Classic camera you favour for winter shooting

<p>My name isn't Amundsen, and when I say winter shooting, that is maybe an hour max outside of the car and not much colder than -10C. So given those parameters is their a particular classic camera you favour for shooting outddors in the winter.<br>

If you can easily post an example shot, that would be a welcome bonus. Thanks</p>

<p>Anything with large enough controls to use with gloves.</p>

<p>Something completely mechanical with no batteries, meter....</p>

<p>The Nikon F is good. Praktica L</p>

<p>Rolleiflex 2.8E, Nikon FM, and my Praktica LTL. Have used all of those in freezing weather no problem. Worst camera was a Zeiss Contaflex with a sticky shutter...half the roll was blank.</p>

<p>My worst experience was with a FED 3 which worked fine in warm house air, but produced a blank roll of film in winter weather.</p>

<p>The Nikon F flourishes in all seasons.</p>

<p>Least favored is the Olympus XA 2 and its relatives. I've had two of these (an XA2 and an XA3) fail when shooting in cold weather, both the same way: the camera refuses to fire except on self-timer, and I'm told it's a CPU failure. Maybe just coincidence, but two the same way suggests that these aren't the ones to be using in the cold.</p><div></div>

<p>I'm often shooting Velvia and, therefore, need metering. I'll reach for something from the Nikon FM family (FM, FM2n or FM3a) and will attach the Nikon DB-2. One end of the DB-2 threads onto the camera's battery compartment and the other end holds two AA batteries at the end of the electrical cord, which can stay warm in a coat pocket. My other preferred 'cold weather' body is the Nikon F2AS or F2SB with the AR-1 release attachment; makes the shutter button easier to depress with gloves.</p>

<p>My Canon FTb and my Voigtlander Vitomatic seem to work OK during the winter.</p>

<p>Actually, this is my first winter with the Vitomatic (and it has been mild so far). However, it spent its first four years in the Yukon, and I do remember that my father used it outdoors in the winter up there...but...probably not on the colder days (-30 to -50 F).</p>

<p>Cheers! Jay</p>

<p>I've had my Nikon F3HP out in -10 in North Dakota, and it worked just fine:<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/6937641-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="850" /></p>

<p>Bill, Max 1hr? -10 C or warmer? Close to a warm car or coffee shop? Manual camera? (my Rollei T should qualify) My kinda guy! Someone I could probably photograph along side of without too much stress. Oh, wait a minute! We HAVE shot together. Hold that thought into this winter & perhaps I'll finally get you to agree to come to my favourite haunt, Willow Creek, Midhurst, On. (10 min from Tim Horton's) Samples matching your description can be found in my 2004 folder. (except the temperature, -27F, was a bit outside your, & now I know, MY comfort zone) I won't be caught out like THAT again. :-) Any snow up your way? :-) Best, LM.</p>

<p>about eight inches of snow, nothing like Bracebridge and Huntsville who got 50+ centimetres</p>

<p>we will have to do Willow Creek maybe on Sunday the 20th?</p>

<p>one of the coldest moments when I was shooting was about -21C and I had two cameras out, a Nikon Coolpix 5700 and a Pentax PZ-1, the 5700 lens blades froze, which freaked me out but they thawed after ten minutes back in the car with the heater working, the PZ-1 never batted an eye at the cold.</p>

<p>I think I'll have to say that my Zeiss Ikon Mess Ikonta is my favorite. Folded up it fits so nicely inside my parka and with it all preset (via all the little red dots) I just have to pull it out of the parka, open it up, cock the shutter, point and shoot. Don't even have to take the gloves off to wind on to the next frame.</p>

<p>Nikon F and/or a Mamiya RB67 Pro S if the snow's not too deep or the ice too thin...</p>

<p>Well, when its really cold it doesn't really matter, but when its actually snowing i reach for my Argus Super 75. With its hard bakelite/plastic body it cleans up easy. And, if for some reason i slip on the snow/ice and break it, - well you can get another one for just a few bucks. (no big loss). Below, a pix. with it during a 'freak' snow storm...</p><div></div>

<p>Zenit EM. Without a doubt. It was probably conceived in a blizzard and the bear grease stays fluid at very low temperatures. As a bonus, you can use it to smash the icicles off the door handles of the 4WD. Joking aside, it's very reliable when things get cold, and takes very nice pictures.</p><div></div>

<p>Zenit pic.</p><div></div>

<p>Once I got the mirror to work without sticking, my SR-T 102 became one of my favorite cold weather cameras. Two others I really like using in the cold are my QL17-GIII and my Konica Auto S2.</p>

<p>I used my Minolta SRT 101 many times in the freezing cold winters of Montreal and was able to work all the functions quite well with heavy mitts on. Saw one the other day for $12 in a thrift store.. in mint condition!</p>

<p>I rely on my Canon F-1n. The toughness of this camera in harsh conditions is remarkable. Here is a shot taken of the snow geese migration over a frozen marsh at Squaw Creek, MO in sub-zero conditions. The camera worked far better than my hands.</p><div></div>

<p>A romp in the snow of last weekend with a Yashica Lynx 5000. I'm 58 years old, the camera is 46 years old. It minds the cold less than I do.<br>

Jim</p><div></div>

<p>I have used Canon F-1s in moderately cold weather. When I used a Konica TC in cold weather in the late 1970s the shutter stayed frozen in the open position for what seemed like 15 seconds before it finished its cycle. Either the lubrication got too cold or the metal parts of the shutter did not all contract at the same rate. In the very cold winter of 1977 I spent several hours one day walking on the Charles River. The temperature was about 0F and the wind chill was -50F. I used a Konica Autoreflex T3 and tried to keep it inside my parka while I was not actually taking pictures. I read years ago that cameras with cloth shutters had fewer problems in cold weather than cameras with metal shutters. There have been several postings in the Canon FD forum about using the F-1N in very cold weather by removing the battery first. I have two F-1s and an F-1n so I don't have experience with the F-1N in cold weather. Some cameras will work mechanically in very cold weather but their light meters won't work because the batteries can't provide enough power at low temperatures. To solve this problem I used a remote battery pack with my Konica FS-1 and FT-1 cameras. With the remote pack the FT-1 did well in cold weather.</p>

<p>I'd say my Nikon F and F2 are great winter cameras, followed by my Hasselblad. The F with the plain prism is pretty much bullet-proof and will work long after my hands have had enough cold.</p>

<p>Same as in hot weather, an Ebony. 2nd choice would be a Rollei twin f3.5.</p>

<p> I've used Nikon Fs (though reloading with that detachable back <em>and</em> gloves on sucks compared to a hinged back), F2s (better), FM, FM2ns and OM-1ns. I currently prefer the FM2n with a short zoom (no lens changing and broad focusing and zoom rings). None with batteries installed. For a meter, I carry one of my Luna Pros dangling from my neck <em>inside</em> my jacket and 2nd layer, only bringing it out briefly to take a reading when necessary and sliding it back in before it freezes. I have used several P&S's (including XA's & Stylus Epics) in the same manner without a problem. In heavy cold and snow, I tend to slow down and work in a more contemplative fashion.</p>

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