This is the first time setting this up. I am planning a trip north into the Adirondack State Park at the end of December. I am hoping to "weather proof" my time lapse equipment enough so I can capture some awesome panning timelapse footage. Also going to use hand warmers to heat the batteries and lens. To keep dew from forming and hopefully lengthen the battery life. ( in theory )

I am going to using...
MiLapse Motorhead w/Meade tripod
Canon 60D
24-70mm L Lens
Aqutech Rain Fly

The weather is going to very cold and snowy. I want to do some overnight shots and this will be the first time using this gear.
Please post if you have any tips or advice on settings filters, time setting, speed, etc.

Much Thanks!
Tyler
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tylersparks/sets/72157625614058962/

Just how much weather proofing depends a lot on how wet it is in my experience.
If it stays well below freezing you don't need to worry about water proofing.
A plastic bag and some rubber bands do wonders for most situations that do not involve rain.

Hi Antz,

I was told hand warmers are great for the camera. The temps will be around -5 to -15 C and snowy. So I was planning on using the rain fly just to keep the warmth around the camera and add some bags with rubber bands for the remote etc.. Also since the camera will be panning I was going to have a low aperture 2.8 and a high ISO of 1000 and use Aperture Priority setting so the camera will adjust the shutter when it gets darker for the night shots. I was thinking somewhere in the ball park of 6-12hrs for the time lapse. I have another issue, watching the equipment. I am planning being around the equipment the whole time but the cold is going hinder that. I might have to sit in the car most of it LOL.

thanks for your help!!
Tyler

You shouldn't need to worry about heating the camera other than to prevent condensation or frost build up on the lens.
Not sure how long the batteries will last on the 60D, but I suspect they should be pretty decent in the cold like the other newer canon batteries.

The most important thing is to prevent condensation (warm air is usually a lot more humid) when you bring the equipment back into normal temperatures. Bring plastic bags and when you are done, simply seal the stuff inside them together with the cold (and dry) outside air. Let the bags and equipment thaw out for a couple of hours before opening the bags indoors.
I had my 5D outside in -30 C (-22 F) a couple of days ago, without any problems. Also planted flashes with PocketWizard remotes directly in the snow.

Brilliant!

Thanks guys. This information is really helpful. I am going to put this to the test as soon as I can get out my snowed in apartment in New York City and make a run to the Adirondacks. I am packing extra plastic bags and I am going to wait before using the hand warmers on the camera. I will hopefully post some timelapse soon.


Stay Warm!
Sincerely,
Tyler Sparks

Clarification: Warm air is humid, cold air is dry. When a cold camera is brought into warm air the humidity in the warm air will condensate on and in the cold camera, forming water droplets that can cause problems.
If you can keep the camera warm by putting it in an air-sealed box with hand warmers, that will work great, especially for the batteries (but you'll need to solve how to reach the camera controls.)