Snow tubing with 5D III + 24-70 II

[Dylan777]

I plan to take my 4yrs daughter to Mountain High in CA this Friday. This will be her 1st time touching and playing with snow. Our activities are:  build a snow man, snow tubing, and walking around the town with hot chocolate drinks.

I'm thinking about 5D III + 24-70 II with RS-7 strap for this trip.

 My concerns are:
1.  Will my 5D III and 24-70 II survive the cold and wet from the snow?
2. Will this combo be little too big for snow tubing?

I have Canon S100, but I doubt I would be able to capture her sliding in the tube down the lanes or building a snow man with her cousins.

Your thoughts and advices are greatly appreciated

Thanks
Dylan

[Kernuak]

While I don't have the 24-70 MkII, my 7D survived without problems while lying in the snow when attached to my 300 f/2.8. Ole Liodden also did an article testing out a 7D getting splashed with snow. The 5D MkIII has the same level of weatherproofing as the 7D, so I wouldn't expect any problems, but I haven't been in that situation with mine as we don't tend to get a lot of snow here.

[pengyifei]

No problem for that combo! I took nice snow pics of my daughter with the 5DIII and 24-70 II!

[digital paradise]

I'm from Canada and have used my gear in -30 Celsius and colder. Secret is to keep your gear cold until you are done. If I come in for hot chocolate I put out gear into the camera bag (which is outside) and zip it up. When really cold I will wrap it up with my parka as well. If I can leave it outside I will.

When done for the day I follow the above procedure. Now I will wait several hours before I open the bag. You want to warm up your gear slowly. If you expose your gear quickly you get condensation on it. No problem on the outside, it is the inside. Over time this can lead to mold growth particularly with lenses. Of course these are extremes but something to be aware of.

Check this out.

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/12/20/frozen-camera-what-a-dslr-looks-like-when-shooting-in-a-25c-environment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PetaPixel+%28PetaPixel%29

[madspihl]

I wouldn't worry about that at all. We have 7 months of winter and a month before and after of freezing-melting waves, and I shoot in all conditions. That body-lens combo is weather sealed.

Granted, there's hardly any humidity here, but I still have to consider bringing the camera out in the cold and then back inside on many days - but as long as I let the camera warm back up and dry out before I turn it on, I have never had problems no matter how cold it has been (as cold as -36 celsius).

[Meh]

I bet you can bury it in the snow and it would still be fine 

Too big or heavy for snow tubing?  Nonsense!

Have fun and post pics.

[Meh]

Good points from @digital about keeping it cold... you definitely want to avoid as much as possible bringing it straight inside.  Putting it into a big zip lock bag works great too... but still put it in the camera bag so it warms up slowly.

[Hobby Shooter]

I'm sure it will survive the cold. About getting wet, I walked and shot a 7 minute video in the jungle while it was raining, no probs at all for my 5D3 although the lens took some beating.

[artsmalley]

I just drove up there today with my three little ones. I took my 5D Mark III + 24mm-105mm F4 lens on RS7 strap and did not have a problem. We did some light sledding, they made snow angels, and built a very small snowman. Camera was fine however we did not do any tubing at the resort area to be clear. Weather wise I would not be too concerned for the camera if you are careful. I would worry some about the tubing runs and impact as some people get going pretty fast.

[bjd]

Somewhere the guy who did these timelapses shows the state of his Camera after a cold night. Admittedly its a 1Dx, but I guess the 5D3 would take the same punishment. At least I hope it would!

http://www.helvetiabynight.com/

The videos are on vimeo.

Cheers

 

[digital paradise]

Good points from @digital about keeping it cold... you definitely want to avoid as much as possible bringing it straight inside.  Putting it into a big zip lock bag works great too... but still put it in the camera bag so it warms up slowly.

Zip lock bags do work well but I gave up them long ago. They are a pain when it is cold. Keeping it in the bag works well - less hassle. 

[grenadilla]

Bring spare batteries with you and keep them warm.  Inside your jacket or shirt pocket will work.  When the camera shows low battery it likely is not out of juice.  Just take it out of the camera and warm it up.  Once warm you should be able to get more shots out of it. 

I've shot -15C (-30 windchill) with a rebel without problem.  Just need to keep spare batteries at hand. 

[pardus]

Spent a day last week shooting a catalog for a goggle company up at a mountain. It was a little below freezing and absolutely dumped snow all day. I hadn't take my 5Diii out in these kind of conditions before and was a little concerned, I brought a rain cover but they are a hassle and took my chances. My 70-200mm 2.8L and 16-35mm 2.8L ii and body were absolutely soaked, at any second was waiting for something to fry but held strong. Make sure all your rubber covers are on tight too. I dried off the gear and used big freezer zip lock bags with the air pressed out to avoid condensation problems before the drive home as my heater was cranked in the truck.

[Dylan777]

Thanks for the tips guys....I'll post some pictures when I get back.

Dylan

[timmy_650]

I doubt you need it but those handwarmers put by extra batteries helps out a lot. Depending where you go sledding what out for tubers. Getting hit by one of those isnt good without a camera, other people will go faster and farther than you daughter.