Leaving camera in car

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craiginuk

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Craig
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I would like to carry my camera with me more often but as I carry a laptop and papers etc to and from home office and hot desk I can't really carry a dedicated camera bag as well.

Will I be doing any damage to my camera (Nikon D90 + a few lenses) by leaving them locked in their bag in the boot of my car. Just worried about temperature/condensation etc really.

Does anyone else do this?

Thanks

Craig
 
I'm far too concerned about having my equipment stolen to leave it in the boot, Ive seen too many posts on this forum and others from victims of that.
 
Will you cause any damage? I wouldn't have thought so. I used to keep a cheap old film camera in the boot of my car most of the time as I was fed up of missing great photo opps for the lack of a camera. Never had any problems, but it wouldn't have set me back financially even if there had been.

Whether you'd want to keep expensive gear in the boot of your car on a regular basis is more a question of how confident you are in it not getting broken into. Personally, if I'm out with my camera, it accompanies me at all times, even if I've stopped and have nipped into a shop to buy a drink.
 
Thanks for the replies - not too worried about the theft side of things as it is in a parking lot at my work. Very open with lots of people around. No cars been broken into in the few years I've been there.

I'm more worried about the actual effect on the camera. Can temp dropping to say 1 degree during the day be a problem for the camera?
 
I'd say dampness is more of a problem than cold temperatures - I wouldn't leave my gear in a boot overnight.
 
the more i think about it - I think the fact i'm asking the question means I know it's not the right thing to do :(

Will just have to find another way of carrying camera on me more often. Maybe a change of laptop bag.

Thanks all - Craig
 
I would have thought the cold can affect batteries. It can also get humid in a car which is why your windows steam up so condensation may be a problem. Maybe keep it in one of those big lock zip bags with plenty of insulation and a few of those little moisture absorbing crystal packets?
 
I would never leave my camera in the car, wherever I went. I always carry a rucksack, with the little Lowepro bag with the camera inside.
I once went shopping and at the till realised that I had left my wallet on the front passenger seat (along with my mobile) - I swear my heart stopped for a while.
Good to get away with mistakes, because they sharpen you up.
 
Another vote for never leaving a camera in the car.
My view on it is that the contents of the camera bag are worth a fair bit more than the car and would be a heck of a lot easier to walk away with than the car itself and a lot easier to remove than the radio.
 
I suspect a very hot day wouldn't be too good for it, some chips can overheat, whether this will cause damage when it's off I couldn't say, and I have heard of the glue on lens (older lens admitedly) softening in very hot weather. In the UK this time of year damp is probably a bigger issue.
That said now you have told the world I'd be more worried about theft, why not get a hafl decent compact and put it in your laptop bag?
 
Not sure i would leave any kit in my car at this time of year due to the temperature as batteries seem to drain quicker in the colder weather which can lead to extra charging putting more strain on battery life.
 
I never do but mainly due to paranoia that it will get robbed. Always have it in locked boot when travelling (car locks its self so never forget to) and never leave it unattended in the car.

As others said I can't imagine temp changes/extremes of temp and humidity would help it either.
 
Why not just get a dedicated camera bag that also has the laptop pouch and room for your papers? Maybe a messenger style bag?

We hot desk at my work and many of us have large rucksacks or sports bags.
 
Thanks Harvey - I actually have a Crumpler Messenger boy backpack (The full photo one) My macbook 13" fits in great. Just tried my slightly bigger work laptop and it fits fine. I think that will be the plan now.

Will ditch the work laptop bag and carry it in my camera bag. Also will think hard about working more electronically ie less papers to carry.
 
craiginuk said:
Thanks Harvey - I actually have a Crumpler Messenger boy backpack (The full photo one) My macbook 13" fits in great. Just tried my slightly bigger work laptop and it fits fine. I think that will be the plan now.

Will ditch the work laptop bag and carry it in my camera bag. Also will think hard about working more electronically ie less papers to carry.
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There you go helping to save the planet as well :lol:
 
If the camera is kept in a dedicated camera bag, I'd have thought it would be insulated against anything concerning temperature or moisture that you'd find in a car boot. Also what makes you think camera gear is anymore likely to be stolen from your boot or from your home. Unless a thief knows the camera is kept their, it's down to fate, not likliehood.
 
My reaction to all this is

What does your Insurance policy say about personal possessions left in the car ? How is your camera stuff covered ?
 
I'd advise against it, for the many reasons stated previously by others.

Also, if you do decide to do it, I can guarantee you'll have times when you're worrying about all your camera kit sitting in the boot of your car .......... don't give yourself the grieve.

If you really must have a camera at all times, buy a good spec compact.
 
Chr1stof said:
I would have thought the cold can affect batteries.
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Yep - a long journey in the cold last Christmas meant I quickly ran out of battery power at the other end (lesson learned since - always go armed with multiple batteries).

