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film SLRs in chilly weather
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:51 pm    Post subject: film SLRs in chilly weather Reply with quote
I had a chance to get out for a walk this morning in the autumn leaves.

It was a frosty morning, slightly above freezing. My 1000D had no problems, but my new-to-me Yashica FX-D wouldn't close to narrow apertures. There's a little ring inside the camera housing that slides the tab on the lens, that ring would only rotate about a quarter of the usual path.

Once I got back inside and the camera had a chance to warm up, the aperture freed up and now works fine.

What's the smart way to shoot in cold weather? I had the cameras inside my backpack instead of my coat to minimize condensation from temperature changes. Should I be keeping them warm instead, to keep the mechanical parts and the batteries happy?

Or should I try a drop of oil on the aperture ring? The thing works fine inside or in nice weather, I hesitate to mess with something that mostly works.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
If in good condition, a high quality SLR should not have problems in chilly weather.
I guess due to age the mechanical parts in your cam/lens got a little inflexible.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well you might find this amusing living in Canada:- I've used some of my film cameras at -2C with no problems.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A good CLA will help - many of my Pentax mechanical shutters work fine in warm weather but start to cap in the cold. Also, there are things a camera repair guy can do to winterize a camera - special lubricants and so on.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yeah that's kind of what I thought. I happen to have a pristine Yashica FX-2 that needs new seals, suppose I'd better get cracking. The FX-2 doesn't appear to have ever been used. Inside the camera case was a brochure from a Chevron gasoline credit card promotion, it must have seemed like a good idea to someone but they got intimidated with the actual camera I suppose.

I'll try the FX-2 before I start googling repair manuals for the FX-D

Razz


PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
It could be that part of the camera is slightly out of alignment, meaning that when the pieces contract in cold weather one or more contract in a way that prevents proper operation. Did the same thing happen with multiple lenses? If so, then it's clearly a camera issue. If not, perhaps the lens is not cold-friendly. Also, it may just be a quirk of this camera.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:37 am    Post subject: Re: film SLRs in chilly weather Reply with quote
fuzzywuzzy wrote:
I had a chance to get out for a walk this morning in the autumn leaves.

It was a frosty morning, slightly above freezing. My 1000D had no problems, but my new-to-me Yashica FX-D wouldn't close to narrow apertures. There's a little ring inside the camera housing that slides the tab on the lens, that ring would only rotate about a quarter of the usual path.

Once I got back inside and the camera had a chance to warm up, the aperture freed up and now works fine.

What's the smart way to shoot in cold weather? I had the cameras inside my backpack instead of my coat to minimize condensation from temperature changes. Should I be keeping them warm instead, to keep the mechanical parts and the batteries happy?

Or should I try a drop of oil on the aperture ring? The thing works fine inside or in nice weather, I hesitate to mess with something that mostly works.


Cold weather performance depends largely on the state of the lubricants in the body and the lens. In the case of battery-dependent cameras, batteries are also a factor.

As lubricants tend to deteriorate with age, and many film cameras are getting old, the odds of finding a film camera that will perform well in cold weather without a CLA are getting worse. In general I would expect performance to be substantially poorer than when new, the amount of deterioration depending on the camera's history.

What can be expected of a film camera with good lubricants?

My best cold weather camera was a Ricoh XR-1s. This is an all-mechanical unit dating from the late 1970s It was my main cold weather body for about 20 years. It was reliable to below -40, as were my Pentax lenses. I attribute the camera's reliability to the Copal Square mechanical shutter, which was a well-known cold weather performer. The Copal Square shutter was used in 1970s Vivitar and Argus/Cosina bodies and, I think, in early versions of the Nikon FM. The meter on the Ricoh, a simple match-needle unit, also worked to -40 and colder.

More modern cameras I have used in extreme cold include Pentax Super Programs, Nikon F801, F90, D2, Kodak DSC14n. All worked quite well to about -35C, at which point LCD displays first slowed down, then disappeared. Cold weather battery packs greatly increase working time, of course. Cold weather battery packs have a battery holder you can keep inside your coat, with a wire connection to the camera body.

In terms of shooting methods in really cold weather, there are two main variations. One is to keep your camera warm inside your coat, just popping it out to take pictures. Not bad, usually. There are two main problems. One is that if it's snowing, snow will melt on your warm camera, and you tend to run into condensation and lens fogging. The other problem is increased risk of hypothermia in extreme cold, when repeatedly opening your coat and introducing a very cold camera results in an ongoing loss of body heat. By extreme cold I mean colder than, say, -25C.

Plan B is to allow camera and lens to chill to ambient temperatures. This eliminates the risks above. The main precaution required is, when coming indoors, to keep cold gear in a closed contaner until it warms up to near room temperature to avoid serious condensation problems.

I would choose plan B if the state of your lubricants allows.

I spent 30 years North of 60, so speak from experience.

With regard to your FX-D. My first guess is that you are dealing with old, dried-up lubricants. I suggest very careful application of a tiny amount of WD40 or similar. I've done that with an FX-D that was sticky even in warm weather, with good results.

Hope this helps.

John


PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:43 pm    Post subject: Re: film SLRs in chilly weather Reply with quote
John Poirier wrote:

I spent 30 years North of 60, so speak from experience.

Hope this helps.

John


Thanks, John. My Canon 1000D digital did OK last winter in -20C weather tucked into my coat, but I wasn't out for long periods of time. Temperatures below -20C are uncommon in this part of the Maritimes, we make it up with snowfall accumulation Shocked

The FX-D shutter was fine, so I'd have been OK if I'd set the aperture to something sensible before I leave the house, i.e. I knew I was trying to shoot fall landscapes on a sunny day so being stuck on f/8 or f/11 would have been fine.

More experimentation is in order I think.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:23 am    Post subject: Re: film SLRs in chilly weather Reply with quote
John Poirier wrote:

Hope this helps.
John


Thanks John. That was very informative. Smile
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