D300 into the seaside with 40+ celsius

[mmene]

Shall I carry my D300 to the seaside with 40 celsius and more or not? What can I do ?

[elliot1]

<p>Why do you think you cannot?</p>

[mmene]

Specifications 0-40 C.

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Keep it out of the sand!</p>

<p>Wow, that's hot!</p>

[CvhKaar]

<p>I'd keep it in the shadows, noise increases with higher tempratures, and since it is black, the temp. inside the cam can rise very quickly....</p>

[senthil1]

<p>Hi Michael,</p>

<p>I've used D700 & D300 in 45+C (even upto 48C) constantly for abt 10 days in India shooting tigers in extremely dry and dusty conditions in Rajasthan during this past summer. Camera and lenses were very fine. Yeah, noise can increase with temp. Just keep them covered with a clean white towel when not shooting (shud take care of camera not getting hot and keeps away dust), and u wud be ok. If you are changing lenses obviously do it as closed as possible.</p>

<p>Cheers,<br>

Senthil</p>

[kevin_delson]

<p>You should have no problems.</p>

<p>We've had heat indices well above 100 here for weeks now, with ambient at 36C + 90% RH.</p>

<p>Humidity is a real problem, fogging of the sensor and sometimes the lens.</p>

<p>Don't even think about changing lenses outside under these conditions.</p>

[Matthew Brennan]

<p>Should be fine if you keep it out of prolonged direct sunlight i.e. don't leave the camera sitting in the sun for longer than you need to take photos. I have used my D700 on a blazing hot sunny day of 47 deg C and it's still going fine 18 months later........ but i was wary enough to ensure it was heavily shaded after using it for a few minutes to photograph thermometers....... </p>

<p>I'd also recommend you stay out of the direct sunlight unless necessary.............</p>

[mlg28]

<p>The humidity, I've found, is a bigger problem than the temperature. When going from an air conditioned building to warm, humid air outside, the lenses and mirrors fog up and take a long time to clear up.</p>

[mmene]

Thank you very much my friends. Your help was very useful.

[frank_skomial]

<p>My 70-200/VR lens failed twice in condition like that, and was not unusually exposed to the sun rays, just hand handled.<br>

The inner CPU failed, ... fried.</p>

[lilly_w]

<p>'Don't even think about changing lenses outside under these conditions.' The temp and relative humidity of the camera's interior is identical to ambient, and quite arguably warmer when accounting for thermal radiation if exposed to sun. There's no problem or threat associated with changing lenses. These cameras, lens and mounts are not impervious to temp/humidity. Change lenses at will while protecting against the obvious airborne debris in the event of strong winds or a gale.</p>

[michael_bradtke]

<p>Should be fine. I have to shoot in the open sun for hours on end with the ambient air temp around 38 C<br />Both the camera and the lens become hot to the touch with never a problem yet..Knock on wood</p>

[kevin_delson]

<blockquote>

<p>There's no problem or threat associated with changing lenses.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Following that advice begs for trouble.<br>

I know, it happened to me several years ago.</p>

<p>Stabilized interior of camera to ambient or not, the high humidity allows airborne dust and debris to "weld" itself to the sensors IR cover.</p>

<p>Don't believe it? By all means, change your lens outdoors when humidity levels are high.</p>

[lilly_w]

<p>Thus, the logic is to not capture the image with the preferred lens for fear of <em>potentially </em>getting dust on the sensor and/or having to clean the sensor (low pass filter)? Knowing how to properly change lenses and clean a sensor is simple and vital in the digital age. I'm encouraging basic skills to ensure satisfaction. To each his own.</p>

[mmene]

Under such conditions I prefer the 18-200 VR and that's enought.

