Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
On Apr 5, 2006, at 10:44 PM, Adam Maas wrote:
Lithium really is the only choice for cold weather, and even then
you'll lose 50% of the charge to the weather.
Best thing in really cold weather is to make up a battery pack on a
cable that allows you to power the camera from batteries kept in a
warmer environment, like your pocket under a jacket. I used to have
one of those for my Nikon F3/T ... found it at a flea market for
nothing, but never used it.
Mechanical SLR's have a huge advantage for cold-weather work.
Well, they have their problems too: static electricity marking the
film, film going brittle from cold and breaking in the camera, etc.
The Nikon FM2n post 1991 is probably the best cold weather SLR body
ever. The usual cause of mechanical body failure in ultra cold weather
is lubricant seize up in the shutter and aperture mechanisms. Nikon
specifically re-engineered the internals of the FM2n in 1991 with
materials that required extremely little to no lubricant.
Godfrey
--No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.3.5/302 - Release Date: 5.4.2006
I've mentioned this before. I use a 6V 12 AH lead acid gel battery for
the D on the microscope. I've now made longer leads and can carry the
battery in my rucksack to power the camera without being lopsided -- the
battery weighs 1.8kg! A charge lasts, in the lab, more than a month. I
top it up if the voltage drops under 6.1V.
By the way. The snow was melting quite fast in Toivakka yesterday and it
looked like spring was around the corner. Overnight we had about 9" of
snow and we've back to winter.
Don
--
Dr E D F Williams
www.kolumbus.fi/mimosa/
personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams/
41660 TOIVAKKA – Finland - +358400706616
