GL2 in below freezing weather.

[Jesse James]

Looking at buying a GL2 for shooting wildlife. One complaint I saw was this about low temp conditons and Canon cams.

Pete, I spoke with the service reps about the Canon XL1 and problems they have had with fluid in the lens' freezing at below zero temps. They have sold a bunch of these units to National Geographic and they had to modify them for extreme weather conditions. That voided the warranty on them, and was a major check against them since I would be filming during very cold temperatures.

Is the GL2 affected by freezing temps? I've heard of people using a cover to keep the cam warm? Any names of the makers of that gear?

Thanks

[Frank Granovski]

Is the GL2 affected by freezing temps?

They all are: Canon, Pana, Sony, etc.

[Lloyd Roseblade]

The operating temperture in the manual states 0 - 40C and that you should wrap a towel around the camera when taking it from a warm environment to a cold one (to help reduce the possibility of condensation I guess).

I also intend to film in very cold, but very dry, conditions (the Artic Circle in March next year). So let me know if your camera didn't hold up :)

Thanks

[Jeff Price]

Portabrace, among others, make a case for the Canon GL1 and GL2. In side this case is a pouch that holds a heat pack to help keep the battery and insides of the camera warm.

This will work up to a point. In extreme cold there are various manufacturers of 'polar bear' coats for camcorders that are more insulated and transmit the heat around the camera better. Not sure if they are available for the GL1/2 though. I know you can get them for PD-150s.

There are a number of problems with cold -

1) battery life greatly reduced (store batteries next to your skin or with warm packs)

2) condensation on the lens or, worse, inside the camera lens or body

3) in really extreme conditions the lubricants freezing up

The solutions depend on how cold for how long.

[Ken Tanaka]

Here is the Porta Brace Polar Mitten to which Jeff referred. (Model POL-M2) I've used it several times in the Banff, Alberta area in January and it was quite a good performer. The pockets for the hot packs are strategically located over the lens barrel (to warrm the the servo), over the battery and in the hand cuff. I highly recommend it.

It's at B&H Photo here.

[Lloyd Roseblade]

Thanks both for the links and info.

Beats my idea of shoving it down my pants with the lens sticking out of....um..never mind ;)

[Jesse James]

That's exactly what I was after. Thanks for the info and the link.

[Dany Nativel]

Check out the picture below taken with a GL2 without any protection (only silk gloves for my hands so I could operate the cam). I've been shooting few hours without any problem.

http://natzo.com/pictures/NY_DC/page/image3.html

[Ken Tanaka]

Oh, man, I could have lived happily ever after never seeing that! <g>

[Bud Kuenzli]

Keep in mind, when shooting in cold temps you need to put the camera into a plastic bag (sealed) when re-entering a warm building. Do not open it for an hour or so to allow the camera to warm up without getting moisture inside due to condensation. And don't bring the camera in and out from cold to warm.

[Ken Tanaka]

Condensation being the culprit that Bud warns agains.