Problems With Cold?

[Jeremy Wiles]

Jeremy, sorry about your misfortunes with the batteries and generator. Just for future reference, keep your batteries warm. But I think you know that now. :biggrin: It doesn't take much to freeze batteries and the RED bricks don't seem to generate any serious amount of heat on their own with the power draw from the camera. Warming them up can be a real problem too. And I don't recommend setting them near a fire! Also, if you are ever powering sensitive gear with a generator, put some kind of power conditioner or at least a surge protector in between the genny and your gear!

I like to keep the batteries in a thermal bag or cooler with hand-warmers and other items that generate or retain warmth. Or in a vehicle or shelter that can be kept warm if possible.

Jeff, that's a good idea regarding the batteries in a "thermal bag or cooler." I'll keep that in mind next time. Yeah, i actually used a surge protector between the generator and the gear, but can you believe it even blew out? It was a horrible day! Murphy's law was in full force! I was shooting with the hvx at the time, so i'm wondering how the red bricks handle in cold weather. Do you think they handle better in the cold than the CGA batteries that go with an hvx200?

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I don't know how the RED bricks compare to the batteries for the HVX200. I would imagine that they would take a bit longer to freeze due to their larger size. But like I said above, they don't seem to generate a lot of heat, or at least not noticeable on the outside of their shell, as the camera draws power. With the HVX200, I usually didn't have problems with the batteries in the cold if they were warm when I snapped them onto the camera. They usually generated enough heat as the camera was running that a rain cover over the camera was usually enough. On my HVX, the flip-out LCD was always the first thing to fail in the cold. I've looked at some covers that should fit the RED in various configurations, but I'll probably make my own in the next week or so to handle longer episodes in the cold. The camera generates quite a bit of heat, which should help if I make a wind-proof jacket for the camera that can trap some of that heat inside and maybe an extra hot pack or two around the battery and on the back of the LCD.

I should be shooting quite a bit of stuff after the first of the year that will take me into the cold. And at -15F or so, most every camera needs extra help or protection, ways to keep batteries and LCDs from freezing, etc..