----- Original Message ----- From: Dr E D F Williams Subject: Re: Pish-posh and balderdash
Try a wooden tripod. They are not as cold to handle as metal. My cold weather closthing is insulated (thermal) underwear and socks, then heavy fleece pants and jacket (from Mountain Equipment Co-op, the heaviest they sell), nylon wind pants, heavy socks over the insulated ones, boots rated to -50ºC, a 5 lb goose down parka (Canada geese are good for something, you just have to kill them), a touquelike garment that covers the entire head like a hood and can be tied down to the point there is just a window for the eyes, and the hood for the parka. Two pairs of gloves, one thin for when I am operating the equipment, and a thicker pair that goes over the thin ones for when I am not. I can also stick my hands in my pockets to warm them if need be. You don't have to move very much in that kind of clothing to be warm at any temperature. Lots of layers, and a lot of bulk to keep dead air as thick as possible is the key. The nylon shell keeps wind out, which adds tremendously to the insulation value of whats underneath. William Robb > I sit down and plan all my shots inside by the fire. When I've decided what > I'm going to do I put on two pairs of long woollen underwear. A denim shirt, > a jersey and two pairs of woollen socks. A quilted snowsuit goes over the > top. Finally a pair of boots with woollen liners and a fur hat. I usually > wear thin cotton gloves with ordinary, also quite thin, leather gloves over > them. I can stand 20 - 30 minutes if there's no wind. The camera - a plastic > P30t - seems unaffected. It will work for as long as it takes my fingers to > become too cold to operate the buttons. I stop now and again and warm my > hands under my arms. One may sweat inside the layers, but fingers soon > become useless. Most of the heat loss takes place when handing the metal > tripod. I have an idea there may be such things as battery heated gloves (as > there are socks) and I'm going to try to find out if they exist. But I'm > betting they'll be too thick. It was -27C when I took some shots of tree > tops a few weeks ago. > > I had a friend who used to take pictures of the heavens through a 14" > Celestron using a Nikon body. He kept an external battery pack in his pocket > and stayed outside for hours - but not when it was really cold. By the way - > how on earth can you stay outdoors for 2 hours at -40C?
