A7R2 Survived the Arctic

[JonathanStewart]

A7R2

Body #1 didn't survive a dust storm in Mongolia. 

 

Body #2 died in the rainy Amazon

 

Body #3 went to Arctic Alaska in the winter, and . . .  SURVIVED!

 

Kind of surprised, actually.  I had it in -30C weather, even down to -35C for a few moments, and it performed really well.  Some issues:

 

1.  The control knobs get sort of sticky and slow, but still work

2.  A low-temp thermometer warning thing pops up on the LCD but the camera still works

3.  The battery goes dead very quickly, but hooking up to an external USB source let me shoot time lapses for over 3 hours at a time. 

4.  Stick-on hand warmers didn't seem to help or hurt, so I stopped using them.  It was so cold you couldn't feel any heat coming out of them anyhow. 

5.  I made the mistake of bringing the camera inside to change the lens.  Condensation formed over the entire body, including on the sensor, and then it froze solid!  The issue was resolved by using a hair drier to warm the camera and evaporate the frost.  Problem was avoided in the future by changing lenses in the cold, and putting the camera inside a ziplock bag when returning inside.  

 

I'll have a sample or two up on my FB page:  https://www.facebook.com/JonathanStewartPhotos/

[K2Kevin]

Glad to hear the Ziplock method worked for you, as posted here... http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/3387-a7rii-problem-in-low-temperature/

 

I just shot in brutal -20 to -25C  without any issues.  I did see the low temp warning, and always use a ziplock before going indoors.

 

​This time I had a neoprene soft case, and I'm working if hand warmers in this soft case would help.  

[JonathanStewart]

Yeah, I definitely should have known better than to skip the ziplock on the first outing into the cold, but it was just so damn dry, with relative humidity in the single digits, that I didn't think I'd get that much condensation.  I was wrong.  

 

Where'd you get the neoprene case?  I've been looking for something like that.  

 

Handwarmers: seemed fine without, and they might not even work when it gets that cold.  

[K2Kevin]

That humidity is reading is outside, not in, right? Walk into a warm and certainly more humid place and it's like having a cold beer in the rain forest.

[A99]

Sorry, but I have to say that. After walking in with a cold camera to a warm room and then ending up with a hair drier makes me woder if you should publish reviews ? There is not so much more you can do wrong when it comes to cameras and cold weahter.

 

So here are some general tipps for the next time:

 

1. Place your camera outside 30 min before you go without batteries in the body or battery grip (in your car for example)

 

2. keep cleaning brush and a microfabric ready at all time to take ice and snow off from time to time

 

3. store your batteries inside your jacket until you use them

 

4. place some small pieces of a camping mattres around your tripod leg (makes it much nicer to carry)

 

5. Have your photo backpack outside and open when you shoot (so the temperature is low as well) so other lenses can adapt to the cold as well as filter

 

6. put your camera in the backpack then in the car when you go further (so the camera stays in the "cold" when you use the car

 

7. take your batteries and cards out of the camera before returning home so you can copy pictures and load batteries without placing the body in the warm room

 

8. warm up your batteries and your cards for 15min (room temperature) before using or charging

 

9. Make sure to clean and dry all equipment after 12 hrs. in the room (so you dont have water, moisture on the camera when stored). Leave your photo backpack open for a while to dry out completly

 

Hope that helps a bit.

 

A99

[zeratulmrye]

Hi, may I ask what kind of gloves did you wear? Can you operate the camera with them?

[JonathanStewart]

There's always somebody who's sure they know better than you, and beyond making a mistake. 

Sorry, but I have to say that. After walking in with a cold camera to a warm room and then ending up with a hair drier makes me woder if you should publish reviews ? There is not so much more you can do wrong when it comes to cameras and cold weahter.

 

 

[K2Kevin]

There's always somebody who's sure they know better than you, and beyond making a mistake. 

 

 

Isn't this always the case.  The more long winded the reply, the more I try not to read.