Typically, every year I post a list of "how to's" in
cold weather photography. Without reposting the
entire list of items (I've forgotten most, I think),
I'll share a couple highlights:
To keep my OM-2S happy in sub-freezing, sub-zero
weather, I use a chemical hand-warmer fastened to the
bottom of the camera. This keeps the entire camera
just warm enough to not sieze up. Last winter, I
didn't use this trick and my cameras and lenses
suffered premature failures. Don't worry about
cooking the camera as the warmer will barely keep the
camera above freezing.
Another hand-warmer trick is to put two or three
inside the camera bag. This will keep the lenses (and
spare bodies) warm enough to not stiffen up when you
need them. Also keeps the film from getting too
brittle and staticy.
You always read about wearing silk gloves under heavy
gloves/mittens. Don't. Silk gloves and camera
equipment don't match too well as there is absolutely
no grip. Great way to drop film or lenses in the
snow. Split fingered ice-fishing gloves work very
well and I have a pair of oversized mittens to stuff
them into whenever possible. I do use a pair of liner
gloves that are used in neoprene diving gloves, but
these tend to be a bit cold as they feel like they
accelerate skin-evaporation. I also have a pair of
rubber-dotted cut-off finger gloves (hunting gloves),
that grip the camera body in any weather condition.
Keep spare batteries in an inside pocket.
If you pull your camera inside your parka/jacket when
between shots, make sure that it is just inside the
outermost layer. Body moisture will cause the
greatest problem with in/out/in/out/in/out camera
usage.
Insulate the legs of your tripod. The difference is
staggering!
When following the above procedures, I have never
experienced a failure with my OM-2S in winter
conditions. I fail long before the camera does. Last
year I photographed eagles in a sub-zero morning
without the hand-warmers and the lens grease stiffened
up to the point where my 200mm lens would come
unmounted when I tried focusing. :0
Ken N.
Image66
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