Raven winter use

[Flo Armengaud]

Hi all,

Winter is coming and ski shootings too. I used to film with tropicalized VDSLRs, so snow and moisture weren't my first concern. But this time we'll shoot using the Raven mounted on ronin MX, and I'm worried about open fans on top, cold (positive temperatures using only) and batteries management. We found a potential solution for batteries with the Jetpack and belt clip. Also, a lot of big ski/snow films productions (Sherpas, Level 1, PBP...) are using Red DSMC2 gear so I don't think it's an original topic !

I wondered if anyone here had some experience with this problematic, or some tips ?

Thanks by advance,

 

[Joachim Hoge]

I´ve shot skiing for 6 years with RED cameras in the mountains in winter time, even hanging out of helicopters. From Epic-M, Dragon, Raven and Epic-W. These cameras are built like tanks and I never had a problem with moisture or cold. The only time I ran into some issues was when it was -25C in the northh of Norway. The touch LCD started to be a bit unresponsive. Guess the crystals started to freeze up. But it still worked. Batteries last less, but I try to keep them as protected from the cold as possible.
You will be fine.
Sometimes I use the beltclip and leave the battery in the top of my back pack. I then just ski with the Red camera in my hand from location to location. Makes for a very light setup

 

[Brandon Kelly]

Red cameras do just fine in the cold. I worked with PBP for 3 years and continue to work on ski/snowboard projects all winter with Red cameras. Like stated above, I only had issues once things got to around -20 celsius and the LCD would start to act pretty funky. I use a storm jacket or plastic bag when it is snowing.

 

[Chris McKechnie]

You should be fine. Something that's very import is black shading at the current temperature. Since the cam may struggle to get up to your "normal" typical op temp, make sure you let the cam warm up a bit, run a black shade, then you should have clean blacks.

Another trick to keep the camera extra warm in an extreme cold environment is to wrap it up in a trash bag (obviously not obstructing fans), or get heat packs and stick them to the body. The one issue you could potentially have is the RED touch may act up on occasion in extreme cold weather too, but I've never had any issues, just heard about them.

 

[Peter Strietmann]

Put your batteries in a small cooler with a couple of hand or feet warmers. Wrap the camera in a barney. If the temps go below -20 keep the camera powered up and black shade at low temperature. You can also stick foot warmers to the batteries.

 

[William Long]

Blackshade for 0, -10, -20 C etc. Yes a barney or general rain cover is a good idea. LCD is unreliable but I have found the EVF works well. Hand warmers can be a solution particularly under a general cover. For extreme cold the best tip is to keep your batteries under your down jacket, body temperature will keep them warm all day.

 

[Flo Armengaud]

Thanks all for your answers ! Comforted to the idea that Red are outdoor-ready cameras, I'll try your advices, specially the black shading setting. I don't think I'll have to shoot under -15°C (we never know...) but Fool Control could be helping if LCD is not responding.

 

[William Long]

"...but Fool Control could be helping if LCD is not responding."

... maybe, but your phone/ipad will also freeze!

 

[Graeme Meiklejohn]

Red cameras do just fine in the cold. I worked with PBP for 3 years and continue to work on ski/snowboard projects all winter with Red cameras. Like stated above, I only had issues once things got to around -20 celsius and the LCD would start to act pretty funky. I use a storm jacket or plastic bag when it is snowing.

Storm jacket and you will be totally fine. I have had my Raven out in -10c and colder and it was totally fine. Biggest thing while shooting in snow for me was keeping hands/ LCD dry so I could operate it properly, once you get moisture on each it gets real funky.

 

[Flo Armengaud]

Thanks a lot for your feedback Graeme ! Let's try this funky part

William, for sure but it's easier to keep it warm in the pocket than LCD !