 hours.

I did not have many issues, the main one was that the LCD screen started to have slow response as I think the liquid crystal started to freeze. It continued working though. 6D slowed down more than the 5D3.

Had really good high ISO noise performance at that temperature as well ;D

Hope this helps.


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## Emil (Sep 23, 2013)

I used my old 600D in tempratures around -20°C for 1-2hours several times and I never had any problems. Haven't had the chance to test my newly acquired 6D yet.


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## eLroberto (Sep 23, 2013)

7D + 17-40, 24-105 and 70-200 II last winter at around -12°C for about two hours with nasty winds. Everything worked fine, except my fingers. 

Kind regards, eL


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## paul13walnut5 (Sep 23, 2013)

7D/2000k/1hr.

Took a bit of colour correction in post, I had a calumet greyscale card to help me out.

Oh right, not that kind of temperature....


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## 87vr6 (Sep 23, 2013)

eLroberto said:


> 7D + 17-40, 24-105 and 70-200 II last winter at around -12°C for about two hours with nasty winds. Everything worked fine, except my fingers.
> 
> Kind regards, eL



I had my 5D3 with 24-70II in about -18c while I was in Sapporo. Flawless. Batteries definitely don't last as long.


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## Rick Massie (Sep 23, 2013)

-50 in Circle, Alaska on the Yukon Quest. My body could only manage about a half hour, but the camera (5dC) and flashes were fine. On longer stints (1-2 hours) in -40, the shutter would sound like it had slowed down, but still worked fine. Keeping batteries warm were the biggest problem, but the camera really had no issues.


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## janmaxim (Sep 30, 2013)

Minus 30 degrees Celsius with my 600D and EF-S 18-55 lens. Worked flawlessy. Also from Norway.

The only concern is when you bring the camera in. Like Eldar suggested remove the batteries, wrap the camera in a airtght plastic bag when you are outside, BEFORE you bring it in. Then wait until the gear is climatized before you use it again.

The reason for this is how condensation is generated when cold objects are brought into hot enviroments and not to risk waterdroplets forming on inside of the camera.

I did some timelapses this weekend at +3-4 C and even then dew formed at the front element of my 24-105 lens and my eyefinder of Canon 6D.


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## Marsu42 (Oct 1, 2013)

janmaxim said:


> Minus 30 degrees Celsius with my 600D and EF-S 18-55 lens. Worked flawlessy. Also from Norway.



In such extreme temperatures, the question (nobody is likely to be able to answer here) is how much affects your shutter mechanism, i.e. how much sooner it will break due to components/lubricants being outside their meant operating range. With a Rebel it maybe won't matter that much (depending on your budget), but a 5d3 breaking is more expensive.


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## Kernuak (Oct 2, 2013)

-26 C in Finland, photographing the Aurora, for around 20 minutes, but slightly warmer (possibly around -20-22 C) earlier in the night for around 3 hours. No problems experienced with my 5D MkIII and 24 f/1.4 MkII, I was pretty cold though, even with lots of thermals. I even had the same battery for all that time.


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## duydaniel (Oct 2, 2013)

Thank you(s) very much...
I am very pleased to know your gears have served you well.
Please keep posting


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## fegari (Oct 2, 2013)

-35 or Celcius some years ago in arctic Sueden when I had a 7D, probably -40 including wind chill while driving on the snowmobile, the back of the camera covered in frost due to condensation from my body heat or when approaching the eye to the viewfinder. Zero issues


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## AttackMonkey (Oct 2, 2013)

Around -35 to -40 Celsius on a ski trip to Finland over Christmas. Had my 600D out for ages without any problems. The only issue at those temperatures is battery life, which is greatly reduced. I used a battery grip though and that seemed to help a lot. As others have mentioned, the back screen can get frosty if you're breathing on it while you look through the viewfinder. I found wearing a ski mask mitigated that for the most part though.

For operating, just make sure you have really good gloves and a bit of practice. When I was taking shots of the Aurora, I took my outer gloves off but kept the thermal linings on so I could operate the smaller buttons, but you can't do that for too long due to the cold.


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## crasher8 (Oct 2, 2013)

5 F


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## takesome1 (Oct 2, 2013)

Chosenbydestiny said:


> duydaniel said:
> 
> 
> > Please share:
> ...



Maybe you misunderstood the question. I have shifted the gears on my car at -40 F for hours on end.

Then again, maybe everyone else understood and didn't need a third grade teacher for a typo correction.

To answer the OP's question (taking the typo in to account), I used a 5D II photographing for almost an hour of shooting at 10 F. Before I finished the mirror failed. I do not know if it was the cold or if it was just its time. It was 9 months old and warranty covered it. 
Edit: I have been in much colder with no failures, but always for short periods.


