Hey guys... I do a lot of outdoor videos but have never done any during the cold winter months. Is there any dangers associated with shooting video outside in freezing temperatures? I know you have to be careful about condensation in/on the lens and components (I will place the camera in a monster ziplock bag when moving from cold->warm, etc... but didn't know if these cameras are safe to operate in cold wintry outdoor conditions. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

You can try the Porta Brace Polar Bear to protect your Canon XH-A1 in the cold. http://portabrace.com/pdfs/class_c/pol-mxh.pdf

I am really pleased to see Porta Brace making a version for the A1.

I recently shot with a Porta Brace on a GL2 in Antarctica. It is a very good design. My camera was probably the only thing that was really warm! The only limitation is if you are shooting below say -10 or -20F on a tripod. There is a double/triple zipper on the bottom, but it can't close completely around the tripod mount. Very minor point, but if you plan to shoot at, say -40F, you might want to patch the remaining opening.

Rick

...Is there any dangers associated with shooting video outside in freezing temperatures?...

It depends on what you mean by cold weather. I wouldn't worry much if temperature didn't go below 20°F. Today my XHA1 was outside without cover for seven hours. Temperature was about 28°F (-2°C). That didn't shorten battery life at all. But this wasn't a real cold weather, yet. Have to wait and see how A1 works when there is really cold. I will definitely consider A1-Porta Brace.
Some shots from today: http://www.aavekammari.com/icesky.html

Poppe,

Although you say the A1 performed well in the cold weather can you report if the LCD began to lag? My experience has always been that the LCD gets slower and slurrier when it gets cold out. In particular the XL-h1 and XL2. I never got to try the A1 in cold weather.

Thanks.

Poppe

Did you shoot that ice at stock settings? If not could you share what the settings were? My neighbor "Bob Howe" was the founder of the Porta Brace. Really love your nature scenes
John
www.johnhuling.com

Poppe,

Although you say the A1 performed well in the cold weather can you report if the LCD began to lag?
Thanks.

I didn't notice it yesterday. I used tripod all the time and shot pretty still scenes.
But actually I noticed minor lagging today when the weather was about 20°F / -6°C. First I thought that NR1 was set on, but the reason was cold. So I think it's also there with A1 when the weather gets colder. Battery life was still surprisingly normal.

Poppe

Did you shoot that ice at stock settings? If not could you share what the settings were?


Gain was at -3dB. All controls were set manual except white balance (in last lake shot it was set outdoor).
Auto white balance gives a little bit warmer picture than stock outdoor setting. But no CC was added afterwards.

Mainly color was boosted in camcorder. Settings from Customize menu:
CAM N * KNE L * BLK P * PED -1 * SET/SHP 0 * HDF M * DHV/COR/NR1/NR2 0 * CMX 1 * CGN 25 / CPH/RGN 0 * GGN 3 / all rest at zero

Thanks! Is nature primarily what you shoot or was this just some quick grabs?

The XL H1 shows strobing in the VF and loses timecode the lower the temp. goes. At 10F it starts to show and at 30 below is quit apparent, creating a problem in focusing. The Porta Brace raincover helps, and with the addition of a heated (with handwarmers) blanket, hopefully will solve the problem. I will know more after a trip to Yellowstone in Feb.

Ron

www.ronsrail.com

Thanks! Is nature primarily what you shoot or was this just some quick grabs?

I would vote for quick grabs. Although shooting nature is serious hobby for me :)


"Third test day"
Today the temperature was 10°F/-12°C and I must say that LCD really got slower. It was possible to use it, but slow. Again, battery worked normally (that's really great). I was outside for 4 hours and there were no problems. So I would say that there's no reason why A1 shouldn't do the job in the cold weather. Other thing is how bad it is for tape mechanism or other mechanical parts. I think today's temperature is the maximum (or shoud I say minimum) for me to shoot without a decent cover.

Clip from today (H.264/98Mb)
http://rapidshare.com/files/8167401/Haukkajoki.mov

Poppe

I was not able to view your clip for some reason.

Wow, great shots.

That water looks cold!

This is my first post here on this great board, although I've been reading and learning for quite some time. I'm in the market for either a Canon A1 or the Sony V1. As a result, I've been reading everything I can about the two trying to make my choice (like many people on this board).

Anyway, I ran across this posted earlier today (on this board under the General HD / HDV Acquisition thread) and found it intersting (not that I'll every use my camera is such cold weather). However, it maybe something to consider as he apparently had some sort of cold weather related issue with his A1 based on the translation.

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fxsupport.de%2F14.html&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools This is a broken English conversion (if you can read the German orginal you can click that option at the top of the page) or maybe try babblefish translation.

Hopefully this it is just an isolated single camera issue, but worth following up on.

