7i in freezing conditions - Advice sought

First off I just wanted to thank everyone that offered suggestions on avoiding camera shake, I have since switched to setting the shutter speed manually and have had much more success at 1/180 and 1/250 rather than auto which seemed to like selecting 1/30 to 1/90 at full zoom. Next step it to switch to full manual and learn about apeture and such, but one step at a time

Anyway.... my question this time relates to an upcoming overseas trip I am planning for in December.

I shall be travelling to freezing cold Canada to escape the blisteringly hot Australian Summer =) I have a number of things that I have thought of or read about that I may need to combat.

• Batteries - I understand I should expect vastly reduced battery life. I have purchased 4 sets of Ni-MH batteries, but will this be enough? Say the temperature is theoretically 0 degrees, how many shots might I expect per set? Whats the best way to store my remaining three sets while not in use, would a battery pouch in my jacket be acceptable?

Also, if I took 10 shots with a set and they "ran out" of power due to the cold, could I rewarm them in my jacket and then continue to use that set, or does the cold result in the charge being lost completly?

Do other types of batteries besides Ni-MH perform better in the cold? Would it be worthwhile leaving the Ni-MH as backup batteries and getting something else?

• Camera - I'm worried about internal (and external maybe?) condensation of water and destroying my camera. What precautions do I need to take to avoid problems such as this? Anything else I need to think about?

When the camera is not in use but I am still out and planning on taking shots shortly, would it be best to store in a carry bag or something else? I assume I'll have to look into a waterproof protection in case it snows or rains.

• Compact Flash Cards - Affected by the cold at all? Also I have has conflicting advice regarding airport scanners, it was my belief that data stored on the cards should not be affected by scanners, however two people now have told me that I should demand a hand check of the cards because they will be wiped by the scanners. I am still of the opinion the cards should be fine to be scanned through, but I could well be wrong.

• Power and Charging - Does Canada use the same type of power connectors as the United States? I have a small adapter here that will convert my Aussie plug into one that is suitable for US use, but I wanted to check that it will be ok in Canada as well. The charger claims to be able to be used with north american voltages as well, so I hope to be ok there.

• Glare from the snow - I've only experienced snow once in my life and all I can remember is that without sunglasses your eyes start to hurt like hell from the glare Will the regular lens hood provided with the 7i cut this down sufficiantly or should I look into another solution?

Also I assume I will need to turn down the exposure on the camera to avoid overexposure? I suspect this is something I will need to work on for the first few days to get right, but are there any recommended settings?

Well I think thats well and truly long enough for now, sorry about my rambling on a bit If anyone has any suggestions for the above issues or any futher problems that I need to consider, I will be very appreciative of your help.

--
Cam Wheeler

Cam Wheeler wrote:
[snip]

Cam Wheeler said:

• Batteries - I understand I should expect vastly reduced battery

life. I have purchased 4 sets of Ni-MH batteries, but will this be
enough? Say the temperature is theoretically 0 degrees, how many
shots might I expect per set? Whats the best way to store my
remaining three sets while not in use, would a battery pouch in my
jacket be acceptable?

Also, if I took 10 shots with a set and they "ran out" of power due
to the cold, could I rewarm them in my jacket and then continue to
use that set, or does the cold result in the charge being lost
completly?

Click to expand...

You'll get a fraction of the number of shots you get usually. If the batteries are at 0 degrees C, you'll maybe get a few; if you're talking F, you probably won't get any. However, the good news is that warming the batteries does help. I'd keep the batteries in a pocket close to my skin to keep them warm, and swap them in when needed, and I'd keep the camera and EVF constantly on: the power drain will generate heat which will keep the device warm enough to work. Still, pack several sets of batteries.

I can't say anything more exact: I only got my D7i in June, so it hasn't experienced the Finnish winter yet...

Cam Wheeler said:

Do other types of batteries besides Ni-MH perform better in the
cold? Would it be worthwhile leaving the Ni-MH as backup batteries
and getting something else?

Click to expand...

Nah. NiMH is the only kind that works in the D7i.

Cam Wheeler said:

• Camera - I'm worried about internal (and external maybe?)

condensation of water and destroying my camera. What precautions do
I need to take to avoid problems such as this? Anything else I need
to think about?

Click to expand...

Condensation happens when you come out of the cold into the warm. You just need to wait to let the camera to warm to room temperature before switching it on again.

Cam Wheeler said:

When the camera is not in use but I am still out and planning on
taking shots shortly, would it be best to store in a carry bag or
something else? I assume I'll have to look into a waterproof
protection in case it snows or rains.

Click to expand...

Definitely a carry bag.

Cam Wheeler said:

• Compact Flash Cards - Affected by the cold at all? Also I have

has conflicting advice regarding airport scanners, it was my belief
that data stored on the cards should not be affected by scanners,
however two people now have told me that I should demand a hand
check of the cards because they will be wiped by the scanners. I am
still of the opinion the cards should be fine to be scanned
through, but I could well be wrong.

