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preparing to shoot in 40 below

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Nicholas Davis

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Hey guys, my friend an I are putting together a shoot where the temperatures will be reaching 40 below. I have never shot in this type of climate and I know they used to have to shoot film for these instances in planet earth. Would shooting Epics even be possible? What are some of the tricks and tips for temp control for something like this? What are the pitfalls to look out for (besides the obvious)?

We would be a crew of three, two cameramen and one field producer/guide. It's a pretty big undertaking, any help you guys could give would be greatly appriciated.
 
Get several layers and wear your batteries as close to you as possible.

I use Bibs and Heli coats with several layers underneath and stash the batteries as close to my body as I can. As far as cameras thats really your call. You can keep some of the heat in I'd imagine by using a snow cover. Perhaps a neoprene version would help insulate it. I'd imagine you could also allow the fan to run a little higher since i'm guessing the audio isn't a big deal since there is likely alot of wind?

Just a few things i'd try.
 
Thanks, yeah we were thinking of keeping the batteries under our coats and cableing them out. I'm getting more concerned with the monitors and also the lenses and mounts. We were thinking of hooking up USB warmers, I'm just not sure if parts like the lens and mount wmight crack if they get heat on them.
 
I have shot in these type of conditions and one of the biggest problems was the EVF went dark when it got cold this was the bomb version 1 not the OLED. so I had to keep it warm with hand warmers and try to keep the camera on as long as its out in the cold. We also kept the camera in a camping cooler with large hand warmers when waiting for setups.
 
You can totally do it. Just need to know how stuff works in extreme cold, mainly batteries, glass, screens and condensation. Epic generates a beautiful amount of heat that can keep er runnin' in bitter cold. Just keep her running non stop starting a minute or two before going out. Double up on batteries if you can. At that end of the scale you'll need to have form fitting covers for the LCDs and might need to use chemical warmers if you get solarization and weirdness. Not sure what you'll encounter cause I haven't done that but at -40F you might need to keep all batteries against your body and covered with insulation (in your jacket) cause you don't want them lasting two seconds each. Glass changes temperature in layers, so sudden exposure to drastically different temperatures can crack your Master Prime front element to pieces. Not good. Keep them in their case till the case gets cold and wait a few minutes before bringing them out. Also keep in mind that cold objects condense moisture from the air so if you run indoors you might have to do the same with the case, or better yet small plastic bags and allow them to acclimate before bringing them out. Some companies make very decent form fitting weather bags, I'd love to see RED make their own, with flaps that opened up to fully utilize the camera. And with a few strategic pockets for chem packets. Cammo style, Oakley stylee'.
 
AND-

have a plastic bag big enough to load rig into BEFORE you go BACK INSIDE otherwise it will instantly condense H20 over every surface, which won't prob hurt the camera (tho going back out again means this will ice up) but plays havoc with glass surfaces being unusable until temp stabilizes. Still can't use the rig in its bag but at least you are not toweling it down once removed inside - and it allows you to go back out again without above mentioned icing due to condensation.

AND-

bear in mind any external cables will become uber-brittle. Have spares!!

AND-
I manually set fan to 25% during outdoor use at these temps. May as well minimize amount of sub-z air pumping into the camera.

Stu Aull
SX 199
Alaska
 
Also for personal comfort get some insulated mats to stand on. you'd be surprised how much of a difference it makes to stand / kneel on those instead of on the bear surface.
 
I haven't used a RED in frigid temps yet, but I have shot the iditarod many times. the coldest was 70 below (without windchill). as mentioned previously, BRING TRASH BAGS. they are the absolute BEST for making sure your camera acclimates to indoor/outdoor temps without getting condensation build up. If the monitor you are using is LCD, chances are it will freeze and become really sluggish. hand warmers are your friend. I taped two to every monitor and it was perfect. My dionic 90s went from a 3 hour life span to about 1 when the temps hit that low, so definitely bring spares.

good luck!
 
To reiterate and add a few suggestions from years of shooting various equipment in northern Vermont winter at temps well below zero:
- Batteries go very fast, so want to keep warm inside all of your layers until needed.
- Avoid exposing equipment to rapid temperature extremes. Let things cool down gradually to ambient temp. Then warm them up gradually back to normal temp. Coolers with cold packs/warm packs help with this process.
- Think about metal surfaces. You want to avoid freezing your cheek, eyelid, etc, to your camera. Cover likely surface with gaffer tape.
- A good pair of Black Diamond insulated outer mittens snapped to your sleeves with thin wool, fingertip-less liners inside are invaluable.
- Think about your feet. There are lots of options for keeping your them warm, particularly when you are not moving. I've never liked chemical warm/foot warmers, but some people do. Once they stop warming, whatever they were warming get cold very fast.
- Closed foam sleeping bag pads are good to kneel or sit on.

There is awesome imagery to be captured on the coldest, clearest days ... have a great time
 
I´ve been filming in subzero temperatures couple years now. First with Red One and now with Epic. Mostly the temperature is here around -20 in winter but my record is with Epic -40.8 last year.

On hardware side the only thing that really can´t handle cold is the EVF especially the old one. Othervise everything has worked really well. Even the touch screen. I would be more worried about your Crew.

Here you might find some tips: http://laplandmemories.blogspot.com
 
Be careful with your hands. It is very easy to get freeze problems for life by holding on to metal this cold. I know by experience...
 
Here is one more: Be careful where your breath goes nearby the camera: LCD and lens is very fast covered with a thin layer of ice from your breath.
 
i recently shot in -22 in Alaska. The camera performed wonderfully. I used a porta-brace cover and lined it with foot heaters, the LCD was on the top to take advantage of the camera exhaust. One thing to be very careful of is exposing any plastics to temps that cold. at -30, plastic can shatter. at -50, metal can. had a great conversation with some Discovery Channel dudes about this.
 
Carlo Silvio said:
i recently shot in -22 in Alaska. The camera performed wonderfully. I used a porta-brace cover and lined it with foot heaters, the LCD was on the top to take advantage of the camera exhaust. One thing to be very careful of is exposing any plastics to temps that cold. at -30, plastic can shatter. at -50, metal can. had a great conversation with some Discovery Channel dudes about this.
Click to expand...

Imagine shattered plastic all up in the internals of the camera ... or a cracked body... 0_0 uff
 
I have also shot in those conditions many times. I actually had "cozy" make for the camera. Much like a tea cozy it wrapped the camera and had flap with velco for the fan. Never turn it off it takes too long to get back up to temp. But my Epic dragon worked flawlessly. The rest has been well covered in the other posts.
 
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