[johncrosley]

<p>I notice you are following what you note are recommended temperatures of 0-40 Celsius.</p>

<p>Now if Nikon made a camera and sensor that didn't function pretty well, fairly well over 40 degrees C there'd be no photos in Las Vegas during daytime or Phoenix, many parts or most of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, much of the Middle East and much of the rest of the world's sunbelt.</p>

<p>Look, for instance at the recommended lower temperature 0 degrees Celsius. </p>

<p>That would imply you could not use the camera where the temperatures are below freezing. -- 0 degrees Celsius = 32 degrees Fahrenheit.</p>

<p>Yet, with any other Nikon I've used and even with the D300 I've shot consistently in minus 20 Celsius, taking care to keep a battery warm - stowing one in my pocket. To consider otherwise of course is to be a slave to 'recommendations' and then maybe you'd be the sort that puts high test gasoline (benzene) into a Lexus or Mercedes when the only reason to do so is that they were tested for environmental reasons with such fuel and cannot therefore recommend any less, but for all practical purposes with an O2 sensor, there is no real reason to use expensive 'high test' or 'high octane' gasoline unless you're racing such a vehicle.</p>

<p>Thus, to follow Nikon's recommendation of no use outside recommended temperature of below freezing, there's be no snow or mountain climbing photos taken in Alpine climes or in the mountains or even those wonderful snowmobiling trips, in the Midwesst or Northeast, etc. </p>

<p>I'd say that Nikon just put them in there so they can say 'you exceeded the recommendations' if they choose to deny service for any reason because those recommendations just don't any practical sense, but in a legal sense to an attorney/businessman they make wonderful sense if fighting it out with a customer with a complaint they don't want to honor!</p>

<p>I'd be more leery of shooting a Nikon in 120 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures -- around 50 degrees Celsius, but in the direct sunlight where the temperature is measured at 40, it's going to be that hot in the direct sunlight. Reason: all ambient temperatures are measured 'in the shade' for metereological purposes I've been taught.</p>

<p>High humidity of course, as noted above, is the real killer, and it might be worthwhile to get some industrial size dessicants (not those little bags or thimble-size cannisters they ship cameras or medicines with, but some real big ones - about 3-5 inches long and 2-3 inches wide, that can be reheated in an oven to 'revive' or 'revivify' them). </p>

<p>Then if you do experience extreme humidity throw your camera or camera/lens into a large gallon or multigallon plastic bag with one or more of those and seal it (consult with the manufacturer first about the capacity of those dessicants first, and be sure to squeeze out all the air as it will contain lots of moisture too, probably -- no use in sucking that dry excessively) (Latter advice from the camera repair department of Keeble and Shuchat, Palo Alto, CA, a great camera store, adapted by me for this response). They did have those industrial size dessicants in stock several years ago when I bought mine -- they were permanently encased in metal with 'breathing holes'.</p>

<p>Sidewalks in desert climes in summer do indeed get hot enough to 'fry an egg' on, and of course, please don't leave your D300 on such a sidewalk or crack any eggs on top of it if you do or you'll have a heck of time with Nikon repair 'splainin'.</p>

<p>'~))</p>

<p>john</p>

<p>John (Crosley)</p>

[james_donahue]

<p>Be prepared to re-glue the rubber on the back.</p>

[samuel_lipoff]

<p>I have used my D700 extensively in temperatures that exceed 40 °C, and neither my camera nor lenses have had any faults. Changing lenses in heat and humidity is fine --- there is no reason to worry about doing so at all. None of my lenses have VR. </p>

<p>I have had to re-glue the rubber on the side of my D700, which I suspect was due to softening of the original glue due to long exposure to high temperatures, but I can't definitely trace it to that.</p>

<p>Guidelines written on consumer electronics products, such as operating temperature of 0 - 40 °C, are always conservative. With reputable brands like Nikon they will be extremely conservative. I wouldn't worry about temperatures that slightly exceed those guidelines. However, I also wouldn't plan to set up my D700 with the intervalometer inside my oven at 350 °F to take pictures of bread baking! </p>

[lukeap69]

<p>I don't suppose we use different cameras here in Middle East. Outside temp here can easily go above 50 deg C during summer.<br>

Don't worry...</p>

[adamczyk]

<p>Heat is the enemy of all things electronic, you might see you camera do weird things once in a while but in general you should have no issues. Do protect the sensor when changing lenses, but that is pretty much given in any conditions. </p>

[aaron l]

<p>On the other side, I've taken the D300s to -40 deg F/C. Batteries needed to be kept warm but the camera functioned flawlessly.</p>