JLB

I keep my Nikon 5500 in my car so I always have it at hand but I'm concerned about the temps. Does summer heat in a closed up car affect digital cameras? If so, what's the effect? Anyone have a good solution?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

The passenger cabin can get to 140° in a closed car.
Store it in a cooler, but over time it will become just as hot. But it will help.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Just keep it out of direct sun and you won't have a problem. I leave mine on the floor behind the passenger seat. That way I can reach back from the driver's seat and get it any time I want it.

Silverman Loc: Michigan

1. Whenever possible "Crack" your windows "Open" just a tad, letting the "Hot-Air" to escape from the interior of your Car. (but only if it is not raining.)
2. Do attempt to just remember to take your Camera with you each time you leave your House, avoid having a "Thief" see your Camera in Your Car, then break your Car Window to retrieve it for themselves, Never leave it in your Trunk, that is a definite OVEN.
3. Let your Car's Air Conditioner run 24 hours a Day to keep your Camera COOL.
4. If possible keep your Car parked in a nice cool Garage.
5. Put "Ice-packs" in your Camera Bag when it is left in Car, although they will not last very long, and moisture could damage your Camera and equipment.

My 1st choice would be #2.
My 2nd choice would be #4

Depends on where you live;
Alaska or Florida

duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa

I agree mine travels everywhere I go extreme cold of heat has not harmed any of my equipment for the past for years. The camera is acclimated to the environment this way also.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

With a "normal" amount of care, I'd be more concerned about heat effecting the batteries than my camera itself.

Remember that excessive heat can loosen some parts that are glued by the factory. Example: Although it was stored in a fire proof safe, one guy told me, one of his lenses looked good at first but the glass started to delaminated after a forest fire burned his house down.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I do not keep my cameras in the car. They are safer in a cooler at home with a desiccant for the high humidity present in the summer months in Florida. The temperature inside a closed car gets pretty high although I cannot predict the final outcome of such camera.
By the way, the camera gets hotter with use due to the battery but that is normal and temporary.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Read The *Fine* Manual and learn the operating and storage temperature ranges approved for your camera by the manufacturer.

Leaving camera equipment in cars is generally a bad idea. Plastics warp. Capacitors in electronics freeze and crack open, or dry out in the heat. Lubricants congeal in cold, or run in heat. Lens elements glued together separate. Lens elements constrained by retainer rings can crack.

As a trainer for one of the largest portrait companies in the world, I saw this issue all the time. Our policy was clear... Cameras and lighting gear must remain indoors at night, and out of the sun and hot cars during the day. Extreme temperature swings generally result in condensation developing on cold surfaces as they warm up. This can cause corrosion of metal parts, failure of switches and connectors, short circuits of electronics, streaks on optical parts...

If you have to keep a camera in your car for a short time in the summer, wrap it in plastic, put it in a styrofoam cooler with a "blue ice" block or two, and don't forget it's there!

Most camera gear performs best between 55°F and 85°F. Battery performance deteriorates rapidly at lower and higher temperatures.

Oh, and lest I forget, if you're a photographer, avoid buying cars with dark paint and black interiors! They can get as much as 40°F HOTTER in summer than white cars with light colored interiors.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I live in Florida....the dash can hit 160 in minutes, cabin temps can reach that level within an hour. Even my old white Jeep Cherokee (was my go-to-work, now its officially a "hay wagon") with the window shades gets hot as hades after an afternoon in the sun (dark tint and windows open 1"). If I keep a camera in any of my vehicle, I like to use an old Styrofoam cooler...holds the heat back for some time...and looks like a crappy old cooler...never mind that it might be full of gear. Most of the time my gear is inside in AC.....just to much humidity here.

lamontcranston

Great advice, as usual, Mr. Burkholder. Thank you.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I would never leave it in the car. Theft is a big problem around here. The thieves would likely break a window and steel it from you. Put it in the trunk or take it with you. I bought a car that has a regular trunk instead of a hatchback type of car. Hatchback cars have no safe place to store a valuable item. If you do use the trunk (or boot), don't forget to lock the release that is usually located inside of the car. A friend of mine put his camera equipment in his Toyota trunk and didn't lock the lever. He was followed from the wetlands to a pharmacy and his window broken while inside of the store and the lever opened the truck and his equipment gone! Also, I find that it doesn't get as hot in the trunk as it does in the car because there's no windows for the sun to shine directly in like there is inside of the car.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

A nice, cheap styrofoam cooler is a great disguise for camera gear. But nothing is great, if thieves are going to watch you load your gear, and follow you until you stop.

MW

I live in Phoenix and NEVER, NEVER leave my camera in the car. The first part of the camera to suffer will be the battery - heat kills batteries and high heat kills them faster.

Remember if it is cool day outside it will be warm in the car. If it is warm outside it will be hot in the car. Etc

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Yes it does, and it should be avoided, because it can seriously damage the camera beyond repair. Get a little cooler and place it in it and put the cooler in the trunk.

Mr Bill 2011 Loc: southern Indiana

In addition to negatively affecting my cameras temporarily if they get too hot in the car, I've also found that the heat will affect my cell phone if I leave it in the car and it gets too hot. After it cools off though, it works fine again.