Leica MP in cold

[miikka]

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I was not sure if I should start a new thread for this simple question, but here it goes. I purchased Leica MP (used) just little over month ago. Just last week we got our first cold weathers this winter here in Finland. I have shot with the MP for many rolls without any problems. At first cold weathers the battery died, so I replaced it with brand new one. Now when I was shooting my first roll with the new battery in ~ -3 °C, after a while when the camera got cold my light meter stopped showing the overexposure led. Other leds work fine and the lightmeter does seem to work fine otherwise. I still have warranty left on the camera because I bought it from store. I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this and if this could be because of my batteries. I used Duracell DL1/3N battery, instead of the recommended CR1/3N. At the moment the led seems to work fine, when the camera is at the room temperatures.

[Chuck Albertson]

If it's really cold, carry a spare batt someplace warm, and swap it out frequently with the one in the camera. Lithium batts like the 1/3N are supposed to be very resistant to cold weather, but I've only found that to be true for C- and D-size lithium cells. A pair of silver oxide batts seems to work better. In cold weather, my MP will often start flashing the idiot light ("dead batt"), but the problem goes away when I swap in a warm one. The supposedly dead batt works fine when it warms up.

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[miikka]

That seems like a good idea. I need to test that the next time we get cold weather here.

[lincoln_m]

Yes my MP does that in cold <5C so I keep putting it back in my camera bag. The battery recovers when it warms up. With my previous M6TTL the battery would die in the cold. I got through 5 batteries on a 3week Nepal trek and only 12 films. The MP battery life is much better I can’t remember when I last needed to change it. It should last at least 10 films.

[ShivaYash]

Yes my MP does that in cold <5C so I keep putting it back in my camera bag. The battery recovers when it warms up. With my previous M6TTL the battery would die in the cold. I got through 5 batteries on a 3week Nepal trek and only 12 films. The MP battery life is much better I can’t remember when I last needed to change it. It should last at least 10 films.

Should get around 70 rolls on a set of batteries. Use SR44s and turn the meter off when not in use.

 

 

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[Shac]

Not as convenient but maybe have a small hand held light meter as back-up. This can be kept in jacket pocket. The camera will operate otherwise fine at these low temps

[Paulus]

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I was not sure if I should start a new thread for this simple question, but here it goes. I purchased Leica MP (used) just little over month ago. Just last week we got our first cold weathers this winter here in Finland. I have shot with the MP for many rolls without any problems. At first cold weathers the battery died, so I replaced it with brand new one. Now when I was shooting my first roll with the new battery in ~ -3 °C, after a while when the camera got cold my light meter stopped showing the overexposure led. Other leds work fine and the lightmeter does seem to work fine otherwise. I still have warranty left on the camera because I bought it from store. I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this and if this could be because of my batteries. I used Duracell DL1/3N battery, instead of the recommended CR1/3N. At the moment the led seems to work fine, when the camera is at the room temperatures.

 

Wait a minute...-3 Celcius you mean? That's not cold at all for a Leica MP. The battery draining so fast at this mediocre cold is not a habit. Normally it would last for days in such a cold. It helps if you put the camera one occasion between your clothes, but I have not experienced any drain with my batteries in this warm weather. It has to be extreme cold if the battery drains. My brother once experienced the feeling that the metal of the cap of the camera froze to his nose and got frostbite in Siberia. That was at -40 C. He stayed outside for hours in a specialized arctic suit. My experience with the MP is milder, around minus 18 C. I never had to change batteries during the time I was outside. I have the feeling that something in the electronics has to be defect. 

[indergaard]

Wait a minute...-3 Celcius you mean? That's not cold at all for a Leica MP. The battery draining so fast at this mediocre cold is not a habit. Normally it would last for days in such a cold. It helps if you put the camera one occasion between your clothes, but I have not experienced any drain with my batteries in this warm weather. It has to be extreme cold if the battery drains. My brother once experienced the feeling that the metal of the cap of the camera froze to his nose and got frostbite in Siberia. That was at -40 C. He stayed outside for hours in a specialized arctic suit. My experience with the MP is milder, around minus 18 C. I never had to change batteries during the time I was outside. I have the feeling that something in the electronics has to be defect. 

 

 

Indeed. I've used my MP all winter, and this has been a really cold winter with temperatures far below -5c. My Duracell 1/3N battery is still working... I think I put it in sometime early last fall if I can remember correctly!