tuanvo1982 Posted February 4, 2012 Share #1 Posted February 4, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) In this morning is around -2 degree. My friend took his M8.2 and went around but after 10 mins, the camera doesn't work until he goes to a shop and warm the camera up. I just wonder the camera doesn't work in minus degree. Some saids the battery doesn't work in low temperature but I still hv no idea Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Hi tuanvo1982, Take a look here M8.2 and minus weather condition. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Jeff S Posted February 4, 2012 Share #2 Posted February 4, 2012 From the M9 FAQ, equally applicable to the M8.2. It's more a battery issue than a camera issue. Another related issue is moisture. After coming in from the cold, it's important to bring the camera to temp gradually to avoid condensation (not just for the M, but in general when digital electronics are involved). Some people carry a zip-loc bag for this purpose, placing the camera in the bag before coming indoors and letting it stay there once inside until it comes to room temp. Cold temps are one of the few times I work out of a camera bag when shooting; for me, this is more convenient than keeping my jacket open. Extra charged batteries are a basic precaution. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted February 4, 2012 Share #3 Posted February 4, 2012 My M8 worked fine today outside in NL at about -5 °C for about 20 minutes or so. No failure beyond that time, I just went home. Admittedly the battery was fully charged (& still is after about 20 pictures). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppyman Posted February 4, 2012 Share #4 Posted February 4, 2012 My M8 worked for several hours in -15 C until the battery got too cold. I replaced it with a warm fully charged battery and the camera worked fine again until I was too cold. In another location where the temperature remained around zero and snow fell all day the camera continued to operate normally for each days shooting. Quite likely your friend had a battery that only had a partial charge when he started. In any conditions like this it is good practice to start the day with a fully charged battery too. Another good idea when shooting in very cold conditions is to have the camera inside your coat when not shooting. Remember that the battery design used for the M8 and M9 is the same technology (Lithium Ion) as used for most digital cameras. In other words this can happen with any digital camera of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfx Posted February 4, 2012 Share #5 Posted February 4, 2012 hi, I think thats a thing of the battery. I always take my M8 into the mountains during the winter season in Austria. But always with a second (or third) battery in my pocket. -15 degrees are not a problem for the M8, like I showed in this thread: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/forum-zur-leica-m8/205373-akku-oder-kameraproblem.html#post1860939 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
designed Posted February 4, 2012 Share #6 Posted February 4, 2012 Funny enough, I was just about to start a thread on the same thing. It's been -20°C here in Finland for this week and I've used my M8 outside during that time, armed with a handful of batteries. The battery performance isn't as bad as I remembered but other problems appear. First the shutter button seemed to die completely, but that isn't completely surprising as the whole powerswitch/shutterbutton assembly has been dying for 2 years. Also the display slows down and is considerably brighter on the right edge than elsewhere. The real problem is that after 20-30 minutes the shutter starts to fail, first with "Drive blocked" messages and then finally a "Shutter fault" message. These do go away after the camera warms back up, but I wanted to know is my M8 in particularily bad shape or does the M8 limit to above -20°C temperatures? EXIF shows the shutter has 10800 actuations, and the "Shutter fault" error has appeared occasionally when shooting in wet/rainy conditions during summertime. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted February 5, 2012 Share #7 Posted February 5, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) ...I wanted to know is my M8 in particularily bad shape or does the M8 limit to above -20°C temperatures... Limits of the specs are 0-40° C (M8 Instructions, page 136). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fWord Posted February 5, 2012 Share #8 Posted February 5, 2012 Didn't someone at these forums produce a spectacular array of photos at Antarctica with a digital M? It's likely that these cameras are guaranteed to work within a certain range of temperatures but will still tolerate excursions to this range to a certain extent before troubles arise. The suspicion is that any issues presenting at low temperatures could actually already be pre-existing, just that connection problems are exacerbated by environmental conditions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
designed Posted February 5, 2012 Share #9 Posted February 5, 2012 Limits of the specs are 0-40° C (M8 Instructions, page 136). Then I guess I'll be shooting with my D700: also specified to work at 0-40°C but no question of failing at -20°C either. The suspicion is that any issues presenting at low temperatures could actually already be pre-existing, just that connection problems are exacerbated by environmental conditions. That's what I had in mind too, and why I was asking for other experiences with -20°Cish temperatures. I intend to send my M8 for power switch repair & CLA soon anyhow, would be nice to get the full order in if it needs other work as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksporry Posted February 5, 2012 Share #10 Posted February 5, 2012 The degrees are guaranteed operating temperatures. Usually equipment works, and survives, outside this range, but the manufacturer does not guarantee this. Actually, I find this interesting. I mean, everyone knows photos are taken, also on the north pole, so we all know cameras can be subjected to temps down to -30 easily. Does this mean that unless you get a military grade, certificated camera, formally not a single camera can work at such cold temps? Silly I think. Now I know the LCDs are a technical obstacle, but barring the LCD, and battery issues, I don't see a reason why cameras shouldn't be able to work at such low temps... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
due163 Posted February 10, 2012 Share #11 Posted February 10, 2012 This weekend I was outside for a total of about 3 hours and the warmest it got was -12C! it was -14C on friday for the fireworks, and -12C on Sunday for the sliding and sleighride and my M8 worked fine the whole time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
salobaas Posted February 13, 2012 Share #12 Posted February 13, 2012 Yesterday shooting with M8 in Geneva the ice sculptures along the lake. Round -5C with strong wind. Two fully charged batteries (bat meter showing 100%). After 30m, first failure, changed battery for second full one. After 10m failure. Turn camera off. After 5m turn camera on again and works again for another 10m. Then after one shot: click-sssssh-ssssh-ssssh-ssssh (like shutter cocking 4 times) and power gone. Aiaiai, not happy about that last one. Turn power off, try again 5m later and it works again for another 10m. NOT HAPPY AT ALL. Last winter I was in lapland with my D3 at -40C and going in and out getting quite some condense. Not a single hesitation or missing of a "decisive moment". Looking forward to see if the Fuji XPro1 will be more robust. Cheers, Fons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 14, 2012 Share #13 Posted February 14, 2012 Hmm.. The well-known late nature photographer Fritz Pölking describes how his Canons just managed to survive minus 10 C. for not-too-long periods of time. The point is that M cameras are small, and metal through and through, so the battery and circuits will cool down faster that the average DSLR. In the end, however, the sensitivity of non-military grade electronics to cold is similar, whatever brand you use.That goes for memory cards as well. Those are specified for 0-40 degrees too. I have minimal problems shooting both my M8 and M9 in temperatures down to -25 C. I keep the camera under my jacket and a spare battery in my pocket. Heat can be more of a problem. Chargers cut out when ambient temperatures get over approx 45 C. Then one has to recharge batteries in the night or the fridge... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomv Posted February 14, 2012 Share #14 Posted February 14, 2012 Does it make sense to use a half case? It does have an insulating effect I would think. Might that also explain some the differences in user experience? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 14, 2012 Share #15 Posted February 14, 2012 Possibly yes, I should think Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbretteville Posted February 15, 2012 Share #16 Posted February 15, 2012 I use my M8 in clld weather all the time and have used it in -15 to -20 centigrade. No problems other than shorter battery life and that you need to thaw it when going back into a building to avoid condensation. I leave it in a camera bag to come back to indoors temp slowly. Never had a problem with any camera or lens. When out in real cold (-10C and below) I keep the spare batteries in a inside pocket of my jacket to keep them warm. Carl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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