I recently bought a Canon XH A1 and will be doing the majority of my shots in the outdoors. It seems to be an early fall this year here in Montana, and the weather is already turning cold. We have already been snowed on in the high country!

My question is this: what is the minimum temperature for operating the XH A1? I am also going to be shooting in the winter, with temps sometimes dropping down to below zero.

What can I do to ensure the proper function of the camera in conditions such as this?

Portabrace makes a winter coat for them. I used one with my GL2 and it worked very well. You can put handwarmer packs in it to keep the temp up. I will be ordering one for my A1. Love Gierachs books by the way.

Tim, is there some temperature at which the camera will cease to function? Good idea on the handwarmers, I never would have thought about that.

Also, I think John Gierach is the best fly fishing writer alive today. I own all of his books, and have read them all many times. Good to meet another fan out there.

I don't know about what temperature you can go to but tape stock seems to get fairly stiff in the cold so I figure if it is cold enough for gloves I use the portabrace jacket on the camera.

Manual says 0-40 deg "C" or 32-104 "F"

Tim, is there some temperature at which the camera will cease to function? Good idea on the handwarmers, I never would have thought about that.

Also, I think John Gierach is the best fly fishing writer alive today. I own all of his books, and have read them all many times. Good to meet another fan out there.

I'm sure there is "some temp," but I have yet to reach it. I have shot in both extreme cold and hot conditions with the A1. Your biggest concern in the cold will be battery life. Bring alot of them and charge them in a room temp area. Porta Barce makes a "Polar Mitten" which is great..also use the hand warmers and bring an electric blanket that you can plug into your car if that's an option too. You dont want to change temps on the camera too quickly either. Always keep a few bags of scilica gel on hand to absorb any moisture.

Here's the Polar Mitten link http://www.portabrace.com/aag_27_32

Jake... I've shot for hours in temperatures down to about 10F and never had a problem. No special protection except for a rain cover. Only two issues. The battery life was shortened to about 2/3 of normal which to be expected. And on one shot there was some waviness of the image right after I took it out of my warm car. It was an optical, not electronic phenomenon which brings me to my one admonition.

Be careful about heat cycling the camera. If you're shooting in cold and then drive to another cold shooting location in a warm car, keep the camera away from the heat. Keep it in its case and in the trunk/boot. I know both Petrol and Pelican cases offer good thermal insulation.

One of the main issues is getting fog on your lense especially using a wide angle. If you change temp of the cam this is bound to happen.

Jake, I live over by Hamilton and have shot many, many times in cold weather over here. But I wouldn't trust the camera, exposed, in anything below 15 degrees f. But if you just wrap a large towel around it and stick a hand warmer in the towel you will be fine, even at 10 or 15 degrees below zero. I shot the special olympics a few years back with temps hovering around 15 below zero and all went well. Different camera though but the tape drive mech. is usually similar in most cameras. Lens fog is an issue you will have if you take a camera from indoors to outdoors which allows the difference in temp and humidity to fog the lens. Then you just have to wait long enough for the camera to acclimate itself to the new outdoor conditions (temp and humidity.

Hi Jake,

I work with the US Army's Cold Regions Testing Center. The temperatures drop below -40° and they have to take some extreme care of their equipment with the "Polar" line of Porta Brace cases which have pockets for the warmers that seem to work well.

They are switching to solid state cameras so they don't have to worry about what the 'grinding' sound means in the tape mechanism.

When it gets cold enough, the smart thing to do is go inside.

For your purposes, lens condensation (plan extra time to take the camera inside/outside to adjust to the temperature and humidity - the same goes for humid conditions in the tropics), keeping the batteries warm (put extras inside your coat), and keeping your fingers warm are likely the most important considerations.

My best.

Mike

I'm planning to shoot in the cold as well. As I won't do that regularly and I still need to buy a raincoat as well, I came up with the idea to buy the raincoat of portabrace (which apparently leaves a bit of space around the xh-a1) and put some small handwarmers/heatpacks in it when it get's really cold.
Does anyone has an idea of the chances, smth like this will be an ok alternative for buying the polar mitten?

I still need to buy a raincoat as well, I came up with the idea to buy the raincoat of portabrace (which apparently leaves a bit of space around the xh-a1) and put some small handwarmers/heatpacks in it when it get's really cold.
Does anyone has an idea of the chances, smth like this will be an ok alternative for buying the polar mitten?

Depends upon how cold is cold. I shot last winter in temps down to 10F using only the PortaBrace raincoat, without any warming packs with no problems. Can't say anything about temps colder than that.

