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Shooting in extreme cold wih the MX or Epic

khfilms

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Hi folks, not personally a Red owner but a user of the system. I have a shoot in December that I do every year and the conditions are COLD and snowy. Temps can range from -30 to +20 with mornings always being well below zero. I have typically shot Super 16 for this job but am considering shooting with the EPIC this year however I have concerns about the LCD and EVF functioning in these cold temps. I have heard several accounts of the EVF's and LCD's going down in moderately cold weather. I would love to hear back from folks who have used these cameras in legitimately very cold conditions all day for multiple days.

Much thanks,
Kent Harvey
www.kentharveyfilms.com
 
I second this sort of question. Has anyone had troubles shooting below freezing?
 
Shot for a few week in -5 to -10 celsius, not a single problem :)
 
I've shot Red One in ND and MN in -10 F to -20 F below temps. The camera came out okay, the LCD will ghost really bad (as to be expected). I shot CF cards also. Since it appears you shoot some Polaris and Arctic Cat stuff, Are you shooting up in the Roseau/Thief River Falls area?
 
You might want to invest in the new Bomb EVF, which comes with a built-in heater.

I've shot on the R1 in -20 (c) without trouble:


And Kent, this forum is a real name forum. Please get your screen name changed by posting to the real name sticky in the Recon section. Thanks.
 
Martin, beautiful clip.
Any tricks for keeping the red one LCD warm, ie pocket warmers ?
Also what kind of gloves do you operate with. Excuse the basic questions but as an Australian
I don't shoot a lot at -20.
 
Had the RED One down to -20F/-28C with only minor issues you would have with any camera / lenses. At those temps you typically have far more issues with the crew than with the gear. Just be aware of what temperatures cause what items to freeze and how to deal with the freezing and thawing of various components. There are so many discussions on this topic here on the forums it is not even funny. Google search is your friend.

Was out testing the new 2.05 firmware on EPIC early yesterday morning at 18F/-8C. Went well. It's been unseasonably warm around here with little snowfall except up in the mountains. This is the first time I've had EPIC out in "the cold". BOMB EVF and touch LCD performed fine. I usually shoot snowsports and other things this time of year, especially in January, but I haven't picked up any of those jobs for this year. Too bad because I was really looking forward to using EPIC on them... I'll still have to go play and really stress the system in cold to see how it handles. I have to find some real cold first...


Any tricks for keeping the red one LCD warm, ie pocket warmers ?
Also what kind of gloves do you operate with.

For the RED LCD's I've had the best luck sticking a handwarmer to the back side.

Haven't thought about the touch screen much. I personally don't like fingerless gloves and will probably opt for a stylus to use on the screen or will stick with the REDMOTE or Side Handle for control.
 
We did a shoot in MN not too long ago with an EpicX and had no problems. It was 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit and snowing a little. We used the touch LCD as the rental house didn't have the redmote or EVF yet, which was quite annoying having to take gloves off to make adjustments.

 
EPIC performed flawlessly for nearly 4 hours straight this morning at 1 degrees F (-17C)... Will test more as it gets colder. Nothing special was done. Did not use the Bomb EVF.
 
Anyone have any issues with SSDs in the cold or not being recognized by the camera at cold temps?



Steve
 
I have no problems in extreme cold in Iowa with RED One. Camera holds even when it is literally berried under snow :-) Batteries last about 1/2 or 2/3 of the time, some people recommend keeping them in a cooler with hand warmers or putting blankets on them to keep them working longer.
 
Consider this to stop camera freeze...treat it like your child and cover the camera with a winter coat sleeve big enough to give you room to touch buttons. or cut up extreme winter coat or whatever while making the proper cuts to insulate the lens, LCD, camera etc. You could make a wire box and velcro parts of the coat around it to shield the camera because you spent way too much money not to be innovative. =)
 
The origional RED EVF has issues with cold below 38f (some more, some less). We build a protector/heater that will allow it to work in Temps you could not withstand.
http://www.arcticx.net

I am 95% sure the Bomb has a heater built in, so it shoudl be fine in cold weather.

BTW we do not make these any more.. But have a few holding over from old stock. So supply will be limited, and when they are done, they are done.

Jay
 
I carry my next battery in a pants pocket when shooting in the cold. Seems to keep them warm enough.
 
Been -30s-40s for weeks here. Will give my Scarlet a good workout (was going to say "thrashing", but, well, I do want the warranty...) when it shows...
Had my ol' reliable 1990 Betacam SP out grinding away the other day shooting snow machines. All those twirling little internal doo-dads creaking away and it never missed a beat. Damn. Scarlet has big boots to fill!

Stu Aull
Alaska
 
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