[font color=\'#000000\']Maybe O.K., maybe not - lots of factors.
First, though a number of people have shot digital at high altitudes without issues, some have had problems, and I have to include myself in that group. Let me tell you a short, sad, story.
I frequently shoot wildlife at high altitudes, and sometimes I like to shoot landscapes from mountain tops. Where I live, we are fortunate to be able to drive to the summit of two mountains over 14,000 feet elevation. Last summer I was on the peak of Mount Evans at an altitude of 14,268 feet. I had been shooting successfully at altitudes of 10,000 and 12,000 feet with my Canon EOS-1DS, Canon EOS-10D and a couple fixed lens prosumer cameras. My first couple shots with my 1DS at the summit were fine, then on the third frame I noticed some really strange looking results on the LCD. I powered down, removed the battery and re-inserted it, powered up and tried again. Same results. The images were extremely dark with what appeared to be a "grid" pattern across them.
I put the camera away, finished shooting with my 10D and fixed lens cameras and drove back down the mountain. At 10,000 feet I tried the 1DS with about 10 frames and everything looked perfectly normal. When I returned home (I live at about 6,000 feet) I loaded the images on my computer and the ones which had looked dark on the 1DS were indeed really strange. I became suspicious and took a couple frames in my front yard - no problem. The following day I drove back up Mount Evans and tried again. On the first frame the problem returned. Unfortunately, this time it didn't go away when I reached lower altitudes.
My 1DS was sent to the Canon Irvine, CA repair facility where the warped sensor was replaced. Apparently at that time Canon was bonding the antialiasing filter to the sensor and air trapped at sea level during manufacturing had expanded and warped the sensor. Though the altitude was only 14,268 feet, it was nearly 80 degrees on the summit (a very rare occurrance) and the "density" altitude was over 18,000 feet.
I've heard through rumor that Canon no longer completely bonds the antialiasing filter all the way around. I suppose they did it originally to prevent dust from being trapped between the sensor and filter. Leaving an opening would allow expanding air to escape without harm to the sensor so this issue "may" have been solved. I've not had the problem with any of my other digicams, but I'm very cautious about shooting at super high altitudes now. Also some digicam manufacturers now have altitude ratings on their cameras (read the manual carefully).
Obviously, microdrives should not be used above 10,000 feet but there is no practical limit on flash media that I'm aware of.
Here's one of my shots taken with the warped sensor:
Lin
Link to sample[/font]