Would you not be better off with just carrying a compact around with you and leaving the SLR at home until you know you're going out to take photographs?

Has your mobile got a decent camera on it either? I use my iPhone all the time for random snapshots.
 
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My camera is often in the boot of the car. I see no reason why it should be subject to any extremes in temperature or environment that it wouldn't get outside (It will get a lot wetter outside with the British weather, that's for sure!).

I would never leave the kit in the car overnight, and I never put it in the boot whilst in a car park (don't want anybody to see what's in there). My insurance includes theft from the car as long as it's locked in the boot, and we sometimes go into town before going out for walks etc to use the camera, so I don't want to be carrying it around the town centre.

Steve
 
I've had my car broken into and a load of stereo equipment (and a bowling ball :lol: ) stolen.

They smashed in through the front passenger window, climbed onto the back seats and pulled the seats forward to get into the boot (I've got a focus estate)

For that reason, I never leave anything of value in my car.

However, my camera bag is small enough to fit in the spare wheel well if the spare wheel is inside pointing up under the access panel.

Only do this as a last resort but I figure it's the safest option.
 
craiginuk said:
the more i think about it - I think the fact i'm asking the question means I know it's not the right thing to do :(

Will just have to find another way of carrying camera on me more often. Maybe a change of laptop bag.

Thanks all - Craig
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Craig,
This is how I overcome the 'with me in the car all the time':

1bagcamerarwIMG_4484-1.jpg


1bagopenrwIMG_4486-1.jpg


The bag is a KATA DC437, the camera a D5000, roughly the same size as a D90. I only have one lens in this set up, a Nikon 18-70mm. Camera/lens in bag + wipe cloth and polarizing filter, note pad and pen, couple of SD cards and a spare battery.

I find the 18-70 perfect for this type of use, versatile, sharp and you can get surprisingly close up too. The whole lot fits between the two front seats, I have a Picasso. So if I see something, the camera is out in seconds, or I park up and have a wander. Carrying your whole lens kit at work, assume its at work; 'laptop, paperwork etc' . . . a bit impractical?? :thinking:

You may be able to adapt the idea to your computer/man bag?

CJS
 
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I always keep a couple of cameras in the boot but not my best kit. I have a Nikon D1X with an old 35-70mm lens and a F100 loaded with B&W film. I have always hated the fact that when you leave the cameras at home a good photo opportunity will arise. I don't have a choice of lenses but at least I get a shot.
When it is cold I just make sure I charge the batteries regulary. For what old cameras are worth now I think its worth taking a chance as they are cheap to replace.
 
I now carry two sets of camera kit depending on what I'm up to: my full kit is two Lowe-Pro bags with my D3 bodies and a few lenses, plus another Lowe-Pro with D3x, more lenses, flash guns etc. On top of that there's two more bags with all the lighting kit.
For 'normal' days out, it's just one Lowe-Pro with one body and a couple of lenses and a flash.
I quite often leave them in the car overnight when visiting friends as it's too much of a fag carrying it all into someone's spare room and doing it all again the next morning.
Security? Depends on where the car is parked I'd say. I have no qualms about damaging the kit at this time of year: when it gets colder next month, maybe...
The biggest problem would be leaving it in the car overnight, then moving straight indoors to a warm, humid environment like a domestic house (churches are usually just as cold inside as it is outside...lol) - it'll steam-up immediately unless you bring the camera-bags into that working environment and let the cameras adjust to the ambient temperature and humidity while inside the bags for a couple of hours first.
 
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Sounds like you've solved the problem - I have a fastpack 350 and do the same.

As for leaving it in the car? make sure you're covered on the insurance and do whatever you want, life's too short to worry about what may or may not happen (my camera insurance covers it).
Remember to take the memory card out and carry it with you, it's an inconvienience if someone nicks your kit but it's nightmare if they take all your pics with it!
 
I'd rather leave my kids in the car unattended than my D700!
 
Jelster said:
My camera is often in the boot of the car. I see no reason why it should be subject to any extremes in temperature or environment that it wouldn't get outside (It will get a lot wetter outside with the British weather, that's for sure!).

I would never leave the kit in the car overnight, and I never put it in the boot whilst in a car park (don't want anybody to see what's in there). My insurance includes theft from the car as long as it's locked in the boot, and we sometimes go into town before going out for walks etc to use the camera, so I don't want to be carrying it around the town centre.

Steve
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The thing you want to check with that is the small print.

I got camera insurance a month or two ago and having looked at varying policy one thing I noticed was some companies refuse to pay out when locked in the boot even with unattended car cover IF you can get to the boot from inside the car... ie rear seats fold down.

Sounds crazy but on a few forums found where some hadn't been paid out and others where people had phoned up to check and confirmed that it wasn't covered.

Needless to say I didn't bother paying extra for unattended car insurance after reading all that
 
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