I have had a few visits to this blog from people googling about cameras and cold weather. While I can't speak much about other cameras I can say lots about the Nikon D40. I purchased my D40 last fall and have had ZERO problems with it in the cold weather. I am very pleased with it's cold weather performance.
I use it in ALL weather, and when I say cold I don't mean 20F cold, I mean
-20F and colder cold. I only have one battery for this camera, and so far that is all I have needed. There are times when I go out in the country for several hours in temps well below zero and shoot at least 200 photos. I have never had any problems with the cold affecting the battery. As a matter of fact I have found that the Nikon D40 has exceptional battery life in all conditions. Using the built in flash does use the battery up faster, but it still has the best battery life of any camera I have ever owned (although I admit I have only ever owned 4 other digital cameras).
The Nikon 18-200mm VR lens also holds up well in the cold. At first it made me nervous to try and use it at -25F with blowing snow conditions but it has performed flawlessly.....even after dropping the thing on the floor in Juneau. I nearly had a heart attack. The fall broke the lens cap, step up ring and uv filter but the lens itself was unscathed.
A received a couple very useful cold weather photography tips from Seth Kantner. When shooting photos when it is snowing, you should allow your camera to become as cold as the air outside before you take it out of the case. That way the camera is cold and the snow will bounce right off the camera and the lens. If your camera is warm the snow will hit the camera and melt and cause water droplets on your lens that show up in your photos and can also get the camera wet and cause problems when it refreezes. The second piece of advice was, after returning home and going inside, allow the camera to return to room temp before removing it from the case. this avoids the camera becoming covered with condensation and possibly causing water damage. If I need the pics off the camera in a hurry I will quickly open the case and plug in the camera and turn it on and then zip the case back up before the condensation has a chance to form.
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Photo Friday- Far From Home
I was born and raised in New England and Boston was an hour drive. Now I'm an Alaskan and Boston is Far From Home.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Moody Monday- Outdoorsy
Noatak River. Northwest Arctic Alaska. If your this far up the Noatak your outdoorsy.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Photohunt Saturday- Free
This is Denali, the Great One. At 20,320 feet it is the highest mountain in North America. In 1896 the mountain was officially named Mount McKinley, after future U.S. President William McKinley......why, I have no idea. I couldn't think of one thing of significance that President Mckinley did....so I looked him up.
The first person who can remember any lasting legacy of McKinley's political career (there are a couple besides the travesty of changing this mountain's name) I will send you a FREE box of Sailor Boy Pilot Bread crackers!! No cheating and looking at wikipedia!
Official PhotoHunt Site
*USA and Canada only...I'm too poor to send crackers overseas.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Friday already. It seems like the week flew right by. That is unusual for me. Usually it seems to drag. Maybe it's because it is getting bright out again these days. On the way to the post office today I had to use the sunvisor in the car! Woo Hoo. It's cold again though. Oh well. I might take a ride with the snowmachine tomorrow cold or not...looks like it is supposed to be a sunny day. Here's what our sunrise and sunset data looks like for those who are interested....
As you can see the length of visible light is longer and gaining by about 8 minutes a day. The angle of the sun is higher in the sky. Civil Twilight is our length of visible light...when it starts to get light out in the morning and when it gets dark out in the evening. It's nice to leave work and have it still be light out.
I took a couple photos after work as the sun was starting to set.
It was getting colder and wer were starting to get some ice fog. I'll try to get out for a bit tomorrow and take some pictures.
As you can see the length of visible light is longer and gaining by about 8 minutes a day. The angle of the sun is higher in the sky. Civil Twilight is our length of visible light...when it starts to get light out in the morning and when it gets dark out in the evening. It's nice to leave work and have it still be light out.
I took a couple photos after work as the sun was starting to set.
It was getting colder and wer were starting to get some ice fog. I'll try to get out for a bit tomorrow and take some pictures.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
We are having another blizzard. Well more of a blow than a blizzard as the visibility is still pretty good at 5 miles but the wind is 37-45 mph. The last blizzard had a lot more snow in it.
The good new is it looks like it is going to warm up a bit next week. Maybe I'll get a chance to take the snowmachine (snogo) out in the country without freezing my butt off. I don't ride around on the snogo much until February. The days are too short before that. I like to ride around and see the scenery, not ride around in the dark.
Since today was another indoor day I decided to try and cut the boredom by playing with my camera (instead of doing homework which I have PLENTY of). Here are a couple shots that I took.
This is a shell I picked up off the beach at Sealing Point (Cape Krusenstern National Monument. I set up a piece of Aluminum foil on the coffee table to use as a foreground/backdrop. I used a single votive candle (Yankee Candle Siberian Silver Fir, YUM)for light. I put my camera on the tripod and experimented with shutter speeds. I like what I got, but I am not pleased with the amount of noise. The ISO was pretty high at 1600. Not sure how to adjust that yet.