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## JPAZ (Oct 2, 2013)

A few years back, was dog-sledding in just subzero with a 50D and 17-85 around my neck exposed to the wind and cold. After about 4 hours in the cold and wind, the camera just stopped working. It came back to life a few minutes after coming in from the cold (it warmed whatever stopped working) and seemed fine. The next night, I was out in -31F shooting the Aurora for hours with the same camera on a tripod but with my 10-22. Except for battery life there were no issues. Of note, I used that camera for a couple of years after these events with no apparent issue. The 17-85 failed but this was at least 2 years later so doubt there was a relationship. Lens was repaired by Mack under my extended warranty and went on to serve me until I replaced my kit with the 5Diii.


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## duydaniel (Oct 2, 2013)

Anyone tried to avoid condensation by putting a camera into a condom*?

*this for convenience shake because a condom is very small to put in a wallet vs a traditional plastic bag


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Oct 3, 2013)

duydaniel said:


> Please share:
> body name / lowest temperature / how long etc...
> 
> I hope we will all benefit from this info.
> Thank you very much



probably about an hour at 10F for one of the xxD and also a 5D2


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## duydaniel (Oct 3, 2013)

The only experience I had was walking around NY city for hours when it was probably 20 F
with a Canon G9 hanging around my neck. It was so cold that the Garmin GPS damaged.


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## tommo224 (Nov 8, 2013)

janmaxim said:


> The only concern is when you bring the camera in. *Like Eldar suggested remove the batteries, wrap the camera in a airtght plastic bag when you are outside, BEFORE you bring it in. *Then wait until the gear is climatized before you use it again.
> 
> The reason for this is how condensation is generated when cold objects are brought into hot enviroments and not to risk waterdroplets forming on inside of the camera.



May I ask you to elaborate on this? What kind of airtight bags are these? Just any type?

I'm heading to Alaska and trying to find out as much as I can


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## JPAZ (Nov 8, 2013)

The idea is to prevent condensation which can then freeze. I can't speak for others but a "zip lock" bag has worked for me.


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## amoore00357 (Nov 8, 2013)

Had my 60D in my backpack ice fishing all day (about 7 hours). It was -14 when we went out and topped at 20. The camera worked perfectly but the hands didn't want to operate as fast  

(it doesn't get that cold very often in Nebraska like it does in Norway but that's the coldest I had mine)


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## eml58 (Nov 8, 2013)

Antarctica 2012 over 6 weeks we had 11Days that went to -40 with wind chill. Svalbard 2013 we had 6 days where the temperature went to -35, again with wind chill. 1Dx worked flawlessly, but Batteries last about 45 minutes or less. Lenses used were 400 & 600 in Antarctica, 200-400 & 600 in Svalbard, again no issues, I do use Lens Coate covers, not for any aesthetic look, purely to protect the Lens from dust/dirt/knocks and my hands in the cold conditions of the Arctic/Antarctic.


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## ooF Fighters (Nov 8, 2013)

9 deg F. For about 20 minutes. It was at the Queen Mary Chill ice sculpture exhibit. A 7d with a 24-105. I was frozen but the camera was fine. Had a lot of condensation buildup after going from 9 deg to 65 deg, but was fine after about 20 minutes


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## captainkanji (Nov 8, 2013)

Took my 6D on an early morning walk a couple of weeks after I got it. No worse for wear.


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## msm (Nov 8, 2013)

Windchill temperatures are irrelevant, its the still air temperature which decides how cold the gear gets.

Airtight bags aren't really crucial, any bag which prevents the air from circulating freely around the equipment should be enough. I just keep my stuff in my camera backpack with the zipper closed over night and have no issues with condensation forming on it when moving from -20 to +20 inside (celsius).


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## Maximilian (Nov 8, 2013)

duydaniel said:


> Please share:
> body name / lowest temperature / how long etc...



5D2+100-400L/ -15°C (4°F) / about 1 hour / +100 pics of young siberian tigers in snow (zoo) 

everything worked well, didn't even have to change the battery, 8)
only prob was, that I had forgotten my gloves (metal body and lens on pure skin) 

after that I left the gear in the bag for +3 hours at +21°C (70°F). no condensation.


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## Jura (Nov 8, 2013)

when researching snow leopards in the mountains of western China (min altitude 3400m) my old 50D and sigma lenses went down to -25 in my tent most nights and suffered no ill effects other than the lcd screen seeming a little less responsive and the whole ensemble smelling a lot like yak buy the end of a trip. I have a friend out there who still uses her 60d and sigma ultrawide + canon 18-200 with no problems. Also once took a 40D and sigma 10-20 up to 6000 metres and the night before we submitted the mountain it was well below -20c.


