trs Posted April 1, 2009 Share #1 Posted April 1, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I was up in Fairbanks Alaska during week of 20th. It was very cold that week. First night out of town (in Chena), it was around -20F outside. We were waiting for northernlight (never seen before). It came out around 1:30AM. Got out there in cold with my camera and cable release. Camera set to B and my 28 elmarit set at 2.8. I press the shutter, and let go, I don't hear anything. No response from camera (not even a light). Did a dangerous thing by comming inside and chaning the battery (without ziplock bag or anything), went out. Repeated the process, same result. No picture that night. My wife's Minolta 7D was happilly operating. Noticed later that both batteries were still full. So, I assume, computer in the camera just gave up. Thought I would share what M8 did in -20F. Anyway, here is a shot from the night after from different place, from inside the cabin. I just did not want to expose it cold again. I was not really able to get any nice shot unfortunately. Since light was small, it took too long exposure thus, dark sky became grey and stars to stricky. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/81145-m8-20f-not-so-happy/?do=findComment&comment=859868'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 Hi trs, Take a look here M8: @ -20F, not so happy. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jplomley Posted April 1, 2009 Share #2 Posted April 1, 2009 Just one more reason I added an M7 to my pair of M8's. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trs Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share #3 Posted April 1, 2009 I will probably end up with one when right oppurtunity shows up as well. I really liked M7 it when I rented one during Leica trial promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgray Posted April 1, 2009 Share #4 Posted April 1, 2009 Me @ -20F, not so happy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted April 1, 2009 Share #5 Posted April 1, 2009 Me @ -20F, not so happy. As Michael Reichman and a few others found out on his Antarctica trip some time ago the M8 is not a cold weather camera. You can read about it in his archives at the Luminous Landscape site. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Roberts Posted April 1, 2009 Share #6 Posted April 1, 2009 ...and yet, I took many pictures from December and January weddings (outside at night!) at close to the same temperatures or lower with my M8 (yes, it gets freaking cold here rarely too). I had no problems whatsoever, though I didn't use my M8 for an extended period of time outdoors (about 10-15 minutes of shooting on each occasion). To the OP: are you sure the cable release wasn't the problem? Or working on B? I don't think the cold would kill the camera immediately, guys, even if it's not a "cold weather camera..." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trs Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share #7 Posted April 1, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I do remember some discusson about the Antarctica trip and M8, but I thought I won't need to deal with it. Little did I know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trs Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share #8 Posted April 1, 2009 ...To the OP: are you sure the cable release wasn't the problem? Or working on B? I don't think the cold would kill the camera immediately, guys, even if it's not a "cold weather camera..." Cable release was not the problem for sure. I tested inside before going out. Also, camera simply won't turn on after the first shutter click out side (on/off/on/off, no light any where). As I said, changed the battery, it turned on. One click, then gone again. I don't worry too much about it since it is not regular thing I do. But, it was exceptionally cold while we were up there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 1, 2009 Share #9 Posted April 1, 2009 If you read the specs of any digital camera, you'll find they are specified between -10 and +50 Centrigrade, or something similar.But these are camera temperatures, it takes some time for the internals to cool down that far. If you get as cold as that, a specially prepared film camera is the only reliable option. But be careful when winding the film on. Film becomes very brittle at such temperatures and broken film is no rarity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grduprey Posted April 1, 2009 Share #10 Posted April 1, 2009 Mine seems fine at -20F, it even sits in the car while I'm at work (When I was working, retired now) and it is fine at the end of the day after 8 hours at -15F to -20F. I agree that the internal temp is higher than the external temp, so short stints should be no problem at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnalex141r Posted April 1, 2009 Share #11 Posted April 1, 2009 Hi TRS; The only time I have used my M8 since late fall was when I was in California; I no longer bother to try during the cold of winter. Even around 0F the battery gets drained very quickly. Too bad - I really enjoy my M8, but my Canon G9 and Fujica medium format rangefinders get more use during the winter. JohnS. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmfabian Posted April 1, 2009 Share #12 Posted April 1, 2009 just gaffer tape one of those handwarmers to the baseplate of the camera, solves 2 problems in one go...keeps your hand warm while holding the camera, and keeps the camera warm enough to keep going. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Roberts Posted April 1, 2009 Share #13 Posted April 1, 2009 Hi TRS; The only time I have used my M8 since late fall was when I was in California; I no longer bother to try during the cold of winter. Even around 0F the battery gets drained very quickly. Too bad - I really enjoy my M8, but my Canon G9 and Fujica medium format rangefinders get more use during the winter. JohnS. John, have you updated the firmware in your M8? I think they've optimized battery consumption. If you have, then I think you have a stuck or defective battery. FWIW, I shoot near zero F a lot of the time in the winter (a lot more than -20F ) Not for very long, it's true, but I haven't found the battery suffering. Now, I shoot only DNG, so write times are less than half of what you'd need for DNG /JPEG. Maybe that's a difference? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplomley Posted April 1, 2009 Share #14 Posted April 1, 2009 Film becomes very brittle at such temperatures and broken film is no rarity. Living in Canada where it is not unusual to reach -40 C, I have not once had this happen, and every year I spend two consecutive weeks in the Rocky Mountains shooting in these conditions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trs Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share #15 Posted April 1, 2009 ...to cool down that far. If you get as cold as that, a specially prepared film camera is the only reliable option. But be careful when winding the film on. Film becomes very brittle at such temperatures and broken film is no rarity. I know what you mean by film breaking. Since we were at hot spring, we jumped in. Everybody in pool had interesting hair (frozen and snow covered, each individual hair). One lady was telling me that I should not touch my hair because hair will break. Got the white hair I wanted while in the pool grduprey, did you operate M8 while it was in low temp like that? I think the key was operating while that cold. I heard shutter opening, but did not hear closing. I am just glad Seattle weather is not extreme like that, well coldness wise anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_lir Posted April 1, 2009 Share #16 Posted April 1, 2009 playing around with some levels on my Mac I got a pretty black image with the color still intact. I'd bring up the blacks and add some contrast and you're better off... m8's -- yeah... i was able to get some shots off in CO last year, it was cold - it killed my battery, but i got some great landscapes and HDR's in the snow... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsteve Posted April 1, 2009 Share #17 Posted April 1, 2009 BTW, if you open your files in Conerfix, it will display the internal temperature of the M8 when the picture was taken. I am with Jamie, you probably had some sort of battery problem. My M8 has never failed to work in the cold, and it had been out in -20c. Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fursan Posted April 1, 2009 Share #18 Posted April 1, 2009 Just back from Canada. Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Yellowknife. M8 kept on ticking. At times I was out for > 1 hr. at a time. The M7 was not called into service. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trs Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share #19 Posted April 1, 2009 playing around with some levels on my Mac I got a pretty black image with the color still intact. I'd bring up the blacks and add some contrast and you're better off... m8's -- yeah... i was able to get some shots off in CO last year, it was cold - it killed my battery, but i got some great landscapes and HDR's in the snow... I shall play with it in LR and PS. This was just straight conversion (my own tool) then Windows Photo Gallery to adjust level a touch. I have not really sat down to work on the photos. thanks for suggestion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bwcolor Posted April 1, 2009 Share #20 Posted April 1, 2009 Nice picture, carpe diem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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