Classic camera you favour for winter shooting

Retina IIa, in its case it still fits very nicely under any parka or coat, well protected from any tumbles, no battery to worry about.

<p>I worked at McMurdo Station, Antarctica in the late 90s and I was very happy the way my Nikkormat EL performed there. Never had any problems with the batteries or the mechanics failing due to the extreme temperatures.<br /> <br /> The only issue was the metal camera body would get really cold up against my face and threaten to stick. One of my colleagues rigged up a foam sleeve for his camera to prevent the "tongue-stuck-to-a-flag-pole" syndrome.</p>

<p>My K-1000 has worked OK in -20 C weather.</p>

<p>My usual NYC winter film camera is a Nikon FM2n with a lithium battery installed and a beater pair: 24/F2.8 and 50/F2. Throw in a couple rolls of XP-2 and I'm ready for the street. The camera's tiny size makes it easy to slip inside my coat when the weather is bad.</p>

<p>On occasion the Nikon stays home, and I carry an OM2 w/ 50/f1.8 and 24/F2.8, when I know I need "small".</p>

 

<p>Nikkormat FT3. Never a problem up here in the Great White North.</p>

<p>My Spotmatic II works well mechanically in the cold, but the meter gets unreliable at low temperatures, so I keep a hand-held meter inside my jacket. A Pentax Super-A proved to be a warm weather only camera. I've used another electronic camera, a Canon A-1 in -10C conditions with no problems. My standard winter beater used to be a Practica MTL5, however the focus ring on some of my East German lenses would lock up after a while in deep the cold - crappy lube. My Spotmatic remains my prefered winter camera. I do have an old 1st gen EOS 630, which has been very reliable for winter street shooting. In medium format, my Kalloflex is the cold weather camera of choice. </p>

<p>I love my OM1. Small camera, big controls. I've got some of those gloves that are missing the finger tips. I use an incident hand-held meter because it's somewhat more reliable than trying to compensate back and forth with overly dark (wet) scenes and overly light (snow) scenes. I carry the same lenses as Steve does with his OM2... these are must-haves for me.</p>

<p><img src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/patrickjdempsey/Megan Snow OM-1 FP4/megansnow24.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>For SLR I would go with any of my Minolta SRT's, Pentax MX or Spotmatic, or Olympus OM-1. For RF I would use either my Konica Auto S2 or Auto S1.6. For medium format I would use either my Yashicamat D or Fuji GS 645 Wide. For compact (meaning pocketable) I would use my Rollei 35 or Olympus 35 RC.</p>

<p>Naturally there is a real bias toward all metal mechanical cameras in this post. For myself I would have to say that the wooly cover that my mum knitted for my Rolleiflex adds a whole new dimension to comfortable and warm shooting on those cold days. ;>)</p>

<p>Canon F1, Canon FTb</p>

<p>Steve, do you have a photo of the wool cover you can post?</p>

<p>Sadly I am not able to release a picture at this point in time W J. The project is very much 'under wraps' until mum's patent application is approved. Once this is Ok she will be ramping up production and a number of fashionable new knits will be introduced. We are also thinking of creating a matching wooly hat and camera cover set which should go down well with the fashionistas amongst us.<br>

Steve</p>

<p>Steve, can I get on the pre-production reserve list? Blue is my favourite colour, brings out my bluegreen eyes</p>

<p>I attempt to use the same ol' crap I try to use in the other three seasons. Assorted 35mm, 23 and 45 series Graphics. Shutters will drag sometimes, but usually pretty OK. </p><div></div>

<p>what a great shot SG</p>

<p>Here's one for gloved hands:<br>

<img src="http://rcbooth.zenfolio.com/p889158784/h1fa20c47#h1fa20c47" alt="" /><br>

http://rcbooth.zenfolio.com/p889158784/h1fa20c47#h1fa20c47</p><div></div>

<p>I've often heard of Leica M's doing well in very cold weather. I haven't tried it with mine. But I once saw a russian leica clone looking very much like the picture above (big knobs designed for gloves). That might be a cheap possibility.</p>

<p>We get cold weather (cold enough to snow that is) about once a year in Oxford; our last fall was in February. I reached out for my old Yashica-Mat and a roll of Neopan 400 and it worked fine. here's my neighbourhood churchyard under a few inches of snow.<br>

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<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2602/3876395358_35638ddc26.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="497" border="1"/></p>

<p>The first two responses pretty much covered it. I'd add a hand-held meter that doesn't require batteries.</p>

<p>My Leica IIIf fits in an inside pocket to stay warm when I'm not using it, and keeps going long after I've lost feeling in my shutter finger.</p><div></div>

<p>The antarctic Leica is very very cool, but I have to ask, why did they bother to put an extension on the rewind knob? Even if you can manage to get at the rewind lever, you'll need to take your mittens off to open the back and change film anyway, won't you? I know I shouldn't quibble about something that cool, but I wonder if there's any reason for that knob other than symmetry.</p>

<p>glove liners work great [thin lycra gloves worn inside heavy mittens]. take one or both mittens off for fiddling with settings, winding, etc. and your hands still stay a lot warmer than bare hands would.</p>

<p>Matthew, regarding the "Antarctic Leica", there is a dual purpose for this Leica IIc. The person for whom I modified the camera finds it useful in mild weather too, due to coordination problems with hands. Hence all knobs were made larger so he could handle them more easily.</p>