Hi,

What's the best way to film in the snow? I used to use the old Sony 8mm cameras and they would work in all conditions regardless but my DCR-HC42E says it only records to 0 degrees.

Me and my friends have been making snowboard vids for as longs as i can remember but how do people do it now with the new equipment. Apperantly the new gear will just switch off or not record.

We invested in a marine housing but that won't stop the temp going down.

Does anyone have any experience filming in cold climates?

Cheers,

PT

[Nick_UK]

You have to be very careful with weather extremes and camcorders. My friend wrecked my camcorder, taking it to Florida, where the humidity was about 95%.

The camcorder will probably work fine in the cold, but you will need to be very careful how you warm it up, because condensation could form inside the camera causing the tape to snag. There is a condensation detector inside most cameras which shuts them down if condensation is detected, but they don't always work. Try keeping the camera in a zip-up plastic bag, which will help keep moisture away, and store the camera in the coolest room. Some insulation around the camera to slow down the heating/cooling process won't hurt either.

[GaryB]

Keep you batteries in your pocket until you need them. They will last longer when warm.

I don't have a problem with the humidity as i have silica bags to get around it and that only effects the camera going from coll to warm.

It just seems that with another 2 cameras i tried, they shut down in the cold for no reason. I think i need to concentrate on keeping the thing at room temp.

I just see the professsionals using cameras as normal with no protection and they don't seem to have issues..... or maybe they do and don't tell anyone.

Porta Brace go excellent heated units called polar bears, not cheap, but cheaper than repalcing a camcorder.

Usually it's not an issue if the camera is transported from cold to warm areas properly. The trick with the plastic bag is good (condensation forms on the outside of the bag, some folk even use clingfilm) also keeping silica gel in the same bag as the camera.

I saw one camera totally destroyed by somebody who had brought the camera in form the cold, after half an hour they decided to go and catch some nice sunset shots, as they recorded the condensation inside the camera then froze, and killed the camera.