Operating camera in low temperature conditions

It's almost winter here and temps frequently stay below freezing all day.  Is it okay for me to use my E-PL6 in below freezing conditions or do I risk harming the camera somehow? I saw in the manual it states that the camera should be operated only when the temperature is above freezing.

Most cameras will operate well enough in cold temperatures - but do your best to keep the camera as warm as possible, under your jacket, etc.

It's really the batteries that suffer - cold batteries run down quicker.  So keep your extra betteries inside your jacket as close to your body heat as possible.

I've used my Olympus EPL-5 and OMD EMI in very cold predawn temperatures in Yosemite with no problem.

J

I agree that the camera would be fine at low temperature, it's the battery that suffers. No permanent damage but it loses charge much faster the colder it is.

The other issue is that when you bring the camera back indoors you may get condensation on it and in it. Generally this is not enough to cause trouble but if possible the equipment should be allowed to warm up to room temperature gradually.

CVPhotog wrote:

Most cameras will operate well enough in cold temperatures - but do your best to keep the camera as warm as possible, under your jacket, etc.

It's really the batteries that suffer - cold batteries run down quicker. So keep your extra betteries inside your jacket as close to your body heat as possible.

I've used my Olympus EPL-5 and OMD EMI in very cold predawn temperatures in Yosemite with no problem.

J

Thanks, how cold did you go with each camera? I wouldn't go below 0, as that would cause issues with my body's own "operating system" haha, but I was thinking I should at least be able to photograph with temps in the twenties and maybe even the teens?

Brian Chichester wrote:

I agree that the camera would be fine at low temperature, it's the battery that suffers. No permanent damage but it loses charge much faster the colder it is.

The other issue is that when you bring the camera back indoors you may get condensation on it and in it. Generally this is not enough to cause trouble but if possible the equipment should be allowed to warm up to room temperature gradually.

Thanks- I have a garage that I go through before I re-enter my house so that can serve as a place of intermediate temperature- it is not as cold as the outside but not as warm as the inside of the house either. Sounds like a good place to keep it for 30-60 min before and after photographing sessions in the cold? Because sudden temperature drops from taking it outside from a warm house can also cause problems? I know I need to do that with my telescope to prevent condensation on its lens or I have to use a dew heater.  Even worse if dew forms and then freezes because the temps are so low.  That can cause some damage, no?

Don't worry about it; I've been using umpteen digital cameras outside in far worse conditions than you mentioned - high wind, blowing snow, temperatures far worse than what you mentioned (although you didn't specify which "zero"), mountainous areas (Korea, northern Manchuria, South Dakotan blizzard, etc.  I've also had no trouble with condensation.

As others have said, stock up on batteries, especially if take video.

Nashtok wrote:

OutsideTheMatrix wrote:

Brian Chichester wrote:

I agree that the camera would be fine at low temperature, it's the battery that suffers. No permanent damage but it loses charge much faster the colder it is.

The other issue is that when you bring the camera back indoors you may get condensation on it and in it. Generally this is not enough to cause trouble but if possible the equipment should be allowed to warm up to room temperature gradually.

Thanks- I have a garage that I go through before I re-enter my house so that can serve as a place of intermediate temperature- it is not as cold as the outside but not as warm as the inside of the house either. Sounds like a good place to keep it for 30-60 min before and after photographing sessions in the cold? Because sudden temperature drops from taking it outside from a warm house can also cause problems? I know I need to do that with my telescope to prevent condensation on its lens or I have to use a dew heater. Even worse if dew forms and then freezes because the temps are so low. That can cause some damage, no?

If I'm going to be out in cold weather, I'll bring along a few zipping freezer bags to put my camera body and lenses in while still out in the cold. Then you can bring everything in right away, wait for everything to warm up, then take it out of the bag. Easy-peasy!

Thanks.  I think I have a few of these bags already!  So you can use the camera and lenses right away when going from a warm house to the cold outdoors? Or do you have to wait for the camera and lenses temperatures to lower to match the outside temp?

Corkcampbell wrote:

Don't worry about it; I've been using umpteen digital cameras outside in far worse conditions than you mentioned - high wind, blowing snow, temperatures far worse than what you mentioned (although you didn't specify which "zero"), mountainous areas (Korea, northern Manchuria, South Dakotan blizzard, etc. I've also had no trouble with condensation.

As others have said, stock up on batteries, especially if take video.

Sheesh and they weren't even weatherproof cameras and lenses?  Wow!

Yosemite last time was probably -10F before dawn in December last year...

CVPhotog wrote:

Yosemite last time was probably -10F before dawn in December last year...

Must've been great starry night landscape picture taking conditions!

OutsideTheMatrix wrote:

Nashtok wrote:

If I'm going to be out in cold weather, I'll bring along a few zipping freezer bags to put my camera body and lenses in while still out in the cold. Then you can bring everything in right away, wait for everything to warm up, then take it out of the bag. Easy-peasy!

Thanks. I think I have a few of these bags already! So you can use the camera and lenses right away when going from a warm house to the cold outdoors? Or do you have to wait for the camera and lenses temperatures to lower to match the outside temp?

Going from warm to cold isn't as much of an issue as where the condensation will form & how much (very little moisture in cold air). Its when the camera is cold and comes into a warm (and relatively humid house). My camera bag zips shut, I've always just left my camera closed in the bag for a few hours until it's sufficiently warmed up.

