beware of low batt with DV953(or any other cams)
 

Keep an eye on your battery level. I was shooting some snowboarding and noticed some serious artifacting in the trees ruining the images I recorded, then the focus stoped, 15 min later the battery was dead.

I believe my experience was due to the extreme cold(20F) but just so you guys know, if you are doing a shoot and your battery says you have 25% left...You dont have 25% you actually have alot less because it will ruin any footage you are shooting.

I keep all batteries at least 50% full when shooting now.

Just thought you might want to know./

Yes, it's a good idea to charge your batteries beforehand; and cold weather will shorten the running time of the batteries. That's why I always bring 2 or 3 fully charged batteries with me when going to shoot---and my battery charger with cable to plug the cam into a wall socket (with a surge protector in-between). :-))

Re: beware of low batt with DV953(or any other cams)
 

<<<-- Originally posted by John Gaspain : Keep an eye on your battery level. I was shooting some snowboarding and noticed some serious artifacting in the trees ruining the images I recorded, then the focus stoped, 15 min later the battery was dead.

-->>>

Is it really due to low battery or that the mechnisms froze? When my batteries run low, everything stopped at the same time. I have shot to the last bit of juice quite a few times. However, I wouldn't really know, as the only snow I get here is in the fridge. :-)

yes thats what i would have thought. The cameras now days have suitable metering that they know what voltage the camera is running at. The camera will cut out as soon as it goes under that voltage. i would suggest that is a physical problem rather than and electrical problem well at least not due to the battery. there might be artifacts because the ccd probably doesn't work to well at that temp i don't know. I too only see ice in the freezer.