Click to expand...

They won't be wiped. I think the only thing you need to worry about is condensation water: don't swap cards immediately after coming in from the cold, or you'll risk getting the contacts wet.

Cam Wheeler said:

• Power and Charging - Does Canada use the same type of power

connectors as the United States? I have a small adapter here that
will convert my Aussie plug into one that is suitable for US use,
but I wanted to check that it will be ok in Canada as well. The
charger claims to be able to be used with north american voltages
as well, so I hope to be ok there.

Click to expand...

Someone else can help you with this one.

Cam Wheeler said:

• Glare from the snow - I've only experienced snow once in my life

and all I can remember is that without sunglasses your eyes start
to hurt like hell from the glare Will the regular lens hood
provided with the 7i cut this down sufficiantly or should I look
into another solution?

Click to expand...

Glare from the snow isn't a photographic problem; the lens hood prevents lens artifacts that come from a point light source (most often the sun) when shooting towards it with it just outside the frame.

Cam Wheeler said:

Also I assume I will need to turn down the exposure on the camera
to avoid overexposure? I suspect this is something I will need to
work on for the first few days to get right, but are there any
recommended settings?

Click to expand...

Actually, you need to turn up the exposure compensation a few notches. The auto-exposure system bases its calculations on the assumption that the scene's brightness "averages out" to a lightish gray. A snow scene is a lot whiter, so the auto-exposure system will compensate for that by underexposing. Of course, there being a lot of light, you'll get small apertures and very short shutter speeds.

I think the histogram ought to be an invaluable aid here: look at it and set exposure compensation and contrast until the histogram is nicely spread across the dynamic range. Again, I haven't shot with the D7i in winter yet, so I can't speak from experience.

I'd expect the trickiest thing to be color and white balance: no matter what you do, the shadows in the snow tend to end up rather unnaturally blue. I don't know how the D7i's presets handle this, but manual white balancing or using the "filter" functions to warm the colors a bit might be in order.

[snip]

Petteri
--
http://www.seittipaja.fi/index/

You possibly want to have an external battery pack with long enough cord.

You put the battery pack as close to skin as possible, and power the camera from it - that's what the long cord for

Well, if you don't want to buy it - you have 4 sets of batteries now - that will make a decent battery pack, if you're skilled enough

I don't know about how to cool the camera - may be you should obtain a germetic bag with pack of silica gel, put it in so silica gel absorbs the water from air - and move it to cold outside.

As for the reverse process - you surely want to obtain a germetic bag, put the camera in it while you are still outside, go into house and allow it to warm enough (2h, maybe?)

Or - may be you should store the camera in the cool place all the time. But for the digicam it's not an option, it seems - you still need to download images from it - at least you need to have the CF card warm to avoid water condensing on it in house.

Petteri Sulonen said:

Cam Wheeler said:

• Compact Flash Cards - Affected by the cold at all? Also I have

has conflicting advice regarding airport scanners, it was my belief
that data stored on the cards should not be affected by scanners,
however two people now have told me that I should demand a hand
check of the cards because they will be wiped by the scanners. I am
still of the opinion the cards should be fine to be scanned
through, but I could well be wrong.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I have been told by a very sharp camera shop clerk that memory cards are absolutely fine going through airport scanners.

I am sincerely hoping that the 9/11 horrors haven't cause the airports to turn up the power of their scanners to the extent that there can be damage now.

However... the US Postal Service uses scanners that will probably warp and ruin these memory cards, so DO NOT mail them, but rather send them by FedEx.

Can't comment on your other concerns, as I haven't got my 7Hi yet. sigh
--
Happy Shooting,
Bob
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Work with what you get and try to make it better
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Petteri Sulonen said:

You'll get a fraction of the number of shots you get usually. If
the batteries are at 0 degrees C, you'll maybe get a few; if you're
talking F, you probably won't get any. However, the good news is
that warming the batteries does help. I'd keep the batteries in a
pocket close to my skin to keep them warm, and swap them in when
needed, and I'd keep the camera and EVF constantly on: the power
drain will generate heat which will keep the device warm enough to
work. Still, pack several sets of batteries.

Click to expand...

I was talking Celcius, and I'm not sure exactly how cold it gets there. Probably 0 is a safe bet give or take 10 degrees

Petteri Sulonen said:

Condensation happens when you come out of the cold into the warm.
You just need to wait to let the camera to warm to room temperature
before switching it on again.

Click to expand...

Ah ok, so as long as the camera is not on, I should not have any problems with this? I should just allow it to adjust to the temperate before attempting operation again?

Petteri Sulonen said:

Actually, you need to turn up the exposure compensation a few
notches. The auto-exposure system bases its calculations on the
assumption that the scene's brightness "averages out" to a lightish
gray.

Click to expand...

Excellent, thanks for this tip.

