not quite what I was thinking...
What I'm thinking of is running the video out from the camera to the ipad and using the ipad as an external monitor for the camera...

or through usb using the ipad camera conection kit and an ipad app to shoot tethered to the ipad.

in either case using the ipad as a live monitor...

maybe the eye-fi cards with an ipad ap would work in studio where you have a wireless network...

in addition to the above advice, it sounds like you are using your camera in the cold....
your breath condensing on the lens could be a factor in image quality...

you should keep two or three sets of batteries on you when shooting in the cold... one in the camera and spares on an inside pocket where your body heat will keep them warm... cold batteries die fast.

lastly seal your camera inside a ziplock baggie before bringing it in from the cold to prevent condensation from damaging it, let warm up before taking it out of the baggie.

yeah I keep hoping there comes along a solution to use the ipad as an external monitor.....
somebody somewhere will hack a cable to take the video out from a dslr and import it through the ipad dock i hope...

Two points of interest:

A dslr is a fine addition to a video kit, but cannot replace a proper video camera.
The heat issue, recording times and sound issues are the main reasons.

If you add a dslr to a video kit, look for lenses that offer capabilities beyond the video cams capabilities.
Ultra wides, fisheye, fast aperture primes.... super telephotos.

and shoot manual...

looks interesting.
I'd be interested in hearing about the technical side of shooting with the k5.
shooting modes? technical difficulties? Workflow issues?
Shooting times and battery life? Heat issues etc...

not exactly... the silliest things can cause trouble... could be any number of things, from the individual electronic components, to the soldering to the design....

built in redundancy to not compete with it's own line-up is plausible..... so maybe won't is better word than can't...

seems to be more to noise than just the sensor... there are a lot of other electronics under the hood as well...
that is sorta like thinking the speakers are all that matters when producing sound...

for me the k5 is a big enough improvement over the k10 to want one... I didn't feel the k7 was though and never bought one.