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02-14-2021, 06:13 PM   #1
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K-S2 in winter weather?

Hey all!
I'm looking at taking my K-S2 outside tomorrow for some shots of what's looking like historically wintery weather here in Texas. We've already got a couple inches of snow and we're looking at having more overnight, and the temperature has been in the high single digits/teens all day. I'm only going to use my DA WR 18-55 on it, but I was wondering if there's any other steps I should take to try and keep it safe in the weather? What should I do to prevent condensation on the lens when I come back inside? The temperature and humidity change is enough to make my glasses drip 😬
Any stories of K-S2s faring well in the winter are much appreciated. She's been out in the 107° summers before, but those instances didn't include precipitation...
Thanks in advance!!!

02-14-2021, 06:43 PM - 1 Like   #2
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When you come back in, if it is straight to the house, you may want to wrap it up in a plastic bag before coming back in. If you are getting into a car first no worries, it will slowly warm up as the car does. It will be fine in the weather, those 107 degree days are much harder on it. Batteries do wear out faster in the cold, be prepared.
02-14-2021, 07:19 PM - 2 Likes   #3
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Living in Canada, I regularly use my K5ii in winter. Last weekend I was out for a 2 hour hike at -25C (-13F) and the camera performed perfectly. No issues whatsoever, including the battery. Pentax cameras are pretty tough, and I don't expect yours would be any different.

Whenever I bring it back into the warm house I just leave everything zipped up in the camera bag for a few hours and let it slowly warm up to avoid condensation. This has never caused the slighest condensation in any of my lenses or cameras. It just requires patience is all, waiting to copy the images to the PC.

Sounds like pretty unusual weather for Texas. People there must be in shock.
02-14-2021, 07:53 PM   #4
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condensation is the biggest concern. You could preemptively toss it in a bag of rice to dry it out.

some tips you might not consider:
1) dont put it inside your jacket
2) if you're in and out of doors, you're best to leave the camera out
3) Tom's right on the money with extra batteries.
4) If you're a heavy breather you might fog up your viewfinder.
5) if you use UV filters to protect your lens you might want to remove, as the Pentax SMC / HD coatings are very good at repelling weather. Be patient and let it do its thing - mucky fingers and scratchy clothes should be avoided.

when you are finally done, wrap it in a sealed zip loc and I usually throw it back in my bag, or wrap my knit cap around it to insulate it from a rapid temperature change.



02-14-2021, 08:52 PM   #5
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I had mine out in -6F today for half an hour. I gave out, not the camera. I did hesitate to take it back out a little later because when I brought it in and it was cold, condensation formed on it and I needed any inside to dry/evaporate again first. I think the camera temp crossing the dew point more than once is the only problem because of condensation.
02-15-2021, 08:05 AM - 3 Likes   #6
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I always just put the camera back in my camera bags and close them up before going back inside. I then leave the gear alone for a couple of hours. This allows for a slow warm up and no sudden humidity change in the air around the gear.
02-15-2021, 10:36 AM - 2 Likes   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
I always just put the camera back in my camera bags and close them up before going back inside. I then leave the gear alone for a couple of hours. This allows for a slow warm up and no sudden humidity change in the air around the gear.
+1. To my mind this probably works just as well or better than putting everything in a plastic bag. At least in the camera bag it's not airtight and the gear can dry out a bit if it's wet from snow. It just takes longer, is all, as the padding of the bag insulates so it doesn't warm up as fast. I recently got in from a hike at -20C, left the kit in the backpack at room temp, and 4 hours later it was still quite cool to touch. So the warmup is very gradual.

Honestly, I'd hesitate to seal camera and lens in a ziploc and leave it wet in there for hours.

02-16-2021, 06:41 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by mattt Quote
On a side note, Matt's picture pretty much sums up how I've been using my K5ii this winter. Really giving it a thrashing in -25C temps, snow, freezing rain. The thing just keeps on working and working without a hiccup. Not even a dead battery. Just remarkable. Every time I take it out in those kinds of conditions, it makes me grateful that Pentax makes such excellent quality cameras that allow me to do all this with not a whisper of complaint. We had -35C temps last week here in northern BC during the polar vortex, and I was tempted to take the camera out to see if it would take it, but that was just too cold for me . Next time it hits those temps I will suck it up and go for a hike and report back . I'll probably give in before the camera does!
02-16-2021, 09:53 AM   #9
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Last week I was out in -10°C or so for 1-2 hours, kept the camera under my jacket when I didn't use it and took it out for shots when I saw something I wanted to capture. It was snowing little flakes that for the most part I could just blow away with my breath, but some liquefied. The worst was my breath fogging up the viewfinder, or rather the O-ME53 magnifying eyecup I have installed, so I used Liveview for some shots where I couldn't see anything otherwise. It was just a short outing, but the battery was not bothered by the cold. I did take extra batteries that I kept in my trouser pocket, but didn't need them. I blew away some snow before zooming my 18-135 back in. I had the lens hood installed, I don't know if it's thanks to that that the front lens looked pristine all the time, or if the coating did its job as well.

I did make the mistake of bringing the camera back in with me afterwards, which I only realised when I wanted to take a selfie with the snow in my face after passing a mirror and the front lens was all fogged up... After wiping away some moisture from lens and camera I put the camera down near a window with the lens still all zoomed out from outside and let a fan blow on it so that the outer condensation would at least be reduced or swept away a little (I also do that with newly acquired lenses I took out of the box too fast if they're still cold from the delivery and I see them fog up ). Took off the O-ME53 and cleaned it for the first time, it was a little disgusting how much gunk had settled behind the rubber cup... did not take long until the camera had acclimatised, which is when I opened the battery flap, took out the battery and let the fan blow onto the camera for another while (that was most certainly unnecessary as there was never really any wetness on the bottom plate of the camera).
At least camera and lens still worked like a charm the next day, but I made a big mental note to try to prevent that by thinking ahead about how I want to bring the camera back in when taking it out with me (I hadn't even taken a bag with me when I started that walk, so that wasn't an option when coming back in.... )
02-16-2021, 11:59 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by ehrwien Quote
kept the camera under my jacket when I didn't use it and took it out for shots when I saw something I wanted to capture
Be careful of this as the inside of your outerwear can be quite damp, especially on a hard hike, and you can possibly promote freeze up. You're better off in a pack or bag or leaving outside your coat. -10 is within the normal operating parameters of the camera.

Being aware of a problem and not freaking out can save stress too...

People worry to much about "normal use". This one was a non weather sealed lens... SMC Pentax M 20mm ƒ4.0 - Things were a little wet... I immediately pointed the camera to the ground so the lens was the low point in the event any moisture made inside the little prime, I then dropped the battery out, and plopping in a bag of rice for 24 hours, I never had an issue since.

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