I have been looking at some of the top quality hd video cameras but they claim to be only able to withstand 32 degrees. Any opinions?
Most of your cameras will work in temps below 32 degrees, but they can get a little buggy at times. If the sensor gets any sort of moisture or condensation on it, your footage won't turn out. And they also eat through batteries very quickly in the super cold temps. We're using the Sony HDR-AX2000 and have filmed with it down into the teens without too much trouble. My best advise would be to keep some extra batteries with you!
We filmed some super cold late season stuff last year (witht he AX2000 in the zero degree range without much trouble... a 7hr battery was giving about 20-40mins of power.
Hand Warmers may need to be banded to the camera around the digital screen or battery compartment to help keep things warm. Suggest if you have extra batteries, keep them in pockets next to your body to help preserve the battery life in the super cold temps.