I'm currently on vavcation in FLA & have been leaving my camera gear in the trunk of the car, will the heat affect it in any way, it's all digital & L lenses also a few compact flash cards, i can hear you say things about getting it stolen etc but was just wondering about the heat, thanks
I live in Miami...I do leave my cameras (on occasion) in the trunk. It doesn't get as hot in the trunk (at least in my trunk) as it does in the passenger compartment. I wouldn't recommend it, but I've never experienced any bad effect from this.
It's just as warm and humid as it is in Florida. I wouldn't recommend leaving gear in the trunk all day if you're parked in direct sun--especially over a period of days.
I have gear in my car trunk, but I try to park in some shade. Right now, I have a 40D with a 17-40 lens on it and a 300/4 sitting on the front floor of my car, but my car is parked in the shade of my carport.
Thanks guys, it's troublesome finding shade at say a mall where my wife & daughters tend to live I think I'll start bringing in each time, glad to see it's raining at home
I live in Southern California and make frequent trips into the local deserts. I insulated my trunk with aluminum-faced bubble insulation. In addition, I keep my gear protected in a "9-day" day cooler. You can get "5-day" and "6-day" coolers at Target, K-Mart, and most sporting goods stores for about $30-40 for a ~30 quart size. The "9-day" coolers are sold at marine supply stores and cost about $100 for the same size. Forget regular coolers--they don't have enough insulation.
Digital thermometers with a remote sensor cost about $12 at Target and most hardware stores. Put the remote with your camera gear and monitor the temperature from the driver's seat. When temperatures in the passenger compartment of my parked car go above 110 degrees F, my gear in the trunk stays below 80 degrees F.
I'm not sure about lenses, but I was in China for two weeks and by the end of it the Canon 5d was suffering- shutter button was becoming unresponsive, making the camera a pain to use.
China is worse than FL for heat and humidity though. No wonder everyone there uses Nikons.
jdc562 wrote:
I live in Southern California and make frequent trips into the local deserts. I insulated my trunk with aluminum-faced bubble insulation. In addition, I keep my gear protected in a "9-day" day cooler. You can get "5-day" and "6-day" coolers at Target, K-Mart, and most sporting goods stores for about $30-40 for a ~30 quart size. The "9-day" coolers are sold at marine supply stores and cost about $100 for the same size. Forget regular coolers--they don't have enough insulation.
Digital thermometers with a remote sensor cost about $12 at Target and most hardware stores. Put the remote with your camera gear and monitor the temperature from the driver's seat. When temperatures in the passenger compartment of my parked car go above 110 degrees F, my gear in the trunk stays below 80 degrees F....Show more →
Wow thanks for that, I'll pop into Target for sure Thanks Again
I live in South Florida and I toss the gear into a regular igloo cooler. I've never had a problem with the gear getting too hot. Plus, the cooler also a theft deterrent. Passersby see a blue cooler in the car. Much less tempting than an obvious camera bag.
The only possible caveat to all of this is if you have a first-run 5D. They had glue problems. In conditions of extreme heat + extreme humidity, the glue can soften. Some mirror boxes fell out & some HPF's opened up at the seams. Canon issued a recall, but I doubt that most of them went back for service since most folks weren't experiencing the problem and figured "why bother?"
Other than that, I'd trust the experience of all these guys.
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Mtritt, Great idea about the cooler!
-Unless some thief comes along just dying for a beer, of course.
I think I'll start bringing in each time, glad to see it's raining at home 