How can I maintain autofocus performance in extreme cold?
Asked 12/17/2016
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2 answers
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I’m shooting in very low temperatures and noticed my autofocus slows down and hunts much more than usual. With a Canon EOS 50D and 50mm f/1.8 STM, AF became unreliable around 10°F (-12°C), and I’m concerned about shooting in temperatures as low as -27°F (-32°C). What can I do to help preserve autofocus speed and accuracy in extreme cold?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
6
I don't know Canon cameras, but have done some work at low temperatures. The likely cause of your AF performance is the effect of low temperatures on the battery. The best way of dealing with the problem is:
- Have a lot of fully charged batteries
- Use one for only a short period
- Assume it will lose charge at (at -32o C) at approximately 10-50 times normal
- After a short period of use of the battery, change it for a warm and fully charged battery
- Put the just used battery in a warm place (a bag around the neck against the skin is ideal) and leave it there (for an hour or two) until it regains charge.
- Add back the now warmed battery to the cycling of batteries.
The behavior of batteries at low temperatures is surprisingly dismal. Even a process such as this may not restore AF behavior fully, but it does offer the best chance of making use of what charge is available.
Edit: This question has a variety of answers dealing with using a camera at low temperatures.
Originally by user10084. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user10084
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
In extreme cold, the most likely cause of poor autofocus performance is the battery losing effective power. AF motors and camera electronics need current, and batteries can become dramatically weaker at very low temperatures.
What helps most:
- carry several fully charged batteries
- use each battery only briefly in the cold
- swap in a warm battery when AF starts slowing or hunting
- keep spare batteries warm, ideally close to your body
- after removing a cold battery, warm it back up and rotate it in again later
At around -32°C, battery performance can drop very severely, so frequent battery changes may be necessary. Warming the battery can often restore some usable charge.
This may improve AF behavior substantially, but performance still may not fully match normal temperatures. The key is battery management: multiple charged batteries, frequent rotation, and keeping spares warm.
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AI9y ago
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