I just returned from the north of Finland, filming a hot air balloon event under arctic conditions. I filmed 16:9 SD at temperatures of down to -27 degrees. May be it's interesting, what I experienced.

-Basically I followed the tips from some experienced guys here in the forum (especially by Trip Woelfel), and that really helped a lot: Avoiding quick movements from cold to warm, renting a special Porta Brace cover (I think it was the Polar Bear) and handwarmers to protect the camera, setting the Zebra to 100, etc. Unfortunately I didn't carry enough handwarmers with me, so these things expired after a while. Nevertheless, I had to continue filming, and the cam showed some effects:

#Focus and zoom ring became quite 'stiff' and where hardly usable anymore, especially if you wear gloves. After a while I switched the focus to 'automatic' - with good results. The iris ring worked normally.

#Had one single 'slack' warning ('remove the cassette'), but the A1 continued to record anyway. And did so flawlessly for three days. Tapes: Panasonic AY-DVM63PQ

#Couldn't use the LCD because of the cover and stayed with the viewfinder. It showed a kind of 'slow mo effect' after a while but remained functional.

#battery lifetime was decreasing compared with normal conditions (may be 30% less). But not as dramatic as I had expected. The original CANON battery did better than a no name equivalent, I also carried with me.

#Regarding additional equipment: No problems whatsoever with the mics (Beyerdynamic MCE 87, Sennheiser ME66), but my Manfrotto tripod (501 head) got somehow 'frozen' inside, so that pans became kind of hard work.

Conclusion: The XH A1 may well be used under temperatures VERY MUCH below the temperature recommended in the manual. The most serious problems: Cold fingers and the steam of your own breath, that may be seen in the picture. So I learned to stop breathing when pushing 'record' ;-)

Wow thats great info! Thanks for sharing.

I film 90 % of my work in below freezing conditions. The "slo mo" effect usually shows up around 15 degrees F. but has no affect on what is actually recorded. I had one drop out early season on me which i blamed the tempature for but now after doing more recording at cold temps i dont think that was the culprit.

-27 Celsius = -16.6 Fahrenheit
So it was cold above! I also have good results shooting HD in a very cold environment, I think the inside battery is a good thing to have.

Jan... As others have said, great info. You either heartier than I, or have warmer clothes than I do. (grin)

You're right that the A1 was not designed for use with gloves on, but I got a pair of snug fitting lambskin gloves with fleece lining. While most of the buttons and switches are still inoperable with them on, I can hit the autofocus, white balance and a few other buttons. The three rings are quite usable. Not sure the gloves would do enough at -27C though.

I was thinking about getting some 1.5 mil scuba gloves and see what they might do. Something form fitting might give better control.

Tripp, I was just lucky, that I was equipped by a Finnish rental service with some kind of 'outer space suit'. Underwear and gloves I bought in Germany. Especially the gloves did well (better they did; cost me about 90€) Kind of 3 in one thing, that allows you to operate even small switches - well, within some limitations.

VAUDE Handschuh Argon Event 3in1 gloves, schwarz: Amazon.de: Sport & Freizeit (http://www.amazon.de/VAUDE-Handschuh-Argon-gloves-schwarz/dp/B000KW08F0)

Craig, I agree, the slow- mo thing is just a viewfinder effect, not to be seen on tape.

Thanks for your information, Jan!

I will be shooting a part of a music video this Saturday at about -2C or -4C.
I don't have a furry coat for my XH, but I've got a rain cover.
So I'm thinking of putting a scarf around my camera, then putting it inside the rain cover for the shoot, or maybe the scarf is unnecessary?

...or maybe the scarf is unnecessary?

You won't need the scarf. You'll only be a couple of degrees below freezing. The rain cover will be enough.