M240 in extremely cold environment [merged]

[ns_ng]

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Based on my experience taking photos at and around -40F (and even lower) in places like Minnesota, Manitoba, Russia, and Finnmark with various different types of cameras, here are a few tips you might find useful: (1) Bring an extra factory (Leica) battery for the M, and keep it somewhere close to your body and beneath clothing while outside. Batteries lose deliverable charge rapidly under extremely low temperature conditions. (2) Chemical hand warmers are cheap and work extraordinarily well (see "Grabber" band hand warmers). You can use them to keep your hands, feet and a spare battery warm. I would not bother trying to keep a camera and lens warm with chemical heaters (too much mass, and the camera and lens will cool off immediately once exposed to the elements). Keeping the camera and lens beneath your outer layer at least when not in use is also a good idea. (3) Thin silk or latex gloves are a must, as they permit fine adjustment of camera and lens controls without baring skin to the elements. Don't worry about sweating in latex gloves -- you will stay warm if you wear them and keep them on. Wear thin gloves underneath a more robust and warmer pair of mittens or gloves. Mittens are almost always warmer than gloves, so bring both in case it really does get down to -40F (where almost any glove will be worthless). See Mountain Hardware brand expedition gloves and mittens (my favorites). (4) Bring a zip-lock bag (or two) sufficiently large to hold your camera and lens. Put the camera and lens inside the bag and close it before going inside to warm up. This will prevent condensation from forming around the cameras viewfinder, etc., when you go inside. Once the camera and lens warm up inside the bag it's safe to take them out. (5) Bring and use a swimming snorkle (no kidding). This will keep your breath vapor away from the camera when you are outside in cold weather, and prevent fogging and icing of the viewfinder and other parts of the camera and lens. For tripod work especially a snorkle in very cold weather is exceptionally handy. (6) Bring a good pair of boots, such as Salomon Toundra boots, a good facemask that will cover your cheeks, and a pair of clear ski goggles in case it is windy. (7) Avoid using a film camera at very cold temperatures -- just about everything has a nasty habit of breaking at those temperatures, especially film. Remember that cold feet and hands will end your outside activities faster than anything else, so don't skimp in that area as you make preparations. The key to being successful at very cold temperatures is to be prepared, and when you are, the experience is much more enjoyable. If temperatures only go as low as say -20 C you will find that many of the things described above won't be necessary. Hope you have a great trip. Sounds like a real adventure! Good luck!

 

I live in tropical Singapore and some of the extreme weather gears are not available locally. I will have to mail order these items. I agree with you regarding keeping my hands and feet warm. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

N S Ng

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[Guest redge]

Get a Canada Goose parka: Canada Goose

 

Worth every penny that they cost.

 

A few years ago, there was a piece on Luminous Landscape about how well digital cameras fared on a trip to the Antarctic. You might find it useful to read it.

 

Having spent time in the Arctic in winter and other equally cold places, I have reservations about how realistic it is to think that you are going to spend extended times outdoors at -40 to -45C, but you will sort that out for yourself.

 

Cheers.

[MaxJ1961]

Will below freezing temperature hurt the M240?

[openuser]

I had some issues recently with the camera taking black images when the body was subject to subzero temperatures for over 4 hours (hanging around my neck with auto sleep off) .

 

The issue begins when I turn off the camera, and turn it back on after the said exposure to cold temperature. If I don't ever turn off the camera, it behaves normally. When I turn off the camera and turn it back on, and confirm that it takes only black images, turn on the LV, turn the camera off, and then turn it back on (which starts the camera in LV mode) , the camera behaves as normal again.

 

Seems odd, but I accept it as quirks of owning an M, and work around it... After the camera warms up, it behaves as normal.

[Guest Gilgamesh]

With the 25th December looming large, you could always buy your M some warm booties.

 

All electronics deriving power from batteries suffer inherent power issues in extremely low temperatures, cold weather testing is quite normal and it drops below freezing in Germany. I think it safe to say your M will be right at home in the cold.

 

Your naked pinkies might be another matter, it being a metal body; it's minus 15 as I type and we have been out 'n' about all morning, my M and I. She stays in my coat pocket 'til I need her.

[flyalf]

...

 

In contrast, although similarly cold, I hope to see and photograph the Northern Lights this winter, when there is likely to be little light at all. I have done some research and read some books, but does anyone have any advice? I shall be using an M with Zeiss 21 mm f/2.8, and anticipate starting off at ISO 1000 with 10–20 s exposures with +1 stop overexposure, obviously dependent on conditions at the time.

 

....

 

Phil

 

F/1,4 - f/4, 1-16s @ISO 800 is my normal exposures for Aurora Borealis. The main challenge is to get the surrounding landscape exposed. Helps with snow / full moon.

 

Best of luck.

[MirekE]

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In contrast, although similarly cold, I hope to see and photograph the Northern Lights this winter, when there is likely to be little light at all. I have done some research and read some books, but does anyone have any advice? I shall be using an M with Zeiss 21 mm f/2.8, and anticipate starting off at ISO 1000 with 10–20 s exposures with +1 stop overexposure, obviously dependent on conditions at the time.

 

 

One observation I made during my less than stellar attempts was that exposures around 20 seconds caused the lights look uniformly green and shapeless, while short exposures around 1 sec made the lights more detailed and colorful. If you will have the opportunity, try some short exposures to see if it makes any difference under your specific conditions. I would also recommend to take one fast lens.

[steveBK]

An anecdote of good results:

I had the chance to test my M240 in cold weather today.

About 25 F here, in a good deal of wind and some snow.

 

Had no lockups, black frames, or unusual battery drain.

Was walking in the snow, camera exposed not in a case or bag, or tucked into jacket.

Camera was left on entire time, don't think it had the chance to go to sleep given the usage.

Did not use live view aside from a quick video half way through.

Only ran the battery down from 100% to 80% shooting 170 frames over 90 minutes.

 

 

Was quite pleased compared to my previous M8 experience.

[sirimiri]

... (5) Bring and use a swimming snorkle (no kidding). This will keep your breath vapor away from the camera when you are outside in cold weather, and prevent fogging and icing of the viewfinder and other parts of the camera and lens....exceptionally handy.

Having shot with an M9-P during a few -26°C days (the nights I didn't bother with) in Russia, I can say that this is an interesting idea!