Taking my 40D to the beach at night. What should I watch out for?

[will_wrobel]

I'm going to be doing some night photos on Cape Cod this winter. What should I do to protect my camera. I'm assuming it will be under 0

degrees and very windy. What can my camera take and what can't it? I have a 30D I could sacrifice if my 40D would be in real danger.

[Alex]

The things that I can think of and you'll get more feed back from others is to try not to change lenses and if you do be very careful. I'd try to keep it cover when not in use and if the temp will drop to 0 watch out for condesantion and that goes for the lenses as well.

Have fun shooting there

Alex

[gregf]

The only thing I would do special would be to make sure that you have a UV filter on the lens, this would protect the front element of the lens from water and sand. Also, a lens hood is useful fro protection (and, obviously, lens flare)

[alan_bryant1]

When you're done, wrap the camera tightly in a plastic bag before going inside. Otherwise you risk condensation forming on and inside the cold camera and lens. After the camera warms up to room temperature it's safe to take it out.

 

Batteries die fast in cold. Keep spares in an interior pocket of your coat to keep them warm. Batteries that die from cold can be revived by warming them, so move dead batteries to your warm pocket and reuse them later.

[PuppyDigs]

Protect it from waves and heavy salt spray and you should be fine. Obviously you should change lenses in the car.

[sbp]

If you plan on using more than multiple lenses, i suggest mounting one on each body (40D & 30D). This will eliminate the need

for lens changes in a blowing sand environment. Before coming inside, put each body/lens in a sealable plastic bag (i use freezer

zip-locks). Leave cameras in the bags until they reach room temperature. This will allow condensation to form on the bag, not the

circuit boards of your camera. Also, a UV or daylight filter will protect your front element from blowing sand and salt spray.

Waterproof boots, too 8-).

[scott_ferris]

It won't be in real danger unless you put it in it.

 

How close to the waves and spray are you going? If you are going close then a UV filter is a must and I would put the camera inside a big ziplock, cut a hole in the bag and tape the front of the lens in it, you can then operate the camera through the bag 100% safely. Overkill in most situations but sometimes a good approach. I do a fair bit of surf photography, lots of spray and wind, I don't do anything but make sure I spend an hour cleaning my gear at the end of the day. But I am lucky and use 1 series weatherproof cameras and lenses. Just make sure you really clean everything well when you finish.

 

As others have said, don't change lenses in exposed conditions and just use common sense.

 

Take care, Scott.

[colin carron]

Some good suggestions above. I always use a UV filter on each lens and leave it on. Take clean material to clean the lens as reqired but only clean when necessary.

 

Avoid changing lenses but if it is essential then try to keep them out of the wind / sand /salt spray.

 

Line the inside of your camera bag with lastic bags so that you can put the bag down on damp sand without the water going through to the cameras and lenses.

 

I don;t do the wrapping in plastic routine but instead carefully clean the camera with a slightly damp cloth when back in warm dry conditions. Then let everythin dry out thoroughly. I did once get a bit of sand stuck between a selector whell and the body of my 5 but after a while it went away.....

 

Good luck!

[paul_russell1]

The camera stuff is well covered, also look out for doggers, crabs, quicksand and toilet paper.

 

And take a plastic bag to put the camera in when you take it back to the car / house from the cold night sea air, avoid condensation on the lens.

[sarah_fox]

Another vote for bagging the camera before returning inside! If you want to get fancy about it, use a silica gel pack inside the bag to keep the air dry.

 

Another vote for the UV filter.

 

My only other word of advice would be to take a brush to dust off any sand off the exterior of the lens and camera. Obviously don't use the same brush on optical surfaces.

[JAPster]

The freezing temps are definitely going to affect your battery performance. Dont expect to get the same level of battery performance as you see in temperate temperatures. Take extra batteries along, keep them stored near your body, to keep them warm. Then swap in the warm batteries when the cold ones start getting weak/sluggish. If you use re-chargeables, charge all the batteries the day before you go out shooting, so you know they are all 'topped off'.

 

As others mentioned, use a UV or Skylight filter on the front of the lens to protect the lens.

 

Before you come back into your warm car or dwelling, put the camera/lens in a large Ziplock bag, squeeze out most of the excess air, then seal it. Then bring it into the warm place(s), set it down, and give it a while to acclimate to the new temperature. Then you can take it out w/o worrying about condensation forming in the lens and/or camera.

 

Another good idea is to use one of those geeky looking lens cap keepers, so that the lens cap is always attached to the camera. Its so easy to lose a lens cap if you drop it (or it falls off) while you are handling the camera in the dark. (Yes, I learned this the hard way.)

[ronald_moravec1]

Sand and thieves

[neill_farmer2]

Where I come from the buyers of second hand 4WDs run a mile if they know the vehicle has been on a beach. I suspect the same goes for a camera. Salt spray gets in everything. With a 4WD you can wash it out when you get home, doubt you can do that with your 40D.

[alan_myers]

Watch out for tsunamis and great white sharks.

[craighagan]

The 40d is definitely tougher than the XTi. I've taken an XT out in -10F weather snowshoeing in NH and beach-backpacked it several times on the Washington coast. I've also taken it on the Milford track including being poured on (par for that trail). I only upgraded to a 40d recently and it had nothing to do with environmental concerns nor camera faults. The 40d *is* tougher and better sealed than the XTi, so I wouldn't worry about things too much unless you do something obviously bad, e.g. dunk the camera in water.

 

Do pay attention to salt spray and try not to it much in the camera, wipe it off as quickly as possible. You may well want to try a rain cover for your camera and/or keep it in a waterproof holster/case save when you're using it (this is what I normally do when I hike). I'd strongly suggest a filters in front of your lens both for protection and for improving the sky/cloud contrasts via a circular polarizer. You will definately need to take extra lens cloths as you'll blow through them very quickly. You should also carry at least one extra battery with you. If it is cold, keep them warm in your shirt or an interior pants pocket.

 

As for the 30d, the 40d *should* have marginally better sealing than the 30d, but neither are weatherproof (otoh, the XTi surprised me and it has less sealing than either).

 

My answer: take both, then toss in your k1000 while at it :-)

[photohns]

I think the gallon ziplock bag with a hole taped around the lens sounds like a great idea. Maybe you could just use a rubber band on the lens, if your lens doesn't extend too much. It will probably save alot of time cleaning, and protect pretty well. I would try that.

[chrisjb]

Perhaps an underwater housing ? Is there one avail for EOS ? oh yeh, a good torch, them sand castles trip you at night :)

[tomwatt]

Salt spray (another vote for). The atmosphere near the ocean is saturated with the stuff, so even if the air looks clear, you're immersed in salt spray. (I had a car that more or less dissolved into a red stain after living for three years overlooking the ocean). Protect as much as you can, clean as thouroughly as you can, and don't change lenses onsite. I like the bag idea, although haven't tried it. I credit the salt spray with contributing to the demise of my film cameras (that plus desert sand did them in).

[juans eye]

Saran wrap is your friend. Used with some non-marking tape, and a little creative wrapping, you can protect most of your camera body from a direct hit of surf spray. Its not perfect, but reasonably effective.

 

/bing

[ru55el.com]

Jaws. Angry crabs. Couples bonking in the shadows. Sorry, couldn't resist