I think the best thing you can do is let your camera get cold and keep it that way until you're done shooting. Once I come home from shooting in sub-freezing temps, I take out the battery and tape and put it back in its Petrol bag which padding which provides some insulation and I let it come back up to room temperature very slowly. I don't think its absolutely necessary, but I'm just being cautious.

BTW... if you search this list, you'll find plenty of posts on using the Canon in cold weather.

Haha I will be finding out very soon being in MN! I shot in -10 (not including windchill) with the DVX100 last year! I was more worried about my hands then the camera!

wind chill has no effect on the camera

Lens fogging is a problem of bringing a cold camera into a warm environment, not the other way around. The cold lens drops the temperature of the nearby air below the dewpoint, causing water vapor to condense on the surface.

It's a much worse problem taking a camera from your cold cabin onto the deck of your cruise ship at sea.

Haven't been out in the deep cold with my XL2, but I've shot 35mm still frames for years in all weather. The rules are basically the same for video.

#1: Avoid sudden camera changes in temperature, particularly when going from cold to warm. Moisture will condense on the cold camera when you bring it into a warmer environment. A well-padded equipment case will help slow the change in temperature.

#2: If you're shooting in the cold, keep the camera cold until you're through for the day. If you're moving locations, stow the camera in the car's trunk (unless it's a very short move).

#3: It's less of a sin to go from warm to cold than from cold to warm. It's unlikely anything will condense on a warm camera.

#4: The chemical handwarmers are a good idea, especially near the tape transport. Lubrication works better when warmer, and there are a lot of moving parts in the transport.

#5: When you're through shooting for the day, seal the camera in a large zip-lock plastic bag BEFORE going inside, and allow it to warm up to room temperature before opening the bag. This eliminates moisture condensing on the cold camera.

#6: The tape will be the slowest thing to warm up, because it's plastic and doesn't conduct heat as well as metal. If I was in a hurry, I'd pop the tape while out in the cold, seal it in a small zip-lock bag, and then put the bag in my shirt pocket underneath my outer gear. That way, it can warm up faster on the way home.

#7: Mittens work better than gloves for situations where you can pull them off briefly to make adjustments. For really cold work, I'd use a pair of mechanic's gloves with the fingertips cut off underneath the mittens.

#8: The pain in your feet WILL go away when you're standing barefoot in calf-high icy water to get the perfect shot. Be aware that when it quits hurting, it's time to get out and put your socks and boots back on.

Martin

#8: The pain in your feet WILL go away when you're standing barefoot in calf-high icy water to get the perfect shot. Be aware that when it quits hurting, it's time to get out and put your socks and boots back on.

Martin

haha True Dedication

#3: It's less of a sin to go from warm to cold than from cold to warm. It's unlikely anything will condense on a warm camera.

Martin

But watch out for dew condensing on the camera bag while you're busy shooting in the other direction. Make sure the bag is closed and zippered.

Here is a calibration point on low temperature problems with the A1.
I was shooting wolves in the snow in Yellowstone last month. The temperature was somewhere between 17 and 20 degrees F. I was shooting with a bare camera, much easier to operate and sometimes you have to be very fast. Anyway, everything looked fine, but when I played the tape back the first minute or so was blank. The tape was moving, but nothing got recorded. After that everything was OK. I guess it just needed to warm up a little, but a little scary that there was no indication that it wasn't recording properly.

The portabrace mitten and rain cover are good products. I used the mitten on by GL-2 in Antarctica with the hand warmers in the mitten and on me :)

Although, I didn't have a problem with battery life in the cold, the hand warmers (or is it foot warmers) can be just stuck to the back or side of the camera since one of them has an adhesive back.

The other option for keeping the battery warm is to use the Canon 2 battery adapter and just keep it under your jacket and run the cord to the camera.

Rick

haha True Dedication
I'd taken several shots from that position every time the seasons had changed. I wasn't going to let a foot of fast-flowing ice with snow keep me from getting a matching shot (it rarely snows heavily enough to stick around here, and we'd gotten four inches overnight). My photographic projects (and likewise my video projects) have timelines that run years to finish.

Martin

I shot today around 12 F and the camera had a horrable trail behind fast moving footage. I was using a portabrace rain coat but not the winter set up. I got some hand warmers today and will be trying it out tommrow. It almost seemed as my framerate was not fast enough but i had it set as fast as possible.

Craig-
Interesting. Try the hand warmers inside the rain coat. But it still doesn't make sense. When you find out more, please let us know. I know I will be there some day.

