Shooting cold weather

[Noah Kadner]

Really depends on the actual conditions of the day. I’d take more batteries- or even a belt if you need all day recording.

Noah

Check out my book: RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera!. Unlock the secrets of the 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio.
Now featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook, Panasonic HVX200, and Panasonic DVX100.
https://www.callboxlive.com

[Ken Zukin]

Short answer: You’ll be better off adapting large, pro-style batteries for that camera.

Anton Bauer has expensive, but tried-and-true products that will meet your needs.

https://www.antonbauer.com/Products/ElipZ10KBattery

They (Anton) recently announced a solar-powered rig that, if available, would be of help to you.

I don’t think it’ll matter much whether you are shooting tape, or writing to P2 cards with regards to power usage; however, you are probably aware that if you shoot tape with your camera, it will be Standard Def (DV25) only.

This topic (cold weather/batteries) has been covered here before– search!!

[Michael Sacci]

I would recommend taking a lot of Brandy.

P2 is one less thing to worry about with the cold. Cold is not a friend to tape and moving parts.

[Dale West]

So a couple of things I learned on an Alaskan trip:

First the battery life is easy to figure with the owners manual.
Watt hours of the battery divided by the watt hours of drain in each mode. Dont have a user manual on had but should be listed in the specs of the camera. Then figure that the cold will take its share of the battery life. Keep them as warm as you can.

Thats a long time without electricity. If you are shooting on P2 are you going to take enough cards to not have to offload for the entire time?

A couple of things I did. Although I used a VariCam I think some of the same principals apply.

I bought a bunch of air activated hand warmers from REI. I put them inside of the polar coat for the camera. Once the camera is on for a while it generates its own heat but when off it cools quickly and I had some color issues especially if I took the camera out of the polar coat. I also used the hand warmers to keep the batteries toasty.

On other thing I did was call one of the stations and talk to the chief photographer. They live it every day and can really be a good resource.

Good luck
If you have never been to Alaska you are in for a treat. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve traveled to. Winter or summer it is amazing!

regards

Dale West Video
North Miami, FL
305-892-1201

[Dana Lavoie]

Thanks Dale

that’s a good idea to call the a local shooter.

thanks

[Rob Ing]

I was up in northern Canada last November where the temp was about -15degC. I was using two hvx200 and two Dionic 90 with the adapter for the camera. It worked pretty good except the cable got really stiff with the cold and had to keep an eye on it snapping. I mostly carried the battery inside my jacket to keep it warm. I just don’t know how you will charge them. I had a camp that i was able to download my footage and recharge my equipment every night.
good luck and stay warm.

rob