Wondering if anyone has ever used the EM10 in freezing temps? I travel to Chicago frequently and wanted to know if it would damage my EM10 to use it outside in temperatures that range from 10-30º (or even worse at times). Obviously I wouldn't stay outdoors for hours at that temp but I wanted to know if anyone has tried to push the EM10 in cold weather situations and saw that it holds up fine. I know it isn't weather sealed per se, so was wondering about its limits. Thanks in advance.
I've used my E-M10 for astrophotography at temperatures of -5'c. I did about 3 hours of exposures on a single charge without any problem, still plenty left in the tank. It was so cold that the filter on my 12-40 kept freezing over so I had to keep cleaning it off, the camera body was just fine.
I've used my E-M10 at the same temperatures several times in the recent weeks. Take a bag to stow it away out of the immediate cold, and of course switch it off between shots. If you want to be on the safe side battery-wise, take the battery out and keep it inside your jacket if you're not shooting. Also, carrying a spare battery - also in an inner pocket - isn't a bad move (mine went flat suddenly just once - but it was certainly less than half full at that time, if not worse). M.
I live in the Chicago-area and I have had our E-M10 out in single digit temps. Like MoonMind suggested I have an extra battery and keep the camera off when not shooting.
Great, thanks so much for all your input. I guess the little camera handles well the cold temps., again one more proof that EM10 is a great camera.
It is -4 F and I am in Hyde Park, a section of Chicago, with my E-M10 in my messenger bag. On my walk in today I saw a lady with a monopod and what looked a GH3/4? taking pictures of the ice formations on the Lake Michigan shoreline.
I had mine out for a walk in -16C, with the Oly25, but only for two hours. Had no problems. But i wouldn't stress it more or longer than that. Olympus states their recommendations for a reason. My guess is that the battery/and some other components aren't made for that kind of stress.
Just beware of condensation when you come back inside. I keep my camera in a plastic bag and squeeze as much air out of it as I can before coming back inside when I'm skiing. Think of what happens to (eye) glasses when you come in from the cold, then picture the inside of your camera like that!
PLUS 10 here! I teach skiing and Arch Stanton is right. His method is great if you want to take it out of your pocket in a ski lodge. Think about how much snow/ice gets tracked into a ski lodge during the day and now let it melt. The humidity is off the chart! I shoot a lot of video during clinics with our instructors and I have had some near disasters while going inside to review the footage. If you are out and about at home, keep in your camera in, whatever its in, for about a half hour and you'll be fine
Make sure that your memory card can handle those temperatures, I imagine most can, but most of the cheapies are not rated or 'guaranteed' to work at certain temperatures. Also while I don't have an E-M10 I have taken my older E-P3 out in -5F (-20C) without an issue, however it remained in my hand most of the time and got tucked into my coat in between shots. Far as condensation, keeping it in a zipped up camera bag may be sufficient enough for a few hours, but the ziploc bag is a useful extra step. If you must get your pictures immediately, then pull the card out, and then put the camera in the bag before coming inside. Only time I ever neglected doing that and ended up being a hell of an ice shell was when I was out shooting film with a Mamiya RB67, the same day shown here with the RB67 on a manfrotto aluminum tripod. got back into the cabin without covering up either the camera or the tripod and within 5 mins I had a thick ice shell all over the lens (about 0.25cm thick), and metal parts of the camera as well as the tripod. But mostly around the camera itself. Fortunately it did not seem to damage the camera, but it was a WTF moment. Can only imagine if I was shooting digitally that day (it was a week out at the cabin with the employees of the camera shop, and one of the stipulations was to only shoot film).
I've never had a card malfunction.....YET. Changes in humidity is the killer and, like you said, bring anything that is basically frozen into a warm and humid place, you will get flash condensation freeze. The best thing is a SLOW warm up inside an insulated camera bag for about a half hour. It's a lot like a deep sea diving de-compression chamber. Your camera will not get the BENZ. PS. KBEEZIE: Awesome photo! If that was a still from a horror movie....I would imagine the Shining and you were out to kill someone with the Mamiya....."Honey.....I'm HOME!!!!" Cheers
This past Sunday, I was outside 8 hrs in 15-25F (snowed for 7 of the hours) on a 10 mile hike/climb, 4,500' elevation gain, to 10,000' summit with the EM-10 hanging across my chest with a neoprene cover. EM-10 worked just fine. I have no idea how I used to lug a Nikon dSLR up these mountains years ago. The two different Canon point shoots I have used eons ago would say "Battery Low" because of the cold and shutdown before I can take any photos. And that was with the P&S in a chest pocket staying warm.
Same here. I have done a lot of back country in France, Austria, Canada and the good ol' Usa. I am certified in France, Canada and the USA in back country guiding. In the earlier days of digital, the battery life was awefull! The camera of choice for me was a Canon 135 Zoom auto. The digital's batteries would never have enough juice left to even shoot more than 6 pics. The Canon had the 3.2 volt lithium which withstood extreme cold and actually lasted for weeks. The film thing was a trade-off as digital was not even close at the time, film was better. Fast forward to today. My battery lasted 6 hours at minus 13F with no problems yesterday, with 60+ shots and still had more. Batteries are getting a lot better.