I had the same problem here. This is a green jar filled with sea glass from the beach at South Tent City here in Kotzebue. I put the candle behind the jar to give it a bit of glow. I think it would be a really nice photo if I could do it again with less noise.
The good new is it looks like it is going to warm up a bit next week. Maybe I'll get a chance to take the snowmachine (snogo) out in the country without freezing my butt off. I don't ride around on the snogo much until February. The days are too short before that. I like to ride around and see the scenery, not ride around in the dark.
Since today was another indoor day I decided to try and cut the boredom by playing with my camera (instead of doing homework which I have PLENTY of). Here are a couple shots that I took.
This is a shell I picked up off the beach at Sealing Point (Cape Krusenstern National Monument. I set up a piece of Aluminum foil on the coffee table to use as a foreground/backdrop. I used a single votive candle (Yankee Candle Siberian Silver Fir, YUM)for light. I put my camera on the tripod and experimented with shutter speeds. I like what I got, but I am not pleased with the amount of noise. The ISO was pretty high at 1600. Not sure how to adjust that yet.
I had the same problem here. This is a green jar filled with sea glass from the beach at South Tent City here in Kotzebue. I put the candle behind the jar to give it a bit of glow. I think it would be a really nice photo if I could do it again with less noise.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Night Photography
I love my Nikon D40, unfortunately I still have barely a clue how to use it outside of Auto mode. There are a lot of really great features that I would like to learn how to use, unfortunately little things like being a mom, working full time, taking classes, and watching Grey's Anatomy keep getting in the way. So basically I have been learning as I go a little bit at a time.
One of the things I want to do is night photography. So the other night...when it was thirty below zero I noticed that we had some ice fog and that it had created light pillars. They were not especially dramatic light pillars so I thought I might try and photograph them.
Here is a really great picture of my neighbor's junkyard in the dark. If you look in the background you might see some light pillars.
I have been wanting to take some aurora photographs but it's not that easy. When you have your camera already attached to the tripod and ready to go there will be no aurora. When you are out riding around behind town looking at the sky, there will be no aurora. When you are driving home from work at thirty below and you have no camera there will be really great aurora. So you speed home, get your camera, try screwing it onto the tripod and cuss when you can't get it threaded right, finally get it on, run out side, and guess what? No more aurora. Well I did manage to catch a piece...a small sliver......
See it? See it? Well....it's a start.
One of the things I want to do is night photography. So the other night...when it was thirty below zero I noticed that we had some ice fog and that it had created light pillars. They were not especially dramatic light pillars so I thought I might try and photograph them.
Here is a really great picture of my neighbor's junkyard in the dark. If you look in the background you might see some light pillars.
I have been wanting to take some aurora photographs but it's not that easy. When you have your camera already attached to the tripod and ready to go there will be no aurora. When you are out riding around behind town looking at the sky, there will be no aurora. When you are driving home from work at thirty below and you have no camera there will be really great aurora. So you speed home, get your camera, try screwing it onto the tripod and cuss when you can't get it threaded right, finally get it on, run out side, and guess what? No more aurora. Well I did manage to catch a piece...a small sliver......
See it? See it? Well....it's a start.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Here Comes the Sun
Took a few photos today. After 3 months low light pics it was nice today to take some photos that had some highlights from the sun.
The sun if finally going high enough in the sky to light up places that haven't seen the rays for over 60 days now. We are gaining about seven and a half minutes of sunshine a day.
It was about -29F while I was out. I was trying to take some close ups of the sun highlighting various grasses and willow bushes. I was finding it necessary to manually focus and the cold is just brutal on my hands. While the rest of me does just fine in cold temp, my hands won't last 20 seconds uncovered at -29. It's hard enough to operate the camera with big gloves on much less manually focus. I had some thin gloves and tried using those but it only bought me about 15 extra seconds before my hands cramped into uselessness.
It was a beautiful day. So nice to be out enjoying the sunshine. Don't let the light fool you though...this time of year the sunshine holds no warmth. The clear blue sky brings COLD. I'm looking forward to April....fun, sun, snow, and ice without all the deep freeze.
The sun if finally going high enough in the sky to light up places that haven't seen the rays for over 60 days now. We are gaining about seven and a half minutes of sunshine a day.
It was about -29F while I was out. I was trying to take some close ups of the sun highlighting various grasses and willow bushes. I was finding it necessary to manually focus and the cold is just brutal on my hands. While the rest of me does just fine in cold temp, my hands won't last 20 seconds uncovered at -29. It's hard enough to operate the camera with big gloves on much less manually focus. I had some thin gloves and tried using those but it only bought me about 15 extra seconds before my hands cramped into uselessness.
It was a beautiful day. So nice to be out enjoying the sunshine. Don't let the light fool you though...this time of year the sunshine holds no warmth. The clear blue sky brings COLD. I'm looking forward to April....fun, sun, snow, and ice without all the deep freeze.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
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