1) Cameras: digital - Sony Mavica FD-73, will likely replace in the very nea future; still: usually carry a Minolta 700Si in the boat, an Olympus Stlyus Zoom when hoofin' it. The Video Cam - Sony TRV-99.

Don't trust a freezer bag ... I carry all of 'em in a Pelican case in my boat and it has taken very good care of them. Excpetion: hoofing it, the little camera goes in a ziploc.

2) I tried all sorts of "keep warm" gloves over the years and the only thing I could ever row with were some goodies I picked up from the golf shop I used to work for, cold-weather golf gloves. I don't even really like them though. Last summer, I was sick of dealing with thrashed, cracked hands and broke down and got some decent quality surgical gloves (the thicker ones) and was very happy with how many hands stayed in one piece (in August, I found I could still hold onto a golf club w/o grimacing from cuts and cracks). A bonus: they actually seemed to keep my hands warmer, I might try them this winter