Mark

All I can say that I didn't have that kind of problems, nor single drop out with those cheapest sony tapes. And I spent seven hours at -2°C/28°F and four hours at -12°C/10°F. Only problem was slower LCD.
Maybe there's something wrong in his A1 or I was just very lucky ;)

Not real cold but I have recently shot two soccer games with the temp. in the high 20's and a stiff wind with no problems and no cover.

I am shooting at 19 degrees some mornings here in Vermont so far no problems except an issue with the image pulsing 2 x second. May be nothing to do with cold. I just have not had a chance to shoot in warmer weather till today 39 degrees!

I was shooting some stuff in the cold yesterday and I noticed something a little off. I was shooting in 24f and shutter of 24 ( It was dark) and I noticed trailing stutter. It was kind of what footage looks like when the NR1 function is enabled. I dont know if it recorded that way or if the LCD screens response time was lower because it was so cold outside.

Was I dellusional or has anyone else seen this?

First time using the A1 outdoors in the cold up here in Canada. Spent about 2 hours in total time out of my camera bag stuck on a tripod. Temperature was approximately -3c and there was wind up to about 7-8km so there was a bit of chill from that too. Camera seemed to work fine and even had it out twice the same day in different locations within a hour of each with no condensation issues.

Seems pretty solid to me...I was worried but not so much now.

Hey guys... I do a lot of outdoor videos but have never done any during the cold winter months. Is there any dangers associated with shooting video outside in freezing temperatures? I know you have to be careful about condensation in/on the lens and components (I will place the camera in a monster ziplock bag when moving from cold->warm, etc... but didn't know if these cameras are safe to operate in cold wintry outdoor conditions. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

The camera is spec'd at 0c (32F) however it should do fine below that, how far below before everything inside just freezes up, hard to tell, Canon doesn't publish that spec.

One thing to be aware of in extreme cold is battery life, cells will degrade quick in extreme cold or as we have here in Phoenix, extreme heat.

Do what it takes to keep that camera kozy, think of it as an extension of yourself and if you don't like the cold, don't think it would like it either and you will do just fine.

I shot in NYC a few weeks back and it was 3 F (with wind chill). Shot in Times Square and I was almost alone (that's how cold it was). The tape mechanism worked well, but after about 1 hour I noticed the focus, iris and zoom rings getting really slow.
If you are going to shoot for anytime below 30F or -2 C I would get a polar bear for it.
Ryan

I shot with the A1 in Quebec city last week for two consecutives days at -25 Celsius and worked fine.

I never use my XH A1 for more than 30-40 minutes in the cold and still have isues. What I can say is that my XH A1 will not record once the temp reaches 0 or lower and if the camera is out for any length of time. I even have had a few days at about 20 F when the camera worked some times and not others. Either there are skips in the audio and video or I get a total blue screen although the camera acts like everything is recording fine.

If you are shooting in conditions lower than the mid 20's, I would recommend a polar mitten porta brace. I will be buying one too as I would hate to ruin this expensive camera.

Like some of the early commenters here, I've shot a lot, ~30 tapes, in temps near or below freezing. Average shoot time is 1-2 hours and I've not had any problems. When it's really cold (for me that's below 20F) I have noticed the LCD slurring a little, but nowhere near enough to create a problem. I have shot in single digits and I gave out before the camera did.

I do have a Port-A-Brace rain cover on it most times because the likelihood of snow dumping on my head from a tree branch can be quite high. Maybe that helps keep it warm.

Had a crazy thought reading this post. Might be worth a quick discussion incase someone else thinks of it and tries it (or has tried it)

What if, and it’s a big if, someone takes advantage of the spare space in the battery compartment and use a small hand warmer?

Initial thoughts are that introducing a chemical reaction inside the camera is probably a BAD thing. Second thought is the amount of heat and the temperature change within the camera might cause some interesting shrink/expansion issues. Third is I’m sure Canon wouldn’t approve and discard the warranty.

Maybe its been done and worked fine, but I thought it worth mentioning incase someone tries it and has a bad day.

Like you said, a chemical reaction inside your expensive machine is probably not good.

I thought about using those packs inside the rain cover I have but it hasn't been necessary. I think I'd turn into an icicle long before the camera does.

I was up in the mountains skiing a few weeks ago (8 degrees with hand warmers). I’d only had the camera a month, but didn’t do much outside work. After reading the post, the idea pop up, but reason quickly kicked in. I’m sure most people would'nt try it, but I could see how someone would be tempted on the A1.

I’m sure an external application is much wiser, but I do wonder about the sudden temperature change if you had direct contact on the camera body. The camera body temprature could be 80+ degrees in one area, and 20 degrees a few inches away.