Camera in trunk of car on hot day?

[My2Girls66]

I am leaving for a reunion on Long Beach Isl. NJ this eve. I am stopping with the kids at 6 Flags for the day tomorrow- I want my D80 for the reunion but don't want to carry it at 6 Flags, will it be ok in the trunk of my car, inside its camera bag? Its going to be in the high 80's.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I've seen people here say they sometimes use a cooler. I haven't yet tried it myself.

 

[Gdad]

I try to avoid exposing my gear to excessive heat like that. An hour or two is one thing but I would definately not leave it locked in a trunk in a sweltering hot parking lot all day.

A cooler sounds like a good idea as long as it does not get moisture inside.

 

[boBQuincy]

Realistically, inside your trunk on a mid-80s day is probably not going to be as warm as carrying the camera on any Summer day at WDW.
I usually drive a minivan so there is no trunk, and it can get HOT in there with all the windows. I use a cooler in which to store the camera gear and the camera has never felt very warm even after hours in the sun. I also place something over the cooler to keep sunlight off it.

The idea is kind of like a firesafe, it will keep the inside temperature lower for some time but eventually the inside and outside will be the same temperature. With a good cooler by that time it should be night.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I leave my gear in the car in hot Houston weather pretty frequently. The most important thing is to keep it out of direct sunlight.

 

[My2Girls66]

Thanks. Now are we talking plastic cooler? I could do that. Does heat effect lenses? Should they go in the cooler, also?

 

[MICKEY88]

I don't know how true it is, but I've read that it's not a good idea, the theory being that the grease that is used to lubricate internal parts of camera and lens, can basically melt if the car interior gets too hot, that can cause the lubricant to not only run off of parts where it is needed, but it can run onto parts where it will cause problems..

that being said I agree a car trunk doesn't get nearly as hot as the car interior, I have a black car with fold down rear seats, and the trunk still doesn't get as hot,

what I've done already in a crunch situation is to use large garbage bags, I put a bag or 2 of ice in a garbage bag, twist it shut, then put that and my camera bag inside 2 large garbage bags and close that, there is always the risk of water and the camera bag meeting , but so far I've never had an issue and the camera bag stayed fairly cool..

if I know in advance I use the blue gell ice pack things...

 

[Code]

I don't worry too much about the camera itself, but if I'm leaving it in a hot car, I take out the batteries, as heat degrades the overall capacity of lithium ion batteries.