I want to carry E-420 under my clothes in frost. Cautions?

[ruslan]

<p>When it is -4F (-20C) outside I want to carry my E-420 with the 25mm pancake on my neck, holding it under my dawn coat so that the camera be in the warmth. My concern is dust. Can the dust and small hairs from the sweater get inside the body or into the lens? Neither the body nor the lens are sealed. What do you think?</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>A hood and cap should be enough. In a pocket you could carry a rubber blower.</p>

[w_dunbar]

<p>Actually, I would worry more about condensation than I would dust and hairs. You can clean the dust and hair off the camera, but if you get a lot of condensation inside your camera you are done.<br>

The best thing to do, if you can, is keep your batteries warm inside your coat and leave the camera in the cold. Then when you are ready to shoot, load the batteries, take your pictures, and remove the batteries again. If your camera allows, a remote battery case is ideal.<br>

When you are done shooting, put your camera in a ziplock plastic bag (while it's still outdoors) and then bring it in. The bag will collect all the condensation rather than your camera. When it is warmed up fully, take it out of the bag.</p>

[rapyke]

<p>Personally, I have always carried my E-410 and E-620 inside my open winter jacket - protected, somewhat warm and somewhat cold. I actually buy my winter jackets to accommodate this. To keep me warm, I wear a wind-proof fleece or a down vest.</p>

<p>When I get home/back to the indoors, I turn off the camera and don't touch it again until the next day. I have followed the proceedure to temperatures of -40 without any problems. I expect the plastic bag trick works, I am just never that organized.</p>

<p>My E-410 has nearly 100,000 exposures on it and I have never left it home because of weather... </p>

[ruslan]

<p>Ron, -<br>

Thank you. I will remember what you said. </p>

[yoshio]

<p>After using my cameras in -20C I can say your biggest issue will be the humidity inside your coat. Perhaps carry your battery in the coat (as it will perform badly in the cold) but not your camera. Once the camera is at the ambient temperature it will be safe. It is by repeatedly warming the camera that moisture will form inside it. This is to be avoided.</p>

<p>When on multi day ski expedition I leave the camera either on my pack or in sled.</p>

<p>Upon return to warm rooms again have a zip seal bag large enough for the body put it inside that <strong>before</strong> you go inside. Remove media cards as needed <strong>outside</strong> and then leave the camera inside the zipseal bag to warm up ... in this way you will avoid moisture condensation forming on the inside.</p>

<p>hth</p>

[ruslan]

<p>Yoshio Tanaka,<br>

Thank you.</p>

[matthew_newton]

<p>Mine always goes back in my camera bag before venturing indoors and stays zipped up for a few hours. A ziplock bag also works just fine, and does have the perk that it will warm it up faster than a padded (and somewhat insulated) camera bag.</p>

<p>Carrying the camera inside of a jacket or shirt is going to cause condensation to form on it. Your body moisture will condense on the camera as you bring it in and out of your jacket unless you are only pulling it out for a few seconds for snaps and back in. Leave the camera exposed unless there is a lot of snow/rain coming down. In that case use a water resitant camera bag to keep it in between shots.</p>

[ruslan]

<p>Thank you, Matthew.</p>

[patrick j dempsey]

<p>As you can also have condensation form moving from warm to cold, it's not a bad idea to use the ziplock bag as you go out as well. Also, if you are having precipitation like snow or ice, the bag can be pulled out of your pocket and used to protect the camera from wetness. Even if your camera is weather sealed, that doesn't keep droplets from collecting on the lens or viewfinder which are then almost impossible to clean off in extreme cold. The larger ziplock bags can sometimes be put over the camera while it's still on the neck strap.</p>