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## Vikmnilu (Nov 13, 2013)

Some time in February, I think 2009, I had the marvellous idea of going outside to shoot at -27C. Did not have a car, went biking for about 4km and back home. At the time, I had my old EOS 10D and sigma lenses 17-35 2.8-4 and sigma 105mm. Besides 50mm 1.8 II. 
After 3 hours shooting with no problem, the LCD started to react much slower and the AF i the lenses to be very slow. I decided to leave home, that was the first time that my toes got frozen, very painful to get them back to life  

This year in March we were outside photographing the aurora and it was -20C. Canon EOS 5D mark II, 24mm 1.4L II, Sigma 12-24mm and Canon 24-70mm 2.8 L.

Besides that we were freezing, toes again as well as hands, no problems at all, 4 hours outside in total. Batteries get empty quite faster than normally, but I did not miss any shot because of this.

I usually put my equipment back in my Lowepro old minitrekker and fastpack with lots of silica gels (I always carry them inside the bags) and I have not had any problem. Just be careful and leave the camera to warm up inside the backpack.

Next time, toewarmers for sure 

Victor


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## madspihl (Nov 13, 2013)

I regularly bring both my 5D III and 6D with me on northern lights sessions in the backcountry here in Sisimiut, Greenland. Both bodies have battery grips. 

We're on the west coast of Greenland, about 40 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, and I often work with the cameras in -25 Celsius, and usually there is a Canon 24mm f/1.4L II or a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 on the camera.

I have done quite a few star trail attempts (often ruined by too much northern lights... luxury problem) where I've left the cameras outside in -20 Celsius and colder overnight. I then wrap the body and parts of the lens in fleece jackets and woollen stuff, and I get about 7 hours of operation out of a setup like that in -20 Celsius (about 400-450 60 second exposures). Actually the wired remote often dies before the camera, even if the remote is wrapped in it's own dedicated woolen glove and nursed with one of these thermal / heating packs you can put in gloves.

The climate up here is very dry, and I have never had any issues with camera malfunction or anything relating to condensation. Sure, everything gets a bit moist when I come inside, but I just leave the camera turned off until it has dried out. It takes less than an hour. And as long as you _NEVER take it outside in the cold again before it is dry_, I don't see much of a reason to begin wrapping it and bagging it and such. At least, I have never done so on 50+ nights of northern lights hunting, and I've never had an issue. But of course this depends a lot on the local climate and air humidity.


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## extremeinstability (Nov 16, 2013)

-25F with rebels a couple times. You know it is brutal out when ice water is steaming like mad. -10F for hours doing star trails with rebels and 5D II. Only problem that happens is the LCD slowing down.


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## Don Haines (Nov 16, 2013)

Scanning old slides and came across this one.... The town of Resolute, NWT, Canada, shot with an Olympus OM-1 and Kodachrome64, during a COLD!!!!! snap. The air temperature was at -65C (record low) and the air was insanely clear... you could see some mountains that were 180 miles away.... but all the pictures I took that day came out blurry and I am not sure why as it looked clear through the viewfinder...

Resolute was the coldest place I have ever worked.... we kept the 4x4 in a garage that was heated to -40C... that's right..... HEATED to -40C... at that temperature you could still get it to start if you plugged in the block heater and battery warmer/charger...


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## Fleetie (Nov 19, 2013)

Where's Neuro, claiming to have personally built a cryostat with a cooled volume large enough to put his 1DX in and several BIFs, and taken a series of 14-shot-per-second bursts, all at 7.8 nanoKelvins?


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## cid (Nov 19, 2013)

I have used my 60D from 0C to -15C (maybe even -20, but not sure about this)
with two lenses

EF 100mm L macro - worked flawlessly at all temperatures used
EF-S 15-85mm - this lens was bit controversial to my taste in low temperatures, on one event (skiing in Alps -15C, maybe even -20C) it worked ok and there were no problems, on the other event the outside temperature was higher (maybe -10C) AND all the shots taken with this lens were out of focus (while 100mm macro worked fine) 
EF 24-70 mk II - used only at 0C and higher, so no relevant info 

EDIT: I had no problems with 60D body caused by low temperature


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## cocopop05 (Dec 22, 2013)

I have a new personal best of -33C, camera out for almost two hours. Used a 5D Mark III with 24-105 L. Camera still felt like a block of ice 4 hours later. LOL. I did notice that the battery drained a lot faster than at normal camera operating temperatures.


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## blanddragon (Dec 26, 2013)

I live in Minnesota and my 7D and Mk III have been out in well below -25 to - 30F for several days. Hand warmers are on the batteries and I generally shut off the LCD to save power as it gets weirded out after a couple hours. Bag it before going into my tent or a warm lodge. Two winters with no issues.


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