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Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

cambyses
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

I just came back from an unforgettable weeklong trip to Churchill, MB. Most days the temperature was around -10C or warmer, with one day getting down to about -17C. And more than once, my Sony A1 gave me trouble

It would just stop recognizing the memory cards and would refuse to shoot! The usual checks and resets (i.e., remove/insert battery, remove/insert card, unmount/mount lens, etc.) would be of no help. And I tried both Sony Tough and ProGrade cards to no avail. I would just have to leave the camera in the car, and after an hour or so, it would start working again! Luckily I also had an A9II with me, and it worked as expected without giving me any troubles.

I have had my Sony A1 for about 2 years now, and never had any issues. So I just called Sony Pro support, and they told me that is the expected operation because the specified operating temperature range for A1 (and for A9II too) is 0-40C. So I checked the manual, and yes, that is indeed the case! And it sucks! It makes no sense to me that a camera like A1 would be expected not to function properly as soon as the temp drops below 0C! Now, my Nikon Z9 is spec'ed to operate in -10C to +40C range. But Canon R5 also specs it as 0-40C. And my shooting buddies had no issues with their R5, neither did I have any issues with my A9II, despite it having the same specified operating temp range.

So what is it? Is Sony A1 somehow more sensitive to lower temps? Has any of you had any similar experience with your A1 at colder temperatures? I'll be taking my A1 to the Sony Pro repair center anyway to be checked out, but given the published operating temp range, I doubt they would do much with it!

Thoughts?

Nov 13, 2023 at 01:54 PM

randomguy
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

Was in Churchill a year ago and the temperatures was -20-25C on half the days and had no issues. I used 2x 160Gb Sony Tough cards then.

I have seen the behaviour you describe though shooting a time lapse with the Sony 640Gb tough cards in maybe between -5 and -10C. This was in an area with higher humidity, don't know if that is relevant.

Nov 13, 2023 at 02:04 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

The biggest trick in working in very cold temps is keeping batteries warm. So keep 1 or 2 in coat pocket to keep warm and change them out maybe even within a half hour. Very cold is brutal on battery life . I have taught many workshops in the very cold parts of the country and usually this would come up a lot. Especially with medium format backs as the battery is never inside the units but bolted outside the back itself and it was a routine of battery switching out. You could even have a pocket warmer in a coat pocket and put batteries in with them to get warm faster. This is pretty common with any battery. Also battery life itself in the cold goes to hell as well. I carry like 4 batteries when I know im in the cold

Nov 13, 2023 at 02:20 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

Just because the specs say its temp range means very little when your in the soup

Has nothing to do with your A1 either its a battery thing

Nov 13, 2023 at 02:21 PM

raminolta
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

Living in Canada, in subzero temperatures, I do not leave the battery in the camera outside. I keep them in my pocket close to my body and put them in the camera only when I want to take pictures. After being done, I remove the battery again.

Edited on Nov 13, 2023 at 09:34 PM · View previous versions

Nov 13, 2023 at 02:34 PM

mogul
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

Another trick is having a A900 as back up, tough as nails

Nov 13, 2023 at 02:52 PM

randomguy
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

The problem isn't the batteries, it is the CFE memory cards that stop working. IIRC the card LED lit constantly and camera hung. Had to pull the battery to get the camera to start up again, but then it didn't recognize the cards.

Nov 13, 2023 at 03:11 PM

saaketham
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

cambyses wrote:
Is Sony A1 somehow more sensitive to lower temps?

Last time I used my a1 was in -10F at a wildlife refuge.
I shot with it for 3-4 hours, and the only issue was the battery drained faster than normal.
Camera never stopped working, although I did often get back inside my warm SUV to give myself and the gear some warmth.

Nov 13, 2023 at 03:16 PM

RoamingScott
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

This is where you look at the CFE-A reviews and pick the card most prone to overheating

Nov 13, 2023 at 03:18 PM

Grenache
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

Churchill in Feb with a1 without issues other than losing connection to phone app, which is not necessarily camera’s fault. IR remote worked fine. Rotated batteries regularly to pocket from camera. Simply warming them back up restored their charge. Camera performed like a champ.

Similar temps in Yellowstone the year before and similarly had no issues.

Jim

Nov 13, 2023 at 03:33 PM

Maxxus46
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

Yup, I've had my A1 in -20 degrees temps for over 6 hours (many batteries later) and it never failed me other than accelerated battery drain...

saaketham wrote:
Last time I used my a1 was in -10F at a wildlife refuge.
I shot with it for 3-4 hours, and the only issue was the battery drained faster than normal.
Camera never stopped working, although I did often get back inside my warm SUV to give myself and the gear some warmth.

