Don’t Be Afraid
Note: This blog post was a school assignment so there may be typos. I wanted to keep it as is.
How to Protect Your Gear in Cold Weather
Starting out, I was always afraid of bringing out my camera in the cold. We already know electronics and fragile items don’t do well in frigid weather so it can make others scared to be adventurous and shoot in other seasons other than spring and summer. These tips can help with that fear and boost confidence to shoot in this unpredictable Canadian weather.
1. Ziploc Bags Can Help Prevent Condensation
Condensation is said to be the worse thing that can happen when you shoot in the cold because it’s really easy to form. It’s happens just by switching temperatures really quick. Right after you are done
shooting, put your camera, lenses, and other gear that can form condensation into a Ziploc bag. This helps by warming up the camera gradually rather than having it out in the cold and then going inside a warm place. The moisture can cause damage to your camera gear. Adding Silica Gel Packs can also be beneficial to minimizing added moisture and condensation.
2. Bring Extra Batteries and Keep Them Warm
Winter is know to be batteries’ worst enemy. When they are cold you may not get as much battery life as usual. That’s why you bring extras! Bring extra batteries and keep them in pockets closer to your body to keep it warm with your body heat. It is advised to use the pockets on the side your winter jacket if possible because you don’t want the battery to come in contact with sweat. Also if your battery drains out quick and you keep it warm, you may still be able to get some more battery life out of it.
3. Desiccant Packs or Even Silica Gel Packs
As mentioned with Ziploc bags, Desiccant packs can help reduce moisture. So this can be put anywhere to help reduce moisture and condensation. More cost effective wise, did you know those Silica gel packs from shoeboxes and electronics work as well.
Save them up!
4. SD Cards Don’t Like the Cold Either
Just like any other electronic, SD cards don’t like the cold. You can keep them in a proper memory card case and keep them in your pockets just like the batteries and you have a less chance of them malfunctioning.
5. Don’t Forget About Yourself!
This is highly important! Make sure you layer up! If you dress to fit the weather, you can make most of your time outdoors shooting. There are also special photography gloves that can help keep you warm but doesn’t make it difficult to operate a camera or anything touch screen.
Combating Canadian weather shouldn’t be daunting but should be more of an experience. Mark Holtze and Shutter Muse have amazing ways of protecting gear and in some ways quite innovative.
Now get out there and shoot!
Ren
