H
HikerBob
Guest
I went right through last winter carrying my Nikon Coolpix 5700 in a belt mounted holster bag.
First time out in real cold (N Kinsman group hike) the batteries (lithium) just plain gave up. I shoved the battery up my sleeve to warm it close to my skin (contacts away from skin!) and this revived it enough to get some pics but it would die again after a few shots. Switching it to and from my sleeve kept it going all day.
After that event I tried cracking a handwarmer and putting that in a sock folded in the base of the camera bag. This created enough warmth to keep the camera functional through the rest of winter.
The 5700 has a power zoom and that really contributes to battery depletion as it zooms out and in on every power cycle. To conserve more energy I would only use the optical viewfinder only and not the LCD.
The 5700 went through quite a season and always kept ticking. I was careful to let it ride home in the trunk, not the warm car, and as Waumbek suggested would open every little door once home to let it air out.
For this season I am toting a somewhat different beast - a Nikon D70. This is a digital SLR. It has a beefier battery and a manual zoom. Through the summer I have noticed a much better battery performance, I'm hoping that trend will continue into the cold season.
Once again I'll be toting it in a holster bag. This allows for quick access and stowage to minimize exposure to the elements.
One of the best add-ons I got with this camera was the Ritz (where I purchased it) 'no quibble' warranty. The woman took pains to explain that this really did mean 'no matter what' for repair or replacement. Considering the abuse it's going to get I figured this was a good investment.
Bob
First time out in real cold (N Kinsman group hike) the batteries (lithium) just plain gave up. I shoved the battery up my sleeve to warm it close to my skin (contacts away from skin!) and this revived it enough to get some pics but it would die again after a few shots. Switching it to and from my sleeve kept it going all day.
After that event I tried cracking a handwarmer and putting that in a sock folded in the base of the camera bag. This created enough warmth to keep the camera functional through the rest of winter.
The 5700 has a power zoom and that really contributes to battery depletion as it zooms out and in on every power cycle. To conserve more energy I would only use the optical viewfinder only and not the LCD.
The 5700 went through quite a season and always kept ticking. I was careful to let it ride home in the trunk, not the warm car, and as Waumbek suggested would open every little door once home to let it air out.
For this season I am toting a somewhat different beast - a Nikon D70. This is a digital SLR. It has a beefier battery and a manual zoom. Through the summer I have noticed a much better battery performance, I'm hoping that trend will continue into the cold season.
Once again I'll be toting it in a holster bag. This allows for quick access and stowage to minimize exposure to the elements.
One of the best add-ons I got with this camera was the Ritz (where I purchased it) 'no quibble' warranty. The woman took pains to explain that this really did mean 'no matter what' for repair or replacement. Considering the abuse it's going to get I figured this was a good investment.
Bob
