I want to buy a camera and have about $1000 to spend. I am not much of a camera buff and at the moment I only have a cheap point-and-click camera, but I am going to Antarctica in November, and want to take lots of pictures of the penguins. I intended to buy a digital camera for this, but a friend sugested I buy a normal camera, because the batteries of a digital camera would go down too quickly in the cold down there, and I would need lots of floppy disks to store all the images, as I cannot bring a computer to download pics on. What would you recommend, and if you think a digital camera is suitable, any suggestions for this type of environment?

actually, i believe that cold temps SLOW the rate at which a battery drains, which is why some people put them in the fridge to store them.

Im not sure about using them, i dont think it would have that much of a difference though.

with $1000 to spend on the digital camera you will have a LOT of options. and dont worry, they dont take floppy discs, and they actually do hold a lot of pictures.

You can get a camera that stores the pics onto a cd, and that will give you TONS of room to store the pictures on.

HERE
is a camera that uses a cd writer.


Otherwise they have flash cards that store a lot of pics, and you can buy an extra one or two if you are worried about running out of space.

HERE
is an example of a high-end camera (the 4 megapixel is GREAT resolution for under 1000, but it goes up to about 6 megapixle, but they are too expensive)
and if you buy 256 mb flash card you should be able to store a LOT of pics (along with the 32mb card it comes with)

using the 256mb flash card and the 4megapixel camera i am guessing you should get about 400 high quality photos, but i am not sure, you should check with the store.

check out the Top sellers at buy.com

hope this helps,
and if you have any more specific questions feel free to post here again or email me.

ive checked on it,
and in cold temps,
the camera will run a little slower than normal, but it will still work,
and the batteries may not hold as much charge as stated.
but i think that the digital camera is still the way to go.
just buy some extra batteries and keep them charged.
-chris

I live in Minnesota, which isn't quite the Arctic but close. On really, really cold days I find that the LCD display doesn't work right, gets a green tinge to it or even blank bands. Could be the result of have a cheap camera.

The detailed hardware specifications for the camera should show operating temperature ranges.

-- Craig

Here's my experience....
Do not use a camera that uses Floppy Disks...Get one that uses Flash Cards....Flash cards will hold many, many more images than a floppy , and will have a greater quality of images...
I have never in my years heard that a battery last longer in cold weather...Pure bunk...
Do not get a camera that uses "AA" batteries...I forget what the Sony uses, but it was a great long lasting battery...Get a camera that used that baattery....
Get a camera that will have at least 3.3 pixels...
Before you buy, contact the manufactors of the ones you are seriously look at, and ask for their testing in extreme cold weather...Believe me, they have done so... If they say they haven't, then you know what the results were...
Just thought of this...Contact the photo department of the Anchorage Daily News and see if they use digitals...Think they do...(ADN.com)..Also the Fairbanks newspaper...Don't know it name , but just go to search...
Good luck, and have fun....Don

Silja: Here is the e-mail address for the photo dept at the Fairbanks, Alaska News-Miner......Repeat your posting here to them, and I bet you will get some really pro answers...I would really like to know what they come bvack with...Don

Don't know what I did wrong, so lets try again...Go to the photo dept (photo@newsminer.com) .....

Sam Harrel is the chief photog at the Fairbanks newspaper..Here is his E-mail: sharrel@newsminer.com

Thanks everyone. I will do some research on the webpages you have provided. I also emailed the News Miner newspaper- If I have no answer from them within a few days, I will try Sam's email.

Silja: I would really like to know you findings...Post a message when you find out...Thanks, Don

"You have some limiting parameters that will only make this adventure more expensive. You are correct, the batteries and the LCD will let you down in the cold. We do face some very cold temperatures here in the sub-arctic. Condensation is the worst enemy we have discovered. You should consider rechargeable batteries. Keep them in your inside pocket until you are ready to shoot. Have more than one so that when one gets cold and slows down you have a warm one to trade with it. The LCD is another matter. Seeing the shot displayed is not that important, we never could see the image before it was process back in the
day of film, where the problem is with our gear (Kodak DCS520's and Canon EOS-1D's) is the camera settings are displayed by LCD, so changing f-stops and shutter speeds can be a challenge. I've made a camera cover out of foil covered bubble wrap. This is a bulky insulator but with one of those hand warmers/pocket warmers in with the camera, it keeps things nice and warm. Batteries too. I've only used this once. If the weather is that bad we find we are not out that long.

This is where the condensation problem comes in.
Changing from a dry cold environment to a warm moist one will leave your equipment dripping wet, inside and out. We avoid exposing our gear to the
warm moist air until it has had a chance to warm up. Leaving it in a closed camera bag works but it takes a while because camera bags are usually
padded, this insulates it and slows the process. I carry large plastic bags, heavy duty trash bags, and seal my gear inside. The condensation forms on the outside of the bag while the gear comes up to room temperature. If I'm headed back outside I will just leave my gear, minus batteries, outside. I also will carry a point and shoot in an inside pocket so that I can take a
photo inside quick without having to wait for my SLR's to warm up. You also need to remember that your storage media will form condensation inside and out also. We find this shorts out our compact flash cards causing corrupt files.

The web site www.dpreview.com is very good at showing the different cameras. Your problem is storage. Without a laptop to dump your images on, something with a 20+ gigabyte hard drive at a minimum, you would need to get a camera that takes compact flash memory cards and then get large capacity ones. We have just blown your budget. For what you are about to do I believe the only suitable high density storage medium is film. Take a camera you are familiar with, or buy one they are cheaper than digital. Get one that will take rechargeable batteries and operate the same way as described above. Take lots of film, its cheap too. Find out if you can get film to your destination with out any security x-rays, this is where digital is a plus, so that your work will not be ruined.

Do not get talked into a camera that will take only small file size photos (low resolution) because this could be a trip of a life time with photos to match. Low res photos do not enlarge well or reproduce in publication. Film once again has shown to the highest resolution for the dollar.

Sam Harrel

Great advise from Sam Harrel. I live in Anchorage, AK, much warmer than Fairbanks. When using my old Minolta in snow scenes I am able to preset the exposure. There is a plus +, and a minus - . Pictures taken in snow reflect a lot of light and often appear grey rather than white. Kodak has info here..winter tips

No matter what type of camera you use, this metering should be practiced. Just pretend and adjust your metering before the trip to get the hang of it if your camera cannot be preset. You still have to first focus on the main object (non snow object) and then use that metering when you view a larger field with lots of snow. "Bracketing" is a good way to ensure a good picture, meaning, try several settings for the same scene. It will be cold on your trip so please, practice a lot before you get there. I will check with my friends who went to Antartica for more tips.

The HP 715 with 3.3mp about $350 is much better but being discontinued and the 720 not quite available yet ewverywhere!

And even regular batteries alst for ever! Or

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=286358

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=286359

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