Black Cameras and Lenses (Page 3): In the 1960's and 70's Nikon charged extra for black bodies and lenses; the cool thing to have for some people. In fact, for the serious photographer...

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

bedouin wrote:

I was recently in the desert where the temperature was 98 and there was no shade. My dslr froze. Removed first the battery then the lens. No joy. Wife had same camera brand that is white with white lens. Hers functioned fine. We all know black absorbs and retains heat better than any color. Yes some of my longer pro lenses are silver. I wonder why more camera bodies are not more reflective in color?

In the 1960's and 70's Nikon charged extra for black bodies and lenses; the cool thing to have for some people. In fact, for the serious photographer taking candid photographs, a black camera is psychologically less noticeable. I prefer black cameras and lenses, but I do take my share of candid photos and I avoid leaving my air conditioned house if the temperature outside is over 78.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

LWW wrote:

Black cameras are far more stealthy which is a key reason war reporters, photojournalist and wildlife photographers began using them way back.

Yes, black is just less noticeable.

drklrd Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

Country Boy wrote:

My D7100 over heated while I was doing video and using LV continuously. It shut down and I had to remove the battery and reinsert it to get it to respond. After it cooled, it worked fine. I later found in the manual that too much use of LV can cause it to over head. I would suggest taking a small light colored cloth or towel and keeping it over the camera until you are ready to use it. When we go into places that push the limits it is smart to make a few adjustments to lessen the impact.

This has been a known limitation of the D7100 for some time now as it was not really designed to do pro video and probably never expected to run longer than the 15 minutes record time the manual says it can run. Usually it shuts down when the run time is exceeded. So I have read in the manual of my D7200.
As for time in the sun. I know how hot it can get so I try to never leave a camera sitting out in open sun. A habit from film days as too hot a camera can change the film shifting the colors before processing or even melting the film slightly possibly enough to cause a jam while operating the film crank rapidly.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

PHRubin wrote:

Yes, black is just less noticeable.

Wouldn't that depend on where you usually shoot. Leica's green SLRs were, I believe, their Safari series, green for shooting in jungle locations. I would think that in snowy locales, white would be stealthy. Then for the desert SW, wouldn't a sand color be better? Just wondering.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

dreamon wrote:

The best answer is to use a cooler (without the ice) and take along a white towel to drape over the lens/camera combo.

I used to live in Phoenix, and that's how I handled it. Oh, yeah, never stow your photo gear in your trunk without some kind of thermal protection.

That’s a great idea. I’m in SoCal and 100+ Summer days are not unusual. I should get a cooler because I keep my backpack in the trunk.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

bedouin wrote:

I was recently in the desert where the temperature was 98 and there was no shade. My dslr froze. Removed first the battery then the lens. No joy. Wife had same camera brand that is white with white lens. Hers functioned fine. We all know black absorbs and retains heat better than any color. Yes some of my longer pro lenses are silver. I wonder why more camera bodies are not more reflective in color?

You might have a problem with your camera. I'd think of possibly having it checked out by a professional camera repair or possibly see if the warranty covers having it checked out.

erinjay64

Actually, lighter items ABSORB more heat than do dark ones. Both light, and dark, items both absorb, and reflect, but DIFFERENTLY. Light colors-white, etc-REFLECT LOWER heat frequencies (such as red, and infra-red), BUT ABSORB HIGHER heat frequencies (violet, ultra violet). Dark colors-like brown, and black) do the opposite...ABSORB LOW heat frequencies, and REFLECT AWAY HIGH heat frequencies. All color items will get hot if left in the sun long enough...but lighter colors-white, etc-will get HOTTER....as they absorb the hottest frequencies. Desert dwellers wear black, and brown, more than white, because they know.

Flyerace Loc: Mt Pleasant, WI

I think they are black for a several of reasons.
When cameras were first made, they were like Fords-you can have any color as long as it is black.
The black camera is less obtrusive in a professional setting.
The black camera is less visible in a car on the floor in the backseat.
The black camera is how it has always been. I purchased a RED Nikon D5200. Love the color. Was told that "no one will take you seriously with that camera"
Some pros have put their noses in the air but all the women love the red.
No one thinks it is worth anything. But I love it! Apparently the colored Nikons did not go over very well because you can't get one in anything other than black.
I only have one red camera all the others are black. Boring. My cars match my red camera.
There is nothing wrong with a black camera. There is nothing wrong with a red camera. It's the photos you produce, not the color.
Store your camera in the shade when not in use. I've never had one overheat no matter what desert I was in.
Flyer

KTJohnson Loc: Northern Michigan

98° and your camera "froze"? Sounds suspicious.

pbradin Loc: Florida

I live in Florida and have used my equipment out in the sun during the summer photographing sports car races and rodeos, that lasted several hours. I also have had my camera in my black backpack while hiking across Myakka Preserve (south of SR 72) where it is mostly palm scrub with no shade for a few hours with no problems (other than I came home thoroughly used up). Part of it may be if you were using an inexpensive body. Other than that, I have never had a problem with a camera that stopped working (other than being stepped on by an angry bull at a rodeo). My bodies are lower end pro cameras (Canon 7D II right now), but I use pro lenses. Some times these kinds of things are hit or miss. I NEVER leave camera bodies in a hot car. I will take some liberties with lenses that have metal barrels, but never ones with composite barrels and never a camera body.

Mr Bill 2011 Loc: southern Indiana

I've had my Canon 40D shut down in the heat, but it was an extremely hot July afternoon with the sun beating down, and I was using the burst mode much of the time. Once I moved me and the camera into the shade for a short while, the camera started functioning perfectly again. Has happened a couple of times; not a big deal.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

bedouin wrote:

I was recently in the desert where the temperature was 98 and there was no shade. My dslr froze. Removed first the battery then the lens. No joy. Wife had same camera brand that is white with white lens. Hers functioned fine. We all know black absorbs and retains heat better than any color. Yes some of my longer pro lenses are silver. I wonder why more camera bodies are not more reflective in color?

The newer chips have temperature sensors in or around them. They need them because of the heat generated while shooting a zillion frames a second. It helps to keep the internal workings of the chip from burning up. But that also means that if heated from an external source, it will also shut down. At my recent grangdaughter's graduation, my black body camera became too hot to actually hold. I had to actually shade it to be able to hold it. I have never had that happen before. But then again, I had never owned a totally black body camera before.

It is possible that your camera did overheat because of the sun. On an 85° day, one popular photo magazine put a heat thermistor in a white car and a black car. The white cars interior got to 165° and the black car went over 180° (the thermistor only went up to 180°) for an hour and a half. There are differences between the heat absorption of white and black. And this can affected your camera given the proper circumstances.

Besperus Loc: Oregon

Just a quick note on the subject. I believe Olympus sold a white OM 4 back in the day. And there was Pentax and their mirrorless camera. Kodak sold their name in 2014 to a lens/camera builder in Asia. They too had a mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses. 4/3’s format and cheap too.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Years ago, Pentax made DSLR's that were available in white, people used to call them "Storm Troopers". The idea didn't catch on too well.