Low temperature performance

Demo

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We are facing temps in the -25 to -35 deg C range. The specs suggest the dashcam is ok down to -10. Is it ok to leave the dashcam in the car at these temps or should it take it indoors When not in use?
 
The camera should be fine, however it may not boot up properly at such extreme low temperatures. The camera's pilot light LED should glow but it will not complete the boot up process. If that should happen simply leave the camera plugged in and powered up for a period of time, perhaps about 60 seconds or more. This will give the internals, particularly the DSP time to warm up to its specified minimum operating temperature. After the recommended waiting period (or however long it actually takes) restart the camera and it should then boot up in the normal fashion.
 
Thanks Dashmellow. I do not have it hardwired so one idea I had was to use a portable powerbank to power the dashcam while parked, about 90 mins. My thinking was that this would at least keep the intervals warm.
 
It's not a good idea to let a lithium-ion power bank freeze. It is also an especially bad idea to ever charge lithium-ion batteries when they are frozen, so keep that in mind to avoid that regardless of what you do. Also, at such extreme low temps internal resistance is higher so the output of lithium batteries will be compromised but you can safely discharge a lithium-ion power bank down to about -20º C.

If you are really concerned about the cold temps you may simply want to bring the camera indoors when left out in such extremes.
 
Thanks again. I only got the cam last week and am keen to use it but it seems that the most prudent thing to do is bring the dash cam indoors at these temps. Hopefully this cold snap will be over in a few days. Thanks again
 
We are facing temps in the -25 to -35 deg C range. The specs suggest the dashcam is ok down to -10. Is it ok to leave the dashcam in the car at these temps or should it take it indoors When not in use?
I suggest not taking it indoors, it may cause humidity issues when it passes the zero C point and back.

As long as the air is dry then it should be fine down to -40, it is just not factory tested in those conditions, hard to find a freezer that will go low enough!
At -30, some of the components may take a little time to warm up, including the lens to go into focus, and it's worth checking that it has actually started recording, restart it if not.

If it gets damp or exposed to high humidity and then frozen then there could be serious damage.
 
I've had my SG cams in operation at temps down to -25℉ with no ill effects. My 3rd party 12V to 5V adapter was a bit reluctant to function properly but the cameras were fine.
 
Nigel. After considering the info given by yourself and Dashmellow, I think I will bring it indoors and not use it at all until we are over this snap. With wind chills down below -40 exposed skin can freeze in less than a minute so we tend to hunker down indoors anyway and only go out if really necessary.
 
I also live in a climate with extreme low winter temperatures. Humidity and condensation can be an issue too at various times, regardless of the season. There is no need to be an alarmist about humidity or condensation as once your dash cam warms up to normal operating temperature, any condensation will quickly evaporate. The worst I've ever experienced in ten years of dash cam ownership is that some external condensation on the front surface of a lens may cause some fogging until it evaporates.
 
BTW, if anyone should really feel paranoid about internal condensation from bringing a freezing cold camera indoors, simply place it inside a zip-lock plastic bag after removing it from its mount.
 
Nigel. After considering the info given by yourself and Dashmellow, I think I will bring it indoors and not use it at all until we are over this snap. With wind chills down below -40 exposed skin can freeze in less than a minute so we tend to hunker down indoors anyway and only go out if really necessary.
Not a good idea to use your car below -40 anyway, most fuels and oils can freeze beyond that.
 
Not a good idea to use your car below -40 anyway, most fuels and oils can freeze beyond that.

@Demo is specifically referring to a wind chill factor of > -40º C. Wind chill is a perceptual, apparent temperature, always far colder than the actual ambient temperature.
 
As i recall some Canadians in here have mentioned their dashcam ( brand ? ) not working on the really cold mornings before the car heated up a little.
If i was a Canadian i would have a engine / cabin pre-heater on my car for sure, just not build for low temperatures.
 
...Wind chill is a perceptual, apparent temperature, always far colder than the actual ambient temperature.
A meteorologist acquaintance once told me the only 'real world' use for wind chill factor is it can be used as a gauge of how fast an object will loose heat before reaching the ambient temperature. Other than that it's just something to make cold temperatures sound more ominous.

If the ambient temperature is 33°F and the wind speed is 60MPH the wind chill will be down around 15°F but water will still not freeze because that's dependent on ambient temps. Likewise fuels and lubricating oils, beer/wine/alcohol, or other physical objects are not affected by wind chill factor other than the rate at which they loose heat.
 
As i recall some Canadians in here have mentioned their dashcam ( brand ? ) not working on the really cold mornings before the car heated up a little.
If i was a Canadian i would have a engine / cabin pre-heater on my car for sure, just not build for low temperatures.
My former dashcam (B1W) would do weird things when it got super cold here (Ottawa).

We had a drop to -20°C not that long ago and my A119 V3 started up fine.
 
Temperatures like that we Danes have not seen in a long time even if we are fairly north on the globe too, if it is bad here it drop to just within two figure numbers, but this winter i think the record for a single night are -7
Global warming seem to have hit hard here, cuz as a kid we always had snow in the winter and lakes to ice skate on, and one night when i was 19 or så we did have a winter camping trip arranged, but as it dropped to -25 we just sat in my car and smoked weed for a few hours and then drove the 80 KM home to our warm beds.
Snowfall in total for the past decade are 50 cm or so for my area of the small country, that we got in a day in the good old days.
 
OK. Thanks to everyone for your informative input. I have learned lots.

I decided to take the bull by the horns and just try it with no special precautions. Ambient temps have been around -26C all day. I powered the A119 V3 through the cigarette lighter. Twice I parked for about 2 hours and left the Dashcam in the car but did not activate parking mode. Perhaps it took a little longer, a second or two, to boot up but other than that, no problems. It worked flawlessly.
 
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OK. Thanks to everyone for their informative input. I have learned lots.

I decided to take the bull by the horns and just try it with no special precautions. Ambient temps have been around -26C all day. I powered the A119 V3 through the cigarette lighter. Twice I parked for about 2 hours and left the Dashcam in the car but did not activate parking mode. Perhaps it took a little longer, a second or two, to boot up but other than that, no problems. It worked flawlessly.

You won't hurt anything, even if it gets too cold for the camera to start up.
 
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