Rick

I shot today around 12 F and the camera had a horrable trail behind fast moving footage. I was using a portabrace rain coat but not the winter set up. I got some hand warmers today and will be trying it out tommrow. It almost seemed as my framerate was not fast enough but i had it set as fast as possible.
Was the trailing on the actual downloaded footage, or just on the LCD viewfinder? I know LCD's "slow down" when they're cold, so it may just be the apparent "trailing" was caused by the cold viewfinder, and may not be on the tape itself.

Martin

It almost seemed as my framerate was not fast enough but i had it set as fast as possible.

Can you give the particulars? Frame rate, shutter, iris? Also, how long were you in the cold before you got this shot?

I've been out in 15-20F weather for a couple of hours, shooting intermittently with nothing on the camera but a PortaBrace rain cover. No heat applied. No problems.

The temperature was somewhere between 17 and 20 degrees F. I was shooting with a bare camera, much easier to operate and sometimes you have to be very fast. Anyway, everything looked fine, but when I played the tape back the first minute or so was blank. The tape was moving, but nothing got recorded. After that everything was OK.

Sounds like tape or head issues. Same question as for Craig... sort of. How long was the camera dormant and cold before you started shooting? Could be that the tape was too stiff to mate properly with the heads. Am I grabbing at straws? You betcha.

I've found the PortaBrace rain cover keeps the A1 motor heat inside the unit on a very cold shoot.

But I left my A1 sealed in its Pelican 1510 case overnight in the car trunk last winter.
Next morning the cam was very cold, couldn't unscrew the filter. I let it warm up in the car for 30mins before powering it up and spooling the tape.

Same with the RODE NTG-3 in the Pelican, its aluminium black tube was literally frozen. Going to be the reverse here this coming summer.

Cheers.

ok so an update. there was no specific framerate as i changed it alot to try to get it correct. i used Auto and full manual neither fixed the problem. After everything warmed back up i put the tape back in and tried to review the footage and there was nothing recorded. That being said i went up Sunday to film again this time armed with a bag of hard warmers and duct tape :) and when i first got there i started filming and noticed it happening again slightly. so i put more hand warmers on. in total i had 5 once i had 5 on there and kept the rain jacket tight things smoothed out and it starting working well. Now when i reviewed the footage from Sunday. the first bit i recorded would cut in and out only small chunks recorded and once the camera warmed up it worked great. These are probably some of the worst conditions i will ever film in being COLD Windy and standing under Snow Guns and getting soaked.

Here are some stills to give u guys an idea of the conditions.

I selected the XH-A1 over some other units because it actually has a feature that makes it better suited to cold weather use - the enclosed battery compartment. I saw a review that complained about the door because it made changing batteries slower. That's a consideration. However, the two Digic processors and the closed battery compartment help those batteries do better in the cold!

After using it more now it is fine in weather down to about 15 degrees F. But once your footage starts looking slow or there are trails behind fast moving objects its time to warm up your camera. When your footage looks like that chances are you are not getting any footage recorded to tape. I wonder if using a lubricated tape makes it worse? The lubrication gets to viscus and wont record well?

I was shooting some footage in 17 degrees a few nights ago and my footage had some spots that looked like freeze frames and when i play back the tape the counter stops moving on those same places, not sure if this is from the cold. Now one time i got a message in the view finder in red font but it went away so fast I didn't get to read it . and the camera kept recording.
I'm using a battery belt that batteries plus built for me. and its full charged, now canon told me that the XHA1's perfect conditions are 32 degrees - 104 degree Fahrenheit. anyone have any thoughts on the message i could have got?

Also I have a electric heating pad in my trunk that my pelican case lays on with a blanket

After using it more now it is fine in weather down to about 15 degrees F. But once your footage starts looking slow or there are trails behind fast moving objects its time to warm up your camera. When your footage looks like that chances are you are not getting any footage recorded to tape. I wonder if using a lubricated tape makes it worse? The lubrication gets to viscus and wont record well?

Hi Craig, there are no lubricated DV recording tapes as such. Cheers.

All sony tapes use a silicone lubricant, Panasonic and JVC use a dry type graphite lubricant. Thats why I quit using Sony and started using Panasonic ans have'nt had anymore problems.

What can I do to ensure the proper function of the camera in conditions such as this?

I can tell you I shot on a snowy day in MI when the temp was -5f. Length of the shoot was 5 hours. I had a rain cover on the camera.

Everything kept working just fine....except for the actors.