Camera protection in extreme cold

[Nils J. Nesse]

We´re shooting a feature in Northern Norway in February. It´s gonna be cold, likely -30 Celsius (-22 F) or worse. So I assume we´ll need some kind of cover for the camera.

So far I´ve found the Camrade Snow Coat
http://www.camrade.com/products-page/cameras/red/sc-red

Does anyone have any experience with this?
Are there other products out there?

Also, for the EVF, the Arctic X http://www.arcticx.net/ looks perfect. But what about the LCD?

 

[RyanW]

we use foot warmer packs that are sticky backed. We stickem to the back of the onboard monitors and around the evf and change em out a few times a day. They say they last apx 8hrs but I think that's only when they are in your shoes or mits.

do a search for hand warmers or hot shots....buy a box of em.
you open each pack ...shakem and squeeze em a few times to mix the stuff inside then stickem where needed.

R

 

[Robert Knoll]

I was out in the yard last weekend at -26C with the Red. Brutal! Yep, Hotshots. Your worst enemy is the wind as it takes -26c down to -35c really fast. Worry more about your hands.

 

[Dennis Guskov]

here's what we came up with: Red One - homeless edition
shot in -20c and below just last week
surprisingly the LCD keeps to perform marvelously in low temp conditions

 

[LCamak]

Wow that should be fun. I know a bit what its like there. I shot in Harstad and Bjerkvick area in Feb before for a week. All exterior. Coldest day was -28F with gusts up to 30mph. Wish I'd had a Red then. Was shooting with an Arri 435 and it took three guys to thread the film for mag changes. Each guy would rip off his gloves and thread the film through the sprockets until his hands went knumb. Me and the AC couldn't do it alone and finally had to teach a grip so he could help us finish and slam the door shut. Then we'd wait five minutes until our hands came back to life before we started filming. Anyways, here's a few things I learned (the hard way). Sorry if some are obvious. (Especially to you as you live there already.)

Put batts on the belt pack and just stick them in a cooler with some heat packs. Keep the batts warm at all times. We often wore a few under our coats.

Let the camera acclimate the outside slowly. Be sure to have anything that might attach to the camera (INCLUDING LENSES) acclimating with it.

When we were NOT shooting, the camera was either in a case outside or in a cold room like an entrance foyer. We never wanted it brought out of a warm room into the extreme cold. Not good for lenses, LCDs, etc. A lens could have condensation that frosts up quickly (inside between elements) when not acclimated slowly.

Using the harddrive? If so, remember that the spinning drives SPIN so that means moving parts. So again make sure no condensation could quickly freeze it up.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Should be a LOT easier than film or videotape. When we used the 435, the 435 mags weren't available yet so we had to use Arri III 1000' mags. Turns out they were made of different metal. In the extreme cold, the camera body didn't contract, but the Mag mounts DID contract some. So we had a big problem with the mag sometimes falling off (well almost - we caught it).

Some of my Norway footage is at the beginning of this:
http://www.vimeo.com/15055971

That cold case looks like a good investment. I'd probably buy it.

BTW, I love Norway. Already saving for the day when my kids are big enough to take on a vacation there.

Best,
lael

 

[Nils J. Nesse]

Thanks all for your experiences!

BTW, I love Norway. Already saving for the day when my kids are big enough to take on a vacation there.

If you like the north of Norway, you should visit Tromsø, fantastic city.