Temperature range

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:48 pm

I finally broke down and ordered a Canon Rebel xti. I was reading through the specs and noticed that the operating temperature seemed a little odd.

32 F to 104 F (0 - 40 C).

104 F doesn't bother me too much here in Michigan though it seems that folks living in southwest USA and Texas would hit that temperature in the summer. The 1d goes up to 113 F but all of the other Canons max out at 104 F.

But 32 F seems way out of line. In fact, all the Canons up to the 1d list 32 F as the minimum operating temperature.

Obviously, people take pictures of snow and ice. So how seriously should I take these limits? Is this just Canon protecting themselves from disgruntled users or should I take special precautions?

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:59 am

I think, this is mainly part of a company policy to avoid paying damages to dissatisfied customers...

The camera will take no harm if used in sub-zero temperatures, but the battery will die fast. Also, if it is really cold, the LCD panel might freeze and get unusable. Both, batteries and LCDs will work normally again, when being back in normal temperatures.

If it is really cold (below -10 deg C or lower, the lubrication might become stiff and the camera gets inoperable. This should also remedy itself, one thawn out...

Anyway there is always the problem of condensation, when bringing such a cold camera bck into a heated room, so you need to be extra careful - especially with the photography computers we all use nowadays.

If you want to use any camera in cold condistions, you should get it serviced and the lubricants replaced with low temperature ones. I now from personal experience, that Leica and Pentax do offer this service and I expect Canon to do the same.

regards
René