vickko Posted January 9, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 9, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Anyone using the R9 and DMR in cold weather? Only minus 5 degC up here, and mine turned in a lot of black photos. Seems like the mirror wasn't going up. Vick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 Hi vickko, Take a look here Anyone using the R9 and DMR in cold weather? . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted January 9, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 9, 2011 I've been using the DMR quite a bit this winter, down to -10, albeit with an R8. I didn't notice anything untoward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickko Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted January 9, 2011 Thanks all Just took it out again, after warming it up in the house (while I had lunch). Yep, cold weather makes the motor miserable. At least now I know the failure mode. Half an hour at -10 degC and the motor was getting a bit intermittent about advancing the shutter. The battery seems to be holding out, although it's been displaying "flat" all day (i.e. since morning). Over 300 frames so far, which I hear is pretty substantial for the old DMR batteries. ....Vick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildlightphoto Posted January 9, 2011 Share #4 Posted January 9, 2011 ... The battery seems to be holding out, although it's been displaying "flat" all day (i.e. since morning). Over 300 frames so far, which I hear is pretty substantial for the old DMR batteries. That's quite good for an "old" DMR battery. I haven't taken mine out in weather much below 25 degrees F. The battery display told me they were half discharged but they kept working longer than I expected. No black exposures. After Michel Bass rebuilds the batteries last substantially longer; I was in cool weather all yesterday (~40 degrees F) and didn't need more than one rebuilt battery pack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted January 9, 2011 Share #5 Posted January 9, 2011 Vick, It's more likely to be the battery that's the problem than your R9/DMR because cold affects battery capacity, ie the amount of current it can deliver to the camera. Lifting the mirror and re-cocking the shutter will put the biggest load on your battery so there may not be quite enough energy in the battery to do it regularly in cold conditions with an ageing battery, especially if taking shots in quick succession. (Even a short interval between shots will let the battery recover a little as it will have time to recombine its chemicals to produce a little more energy.) Going back into the warm will help the battery while its in the warm but as soon as it gets cold again its capacity will drop significantly, no matter how freshly charged it is. Try to keep your batteries warm by keeping them close to your skin and they should behave better. Keeping the R9/DMR would be helpful but beware of condensation going from cold to warm. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krauklis Posted January 10, 2011 Share #6 Posted January 10, 2011 Thanks all Just took it out again, after warming it up in the house (while I had lunch). Yep, cold weather makes the motor miserable. At least now I know the failure mode. Half an hour at -10 degC and the motor was getting a bit intermittent about advancing the shutter. The battery seems to be holding out, although it's been displaying "flat" all day (i.e. since morning). Over 300 frames so far, which I hear is pretty substantial for the old DMR batteries. ....Vick Before pushing the shutter release button swing out the quick wind lever and leave it "open". That requires cocking the shutter by hand after the shot but it saves a lot of battery power. krauklis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickko Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted January 10, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ah, yes, use the manual wind. That is an excellent suggestion. Makes the camera like an RD1 :-) Thanks so much for the suggestion. Vick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 11, 2011 Share #8 Posted January 11, 2011 Yes, but the DMR batteries are not terribly sensitive to cold, probably because of the body mass around them. This suggests to me that they are running down. You might consider geting a couple rebuilt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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