Skip to main content

How to Deal w/ Touchscreens in the Cold

camera touchscreens

When temperatures drop below freezing out it's hard to handle your camera as it is. Although touchscreens are great they are not making things easier on our fingers when it's cold out. One of the things you'll need to keep shooting in the cold while keeping your hands warm are capacitive touchscreen gloves.

Touchscreens work by using "...capacitive system, a layer that stores electrical charge is placed on the glass panel of the monitor. When a user touches the monitor with his or her finger, some of the charge is transferred to the user, so the charge on the capacitive layer decreases." (source: howstuffworks.com). If you are wearing a glove no charge is transferred.

Now there is a solution. Gloves with a capacitive material either in the finger tips or throughout the entire glove, which will let you use the gloves just like your skin. Although these are great, some are better than others and manufacturing qualities can vary widely.

Even if you have a good pair of capacitive gloves our camera LCD menus are very small and often difficult to navigate with gloves. This then forces photographers to take their gloves off in the cold to deal with their camera. If you are having this problem there's another solution. A capacitive stylus like the one below. Their small lightweight size makes it easy to carry; and their small point makes them perfect for small camera screens. Using a stylus means you will always be able to keep your gloves ON and your hands warm.

 


Safari Gift Certificates

Sign up for Photo Tips:

I agree with the Terms and conditions and the Privacy policy