MW

Depending on how hot is hot where you live your cell may continue to work for now the life of your battery will be shortened. Personal experience with iPhone, Garmin GPS, flashlights and the car battery itself. I live in Phoenix it is more drastic here ( ex: many car batteries die in three years or less). Of course, you live around Puget Sound, the Upper Penninsula, etc this will be a lesser problem for you.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Although the oils of today are quite different than those of the past, it will effect the oils on the moving parts. And battery life will be affected. Temperatures in a black car out here in Colorado can reach 160° to 180° on a 78° day. If one does not think that is possible, one can rent or buy a temperature image sensor that will prove it.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I have a very simple philosophy regarding cameras, and other precision equipment. I never leave them anyplace I wouldn't leave me for the same period of time.
--Bob

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

What is you address and what kind of car do you drive?

This is a bad idea. Temps have a way of liquifying lubricants and helping them migrate from places where they belong to places where they don't. And then there is the issue of those rubber grips and the adhesive used to attach them to the body. And the same goes for lenses. I wouldn't leave my gear in the car for all of the above reasons.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

I have a policy about NEVER leaving equipment in my car for any extended length of time, especially in the Summer. I drive a black SUV and in the Summer months, I'm sure I can put one of those Pillsbury frozen pastry products in there and have a snack when I get back! You know- Nothin' says Lovin' Like Somethin' From the OVEN..."! I'm certain I could toast bagels in the glove box. Summers get HOT even here in Canada and Winters are very cold. So..I don't allow my gear to freeze either what with condensation and all of those issues. I haven't even mentioned smash and grabs when parked on the street- sadly, all cities have those kinds of occurrences.

Might seem like overkill but I am a believer in expansion and contraction of metals and plastics and running or congealing of lubricants in extremes of temperature. Batteries are not high or low temperature friendly either.

At one time I ran a side business of electronic flash repair and modification and shared a location with a camera repair service. I can tell y'all stories but I will spare you the gory details! Oftentimes "car" related.

Daily professional use is hard enough on my equipment so I don't push it when I don't need to. This keeps the insurance rates and repair bills to a minimum.

Better safe than sorry. Advice for an old photographer!

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

use to be a camera repair tech.Good quality digital cameras can take a pretty good temp.swing.The real problem is in the lenses.All lenses have at least a focus ring.that ring has a helical thread used to ,guess what? focus.that helical has grease on it.extreme heat can cause some of that grease to evaporate onto the aperature blades.When that happens the blades stick together.Expensive repair,not fun.I have fixed many in the past.But more embaresing is that I did it to myself on one of my own cameras.Just be careful where you leave your equipment.

ejones0310 Loc: Tulsa, OK

Back in '68, I accidentally left my film SLR in the floorboard of my car during the summer. I was concerned that the film would be damaged, but the film was fine. What wasn't fine was the lens. The lubrication on the pivot points of the leaves that control the aperture melted and ran onto the blades. Any photos taken after that were always over exposed unless they were taken with the aperture fully open. The leaves were very slow to stop down when the shutter was tripped and never reached their setting.

I ended up having the lens cleaned and relubed to fix the problem. I always wondered what other damage the heat did.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

I would never leave a camera in the car. If there was a problem its tough to replace a camera($). I also would never leave lenses in the car. as the lens gets warm the air inside expands, as it cools it contracts and draws in outside air. maybe that air will have dust in it. Now its inside the lens. would a bit ofdust make a difference? Probably not, but why worry about it.

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

not to nit pick,but aperture blades run dry.only only place grease is used is the focus and or aperture rings and the inner focusing tube.that grease is pretty thin so it can evaporate quite easily.

Mr Bill 2011 Loc: southern Indiana

so, if you're travelling and carrying 2 or 3 cameras and several lenses with you, what's the answer: buy a white car, store cameras and lenses in a styrofoam cooler in the trunk with a couple of "blue ice" blocks, and park in the shade wherever possible?

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Basically, yes. They also make a cooler that has an electronic cooling system and runs off the cigarette lighter. It is not all that efficient at cooling, but it will keep what is in the cooler about 20° to 30° cooler.

Silverman Loc: Michigan

Just curious, the Styrofoam Cooler idea, is that used with or without any "Ice-Packs" to keep the inside of cooler at a allowable and safe temperature for the Camera??
I would guess that if "Ice-Packs" are included in the Cooler, they might need to be wrapped in a "Towel" to avoid any moisture from affecting the Camera, would that be a logical conclusion??

PixHound Loc: Marietta, GA

There are many mini 12VDC powered coolers on the market (see: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072V6NTQD/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B072V6NTQD&pd_rd_wg=yd4Rv&pd_rd_r=1GFX3GYRFG8YR446P0D0&pd_rd_w=EgvuK)
I've considered getting one of these and putting it behind the passenger seat for easy access to a second camera (not my "good" one, since it could be attractive to thieves) . It would only require the addition of 12V outlet that would stay on with the ignition off, but that is not too difficult. My commute is long enough so that the constant battery drain would not be an issue. My main issue has been that none of the ones I've seen have thermostatic control. The temperature inside is just some amount below ambient (usually around 35 degrees). This is probably enough cooling to protect a camera, but overnight (or on a cool day), I'd have to remember to turn it off. If I found one the right size, and with a thermostat, I might try it. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else has experimented with one of these.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I wrap the ice blocks in zip-lock plastic bags.