Canon EF 24-70mm

Over the New Year I had the privilege of spending 4 days on the Gun Flint Trail in Northern Minnesota near the Boundary Waters.  It is a beautiful place and if you ever get the chance to go, you should do that!

As you can imagine, it was COLD!  The temps ranged from +5 to -15 degrees F.  I have never shot in those type of conditions, so I did some research.  I took what others had recommended, tweaked it to what I thought made sense to me and worked for my situation and gave shooting pictures in a -15 degree weather a shot.  Overall success.

I thought I would through a couple of pointers out there that I learned and ask for comments, further advise, experiences, etc from our followers.

Here are my tips:

• Battery life goes fast.  Fast is an understatement.  I did not have my battery grip for the 30D I shoot with, so my battery lasted about 1 hour.  I did have a spare so I was golden.  After 2 hours of shooting, you need to step in to warm up anyway…
• Do not, I repeat, DO NOT shoot in cold temps and take your camera indoors.  Doing this  will cause a large about of condensation that will build up on your camera equipment and then refreeze (yes freeze in doors) and eventually thaw.  I found that putting my camera back in my camera bag and bringing my camera bag indoors where it is warm for about 45 minutes to a full hour prevented any condensation.
• Be careful shooting when it is that cold.  My friend actually got frost bite from his nose contacting the camera body.  It could be because he was using a Nikon D300, but I think the cold had something to do with it as well.
• Plan ahead, stay warm and have fun!

 These are my few pointers, I would love to hear from you what your have learned over the years.

Matt