How hot is too hot?

Every so often I can kick myself when a good photo op shows up and I don't have my camera with me. What are the hazards of routinely leaving my camera bag with DSLR, batteries and lenses in the car during the summer? Security is not an issue.

Ken

I'm not sure about the limits, but I worry too. My solution for years has been to leave the gear in a small ice chest. In my last foray into the desert I went so far as putting a couple of frozen "gel packs" in the chest. That was probably unnecessary, because even without the packs, the inside of the ice chest doesn't warm up all that much.

Well, if the heat can warp CD's that are left in a hot vehicle, I would imaging camera damage can occur. Personally, I'm not willing to take that risk. I want even leave mine in a hot vehicle long enough to go in a grocery store. Like Hank, I keep an ice chest handy at all times.

I leave my camera gear in m car year around. In winter, that means somewhere around 40 below. In summer, the temp can go over 100F. I'm sure it's at least 130 inside the car. I put the bag on the floor so it's not in direct sun. I used to have film damaged (color shifts) when I let it in a hot car, but haven't had any problems from the digital cameras.


Kent in SD

I haven't checked yet, but it occurs to me that the manufacturer probably lists a max temp for their products in the tech specs, both in the owners manual and online. Maybe that would be an eye opener for all of us.

The Canon website shows the working temperature range of the 5DII as 32 - 104 F. As Kent said, temps inside a car in the summer will mostly likely hit 130 on some days.

The Canon website shows the working temperature range of the 5DII as 32 - 104 F

Then better not bring it to Phoenix where our summer temp often reaches 115 degrees F and the interior of a car quickly exceeds 140 degrees when parked.

I leave my Nikon gear in my car most of the time except the hottest couple of months, but even then I'll take it with me when I'm headed out. It can spend 1-2 hours in the covered back of my Toyota RAV4 if I don't take it out for a toasty hike.

When I still had a job I kept my old Nikon D70 with kit lens on the floor behind the driver seat for the weird things I'd see along the drive to and from work. It cooked in the car all day long even in summer and always worked regardless of how hot it got.

Edit: just checked the user manuals for the D70 and D200: the temperature range for storage on both is 14 to 122 degrees F (-10 to 50 degrees C).

This is empirical Ken, but with car temps so hot I can't hold the steering wheel, I can open the ice chest and handle camera gear without discomfort, or even the sense that it's really warm. And that's without the gel packs. I'm a fan of the Coleman 25-quart Party Stacker cooler, roughly big enough for a case of beverages. At 22"x13.5"x8" it's not as tall as most coolers you've seen, which makes it a lot more convenient for storage in cars and limits the tendency to roll and slide while on a seat as you drive. Best of all, they're usually less than $20. Coolers come in all sizes though, and you can match dimensions with your gear.

I design SCUBA gear for a living. Here is what happens when you leave a SCUBA tank in the car in the heat of the sun. I've also seen plastic (fins, masks, regulators) returned as they are completely melted from being left in the trunk of the car. No telling what it could do to your camera, but exploding batteries are pretty common.Look here: http://www.thescubaguide.com/gear/tanks/safety.aspx

The coolest place in the car is under the seats. I left a thermometer under there to see the difference in temps during the summer in NH. While the car was roasting at eye level ( around 115 degrees, it was a relatively cool 70 under the front seat. I often leave my camera behind the front seat on the floor and throw a couple of towels over it to insulated it from the warmer temps above. I f security isn't an issue, I crack the sunroof in tilt position to let hot air out that rises, but keep the sliding sunroof light screen closed. Essentially, this creates a slit for hot air to get out bu not letting any sun in. Crack the window a hair. I've had no issues.

Excellent Harry! Thanks for that.

Great post - answers a lot of questions I have had myself to leaving my gear in the car, especially during the Summer months. Harry's suggestions reminds me of my film days - camping in ME during the Summer months I would wrap towels, sleeping bags, anything I could use to insulate the film as it sat in the tent. While the temperature rose during the day the film would stay very cool as the inside of the tent itself would be hot and muggy. Should work with digital gear as well and Hank and Jackie's cooler trick sounds like something I need to try. Great info.