Nashtok wrote:

OutsideTheMatrix wrote:

Nashtok wrote:

OutsideTheMatrix wrote:

Brian Chichester wrote:

I agree that the camera would be fine at low temperature, it's the battery that suffers. No permanent damage but it loses charge much faster the colder it is.

The other issue is that when you bring the camera back indoors you may get condensation on it and in it. Generally this is not enough to cause trouble but if possible the equipment should be allowed to warm up to room temperature gradually.

Thanks- I have a garage that I go through before I re-enter my house so that can serve as a place of intermediate temperature- it is not as cold as the outside but not as warm as the inside of the house either. Sounds like a good place to keep it for 30-60 min before and after photographing sessions in the cold? Because sudden temperature drops from taking it outside from a warm house can also cause problems? I know I need to do that with my telescope to prevent condensation on its lens or I have to use a dew heater. Even worse if dew forms and then freezes because the temps are so low. That can cause some damage, no?

If I'm going to be out in cold weather, I'll bring along a few zipping freezer bags to put my camera body and lenses in while still out in the cold. Then you can bring everything in right away, wait for everything to warm up, then take it out of the bag. Easy-peasy!

Thanks. I think I have a few of these bags already! So you can use the camera and lenses right away when going from a warm house to the cold outdoors? Or do you have to wait for the camera and lenses temperatures to lower to match the outside temp?

You can use a camera + lenses when going from warm -> cold no problem. Dewing occurs when a surface is colder than the ambient dew point, so unless you're coming from a walk-in refrigerator out into a muggy swamp, you're likely to be fine. The reason with telescopes you have to wait for the optical surface to reach ambient temperature is because you're typically at high focal lengths and high magnifications. The temperature differential creates distortion as air warmed by the optical surface and the cold ambient air mixes. Dewing on telescopes occurs when their optical surfaces drop below ambient temperatures via radiative transfer, which a dew heater prevents.

Thanks, I feel better about it now.  I think the aperture (objective diameter) of the lens also matters with telescopes, as a telescope with a larger aperture takes a longer time to reach the right temp.  My 8"er takes about an hour, my 90mm ones can be used almost right away.

Tallgrass wrote:

OutsideTheMatrix wrote:

Nashtok wrote:

If I'm going to be out in cold weather, I'll bring along a few zipping freezer bags to put my camera body and lenses in while still out in the cold. Then you can bring everything in right away, wait for everything to warm up, then take it out of the bag. Easy-peasy!

Thanks. I think I have a few of these bags already! So you can use the camera and lenses right away when going from a warm house to the cold outdoors? Or do you have to wait for the camera and lenses temperatures to lower to match the outside temp?

Going from warm to cold isn't as much of an issue as where the condensation will form & how much (very little moisture in cold air). Its when the camera is cold and comes into a warm (and relatively humid house). My camera bag zips shut, I've always just left my camera closed in the bag for a few hours until it's sufficiently warmed up.

Thanks, I have just found some bags that should fit the bill both for camera and for lenses.  Outside temp is in the 20s right now and indoors it's about 70F.

I bought my first weather-protected camera RX10 when it came out, but it wasn't the one used in most of the worst conditions (South Dakota blizzard) because those happened earlier. I used it in windy/frigid/snowy conditions in Korean mountains and it was fine. Those were school field trips (ice festivals, sledding, tobagganing, etc.) and it was so cold up there that after about twenty minutes everyone would go stand around a fire.

I had a GH3 which was weather-protected but my lenses weren't. I replaced it with a GH4 (this month) and now have two WP zooms.

I do a lot of video, so the small batteries in the RX10 (and RX10III) don't last long in such conditions - maybe 30 minutes, but the batteries for the GH3/4 are huge and I have the grip for those cameras.

Corkcampbell wrote:

I bought my first weather-protected camera RX10 when it came out, but it wasn't the one used in most of the worst conditions (South Dakota blizzard) because those happened earlier. I used it in windy/frigid/snowy conditions in Korean mountains and it was fine. Those were school field trips (ice festivals, sledding, tobagganing, etc.) and it was so cold up there that after about twenty minutes everyone would go stand around a fire.

I had a GH3 which was weather-protected but my lenses weren't. I replaced it with a GH4 (this month) and now have two WP zooms.

I do a lot of video, so the small batteries in the RX10 (and RX10III) don't last long in such conditions - maybe 30 minutes, but the batteries for the GH3/4 are huge and I have the grip for those cameras.

Yes, I've been worried about the batteries too so I bought a few extras as well as continuous power sources, so I can now power my cameras from a car battery or an external power source like a power bank (or even solar power if necessary.)  My batteries would run out in 30 min in cold weather and it was really annoying when it happened in the middle of a shoot.

I've been using my E-PL1 and E-M10 in sub zero temperatures for prolonged periods of time. A lot of those times they were on a telescope, which means the sensor was directly exposed to the environment. The cameras are still working perfectly.

Just remember to not bring the camera directly into a warm room. You need to put it in a bag. And don't open it for a few hours after coming back. Let it slowly warm up to room temperature. Otherwise you will have water condensing, which is not a killer on the outside of the camera, but if it happens somewhere inside it, bad things may happen.

The shutter on my E5 failed (torn) after an extended period of use in very cold weather.  Unfortunately there was no way to keep the E5 with a long telephoto lens warm.  Of course, the shutter failure may have had nothing to do with the temperature.  Fortunately it was repaired under the extended warranty.