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M5 in Extreme Cold

Discussion in 'MōVI M5' started by Isuma Jon, Sep 30, 2014.

  1. Isuma Jon

    Isuma Jon New Member

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    What is the coldest temperature you have operated the M5 in? Recommended limit is -10 C, has anyone exceeded that? How cold and how did it respond? I have a shoot this winter in the arctic where the temperature will be -35 C. Do you think it's possible for the M5?

    The batteries will drain quickly, but I can replace them often and wrap it in chemical heat packs, so I'm not too concerned about that. I'm worried about the wires freezing stiff, plastic cracking, carbon fibre breaking, and the gimbal just not functioning.

    Thanks!
    Jon
     
  2. Ben Ruffell

    Ben Ruffell Active Member

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    My experience with the M10 is that it will not work.

    Freefly themselves admitted that they had not tested it in extreme cold, and they assumed that the batteries would give out before the rig. (We have a custom off board larger battery solution to combat this).

    The rig went weird, would not boot up, and was a disaster.
     
  3. Ozkan Erden

    Ozkan Erden Distributor

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    Most of the electronics have temperature rating. Speaking of Freefly gimbal stabilizers, most sensitive part is the IMU. IMU needs to be at certain temperature for operation. High end systems, heat up the sensors before starting the operation and they need to be sealed from humidity strongly.

    I think this is something that needs to be designed from the beginning. I haven't checked the electronics under the hood of M10 but, if they are not sprayed against the humidity, I would strongly advise spraying them. This might help when working in extreme temp changes.
     
  4. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    I succesfully operated my M-10 in temperatures of - 20 deg. centigrade as well as +80 deg. centigrade (sauna).

    Batteries will last 60 min. when covered in some insulation material, i used neoprene...


    Best,

    Wolf
     
  5. Ben Ruffell

    Ben Ruffell Active Member

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    We had failure at minus 18.

    M10 will not boot in this temperature, but you can boot it in a warm environment and transport it into the cold and it will work. (as long as it does not get turned off for too long).

    I am curious about your -20 Wolf, was there wind chill? Altitude? Did you do anything special?
     
  6. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    Hi Ben,

    actually it was in a weather-protected area, a cooling storage ;-)

    And yes, we booted it outside and then went in, shooting for 15 min and out again.
    Jon, i think you need to boot it in a warmer surrounding like a car or snow mobile....but the batts won't last long and -35 is really cold... Maybe use some chemical handwarmers on the battery and on the electronis boxes...



    Best, Wolf
     
  7. Ben Ruffell

    Ben Ruffell Active Member

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    Hi Wolf,

    Thats good to know. We found it quite different working in the mountains this year.

    The first shot here:
    Had to be shot on a Bungy Rig, as the Movi M10 would not boot.

    The length of time outside really affects the rig. Of course, once outside it is very difficult to go back inside as you get so many condensation problems etc as expected.

    Off-board power is a big improvement. Even insulated batteries on-board do not last long enough for us. At minus 35, I think you need to warm other components of the Movi. Like the full size gimbals do with onboard heaters etc.
     
  8. jerryotti

    jerryotti New Member

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    we used the m5 with an a7s in antarctica in -40F (windchill) for an hour with no real problems. the biggest issue I saw was a blur on the a7 monitor but was very happy to see the m5 held up
     
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  9. Derek Cooper

    Derek Cooper Active Member

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    We have little luck with the M5 in cold environments, which we believe is primarily a cold battery issue more than anything.

    In 0C days, we'll be good for about 2 hours and then the Movi just goes whacky and won't boot up properly - never engages the gimbals.

    We've thought about building little warming blankets that we could attach using deans or something to a spare battery that would actually keep the battery(ies) warm and the main Movi CPU. Time...
     
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  10. Ben Ruffell

    Ben Ruffell Active Member

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    Interesting. What was the actual air temperature? (before windchill).

    I wonder if such a light weight camera made a difference?
     
  11. Jose Martinez

    Jose Martinez New Member

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    Hey there Derek, did you end up trying out the warm blanket and if so, did you guys have luck? I was considering that also and maybe even the disposable hand warmers since I have a shoot coming up in Colorado.
     
  12. Igor Bondarev

    Igor Bondarev New Member

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    - little cool ... about - 10 degrees)))))
    Everything worked. Start/run directly to the air (not heated). But sometimes blinked only one of the three LEDs - We make "off / on"- and everything is normal.
    Russia.
    Moscow.
    хамади и я .jpg
     
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  13. Jose Martinez

    Jose Martinez New Member

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    Oh wow, that's great Igor. Thanks for sharing your experience, this helps out greatly.
     

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