Nov 13, 2023 at 04:35 PM

molson
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

This sounds like a condensation problem. I've used Sony mirrorless cameras down to -30ºC with no issues other than dramatically shorter battery life. You need to be very vigilant to not bring the camera back into a warmer environment after being out in the cold unless you keep it sealed up to prevent moisture from condensing on or in it.

Nov 13, 2023 at 05:37 PM

lattesweden
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

I have had my A7RII in minus 18 degrees Celsius for some hours with no problems.

Nov 13, 2023 at 06:12 PM

AGeoJO
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

cambyses wrote:
I just came back from an unforgettable weeklong trip to Churchill, MB. Most days the temperature was around -10C or warmer, with one day getting down to about -17C. And more than once, my Sony A1 gave me trouble

It would just stop recognizing the memory cards and would refuse to shoot! The usual checks and resets (i.e., remove/insert battery, remove/insert card, unmount/mount lens, etc.) would be of no help. And I tried both Sony Tough and ProGrade cards to no avail. I would just have to leave the camera in the car, and after an hour or so,...Show more →

K, sorry to hear about your issues with the A1.

I took my Sony A7r II for several days to Lapland in the winter. The temp when I operated the camera ranged from 0 to -15C. I went on a snowmobile ride (in the evening, chasing the Northern Lights), dog sled ride and reindeer ride in addition to just regular hikes without experiencing any issues. I read a few articles before that most “failures” caused by uncovered hotshoe. So, before I left not only I put the original hotshoe cover, I also put tape around it to provide some better seals. Whatever it was, my camera functioned perfectly. I did have plenty of batteries that I stored/carried close to my body all the time. Yes, the battery drained faster. But we are talking about the A7r II with its punny batteries…

I know that my experience with my A7r II doesn’t alleviate your situation nor does make you feel better. No matter how you look at it, if it happens to you it sucks. I am curious what the Sony Pro support folks tell you after examining your camera.

Nov 13, 2023 at 06:34 PM

1bwana1
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

RoamingScott wrote:
This is where you look at the CFE-A reviews and pick the card most prone to overheating

Maybe because it is being used in the fastest camera on the market? But you never had one to know did you Scott?

Edited on Nov 13, 2023 at 08:13 PM · View previous versions

Nov 13, 2023 at 06:59 PM

jwolfe
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

The best way to avoid issues in extreme cold is to keep your batteries heated. Some cameras are more sensitive than others, but you need 5-6 spares that are kept warm. It's best to rotate them every 30 mins to an hour. Those chemical heat packs do wonders. It wasn't any better in the film days unless you were shooting a totally manual camera. Everything struggles in the extreme cold. I don't shoot a ton below zero but when I do i keep warm packs in my parka pockets and keep the batteries (and my hands) warm.

Nov 13, 2023 at 07:17 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

1bwana1 wrote:
Maybe because it is being used in the fastest camera on the market? But you never has one to know did you Scott?

That is a home run

Seriously I never seen anyone in 50 years waste so much energy on stuff they don’t own. Pretty scary

Nov 13, 2023 at 07:51 PM

saaketham
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

@GMPhotography .. I respect you, but gotta disagree with you on that statement.

There's a certain troll (he's in this thread) who has never touched a Nikon z camera or lens
but has set up permanent camp in the Nikon forum and is as welcome there as coronavirus.

Nov 13, 2023 at 08:04 PM

1bwana1
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

saaketham wrote:
@GMPhotography@ .. I respect you, but gotta disagree with you on that statement.

There's a certain troll (he's in this thread) who has never touched a Nikon z camera or lens
but has set up permanent camp in the Nikon forum and is as welcome there as coronavirus.

All of that is untrue. I shot and owned a Z camera on the first day of release. I shot the Z9 well before you did for sure. I recently shot the Z9 and a variety of lenses on a trip to Eastern Washington. At least get your facts straight before making your inaccurate and immature posts.

Posting untrue statements to stir things up is the definition of trolling as you well know. You bragged about how much you enjoy doing this in writing here on FM Forums. A clear example of immaturity.

Nov 13, 2023 at 08:11 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Bad experience with Sony A1 at cold temps

saaketham wrote:
@GMPhotography@ .. I respect you, but gotta disagree with you on that statement.

There's a certain troll (he's in this thread) who has never touched a Nikon z camera or lens
but has set up permanent camp in the Nikon forum and is as welcome there as coronavirus.

Well I have not been in a Nikon forum in maybe 10 years, why there is no point I do t shoot them and exactly my point here. Why be in Sony when you don’t shoot them. A waste of time and worse a troll . I owned a photo forum I can see the light. Lol

Nov 13, 2023 at 08:58 PM

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