Petteri Sulonen said:

I think the histogram ought to be an invaluable aid here: look at
it and set exposure compensation and contrast until the histogram
is nicely spread across the dynamic range. Again, I haven't shot
with the D7i in winter yet, so I can't speak from experience.

Click to expand...

I haven't used the histogram at all so far, so it looks like I have a few months of practice to practice. Is there a site or something that explains in detail exactly what a good histogram will look like?

Thanks for the tips Petteri, most useful.

DMA_ said:

You possibly want to have an external battery pack with long enough
cord.
You put the battery pack as close to skin as possible, and power
the camera from it - that's what the long cord for

Click to expand...

I'll look into it...

DMA_ said:

Well, if you don't want to buy it - you have 4 sets of batteries
now - that will make a decent battery pack, if you're skilled
enough

Click to expand...

Not at all skilled enough

DMA_ said:

I don't know about how to cool the camera - may be you should
obtain a germetic bag with pack of silica gel, put it in so silica
gel absorbs the water from air - and move it to cold outside.

As for the reverse process - you surely want to obtain a germetic
bag, put the camera in it while you are still outside, go into
house and allow it to warm enough (2h, maybe?)
Or - may be you should store the camera in the cool place all the
time. But for the digicam it's not an option, it seems - you still
need to download images from it - at least you need to have the CF
card warm to avoid water condensing on it in house.

Click to expand...

I don't know what germetic bags are, are they commonly available? If I asked for one at a photo store would they know what I am talking about?

Cam Wheeler said:

Petteri Sulonen said:

You'll get a fraction of the number of shots you get usually. If
the batteries are at 0 degrees C, you'll maybe get a few; if you're
talking F, you probably won't get any. However, the good news is
that warming the batteries does help. I'd keep the batteries in a
pocket close to my skin to keep them warm, and swap them in when
needed, and I'd keep the camera and EVF constantly on: the power
drain will generate heat which will keep the device warm enough to
work. Still, pack several sets of batteries.

Click to expand...

I was talking Celcius, and I'm not sure exactly how cold it gets
there. Probably 0 is a safe bet give or take 10 degrees

Cam Wheeler said:

Condensation happens when you come out of the cold into the warm.
You just need to wait to let the camera to warm to room temperature
before switching it on again.

Click to expand...

Ah ok, so as long as the camera is not on, I should not have any
problems with this? I should just allow it to adjust to the
temperate before attempting operation again?

Click to expand...

That's it. The condensation water comes from the surrounding air, and once the camera reaches the same temperature the water evaporates again. The adjustment might take longer than you think, though.

Cam Wheeler said:

Cam Wheeler said:

Actually, you need to turn up the exposure compensation a few
notches. The auto-exposure system bases its calculations on the
assumption that the scene's brightness "averages out" to a lightish
gray.

Click to expand...

Excellent, thanks for this tip.

Cam Wheeler said:

I think the histogram ought to be an invaluable aid here: look at
it and set exposure compensation and contrast until the histogram
is nicely spread across the dynamic range. Again, I haven't shot
with the D7i in winter yet, so I can't speak from experience.

Click to expand...

I haven't used the histogram at all so far, so it looks like I have
a few months of practice to practice. Is there a site or something
that explains in detail exactly what a good histogram will look
like?

Click to expand...

It's very simple: the histogram shows the spread of light and dark over the dynamic range of the sensor. If it falls to zero before it reaches either end, you will have neither blown highlights nor completely black shadows. However, the wider the histogram, the better it uses the shades available from the sensor. To move the histogram towards the right, increase Ev. To the left, decrease Ev. To spread it out, increase contrast, and to bunch it up, decrease contrast. (The effect isn't very big, so most of the time don't bother.)

So ideally you should try to get a histogram that's spread from edge to edge, but falls to zero just before it hits the edges. In practice, you should leave some room for error at either end, and in special situations like low-light photography, you might actually want to have the histogram fall off at one or both ends.

Petteri

--
http://www.seittipaja.fi/index/

Cam Wheeler said:

I shall be travelling to freezing cold Canada ...

Click to expand...

Where in Canada ? Because there are big differences in temperature depending on where you are. Here in Sept-Iles, on the North shore of Quebec, it is already below 0°C early morning. During winter, it can go down to minus 20-30°C (without the wind factor) so you have to worry not only for your batteries and your dcam but for your skin too (get some warm clothes and good boots).

As for the battery life, I can't help you with the 7i because I got it in july but the Casio I had before was not working so bad in cold temperatures. I'd say about half the normal performance. I was keeping it inside my coat all the time and getting it out only to shoot.

Cam Wheeler said:

• Power and Charging - Does Canada use the same type of power

connectors as the United States? I have a small adapter here that
will convert my Aussie plug into one that is suitable for US use,
but I wanted to check that it will be ok in Canada as well. The
charger claims to be able to be used with north american voltages
as well, so I hope to be ok there.

Click to expand...

We use 110-120 volts, three pins cable.

Hope this helps. Wish you a nice trip.

--
mikl kacz