Canon EOS cameras in car in summer - question

I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee so no trunk.

I have been leaving the drivers and passenger window open at home during the day (I am retired) BUT I keep forgetting to close them at night and several times have had it rain into the inside of the car!

John from PA wrote in post #19235630
I would not bet on that. I have a small tag type thermometer attached to my gear bag. It goes to 120 deg F and on many an occasion I have found it pegged after a 45 minute lunch. Having said that my car is a burgundy color so that contributes.

Still better than the place where the glass traps the heat. Try placing a thermometer in the passenger compartment at the same time.

I never leave any camera in the car, except windshield camera.
Someone claimed never seen threads here about cameras going bad after been in the car.
But I have seen threads - my gear was stolen from the car.

I'm just not this kind of person to leave equipment in freezing or melting environment.
All I do for many years now is wearing medium size Tamrac Ralli bag everywhere. It is very practical. I keep wallet, mobile phone, how this known USA made knife-tool called and quality camera, if I'm not using.
I commute, hike, ride on bicycle, go to store with camera and this bag over than one decade.
Offers way better mobility than keys, phone, wallet, tool are tossed in dusty pockets and pulling pants down.
Car somewhere won't protect camera from the rain, dust and such. Camera bag will.
The key (car, house keys are also in the bag) is to get functional bag. Bags like Domke are not functional for everywhere, anytime bag. Too primitive for it. Tamrac Ralley does it right.
And if I really want go without bag, I see zero issues to wear quality camera on me. Been recognized by people who haven't seen me for years because I'm doing this. Wearing cameras in the stores is allowed in countries where I have been. USA included.

Depends on your area... here we leave cars and houses unlocked many times, and my gear sits in my vehicles in a bag on the floor board with a towel or something over it.

And while being in a hot car in the summer nonetheless... I am not lugging my gear around everywhere I go, roller case or not, and i have pelican cases, backpacks, etc.

Bad habit to leave gear where it can be seen. You can be in the car and they'll steal it if they can see it.
https://www.dpreview.c​om …-traffic-in-san-francisco

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19235964
Depends on your area... here we leave cars and houses unlocked many times, and my gear sits in my vehicles in a bag on the floor board with a towel or something over it.

And while being in a hot car in the summer nonetheless... I am not lugging my gear around everywhere I go, roller case or not, and i have pelican cases, backpacks, etc.

If you ever come to visit San Francisco, never ever leave anything visible inside the passenger compartment of the car. Automobile break ins a few years ago numbered one every 17 seconds somewhere in SF, especially near any high tourist activity location like the top of Lombard Street windey section. The next year it 'improved 20%', meaning the auto break ins only occurred every 19 seconds.

Break ins this year are way down, because COVID travel dropped precipitously. So instead the thieves are now breaking into homes, since the tourist victim traffic is down so far.

Just depends on area and the type of people...

Cost of living is low and great areas to live in. Again too we have tinted windows to help with heat and prying eyes, and gear is on floor covered. Anyways theft has nothing to do with the question at hand.

my area, well about 30 years ago the neighbor down the street had a break in but they are on the main road and no garage so people could tell when the aren't home. We have a garage. We never lock the door when home but do lock it when gone, even is a very nasty dog. I often forget to lock my car, again about 30 years ago someone tried to start my wife car at night, I do try to remember to lock the car even when I leave my window down (by mistake). All windows heavy tint except for driver/passenger and windshield -= I can't see in them in the daytime.
I have been leaving the 5D and 28-135 lens in a Tamrac on the rear floor with a blanket over it. I don't leave it at stores because I no longer go to stores I use curbside everywhere due to the virus (good excuse) REALLY it is really tough for me to walk into a store due to bad knees and reluctance to use a walker.

I think I will start keeping the 5D in the house, and start carrying my Olympus TG-850 in my pocket as that way I can carry it anywhere and it is a mirrorless (granted P&S) it takes nice pics, better than my cellphone.

I never leave any of my guns or ammo in the car, but don't worry about theft at home and very little when out.

Heat and Cold: Well I think you guys are correct regarding the heat on the gear, so will carry the P&S

Thank everyone

John from PA wrote in post #19235630
I would not bet on that. I have a small tag type thermometer attached to my gear bag. It goes to 120 deg F and on many an occasion I have found it pegged after a 45 minute lunch. Having said that my car is a burgundy color so that contributes.

OK, I did a test yesterday by placing a wireless grilling thermometer in the trunk of a stationary burgundy Honda Accord. The car was parked in full sun from about 10 AM to 2 PM EDT and the air temperature here in Philadelphia reached 74 deg F. The grill thermometer peaked at 141 deg F, perhaps not high enough to damage most digital circuitry, but again I wonder more about the lenses, hence my previous response (#10).

By the way, many people have stated "The trunk of a car will be significantly cooler than the passenger compartment". Something perhaps not realized is that a substantial amount of air flows through the trunk while the car is in motion. I wonder how often that fact may be contributing to the idea that the trunk doesn't get hot? After all after a long drive, your gear, luggage, etc. is relatively cool.

Behind the rubber bumpers of most cars (out of sight and out of mind) are one way vents, sometimes called exhausters. These are in both the front and rear of most vehicles. They are designed to allow the flow of air through the passenger area and out the trunk when the vehicle is in motion. (Remember "flow through ventilation" of the 1970's?) In the passenger department they also act to minimize the pressure that occurs due to closing a door. In the trunk they provide airflow from the passenger area through the trunk when the car is in motion for cooling thus helping to maintains a trunk temperature close to the selected temperature of the passenger compartment. They also help to insure that fumes like gas or exhaust don't enter the trunk from outside the vehicle.

The image I've attached shows the rear vent from a Volkswagen. A quick search find the original patent application from Chrysler at https://patents.google​.com/patent/US6409591B​1/en if you are interested.

John from PA wrote in post #19236226
OK, I did a test yesterday by placing a wireless grilling thermometer in the trunk of a stationary burgundy Honda Accord. The car was parked in full sun from about 10 AM to 2 PM EDT and the air temperature here in Philadelphia reached 74 deg F. The grill thermometer peaked at 141 deg F, perhaps not high enough to damage most digital circuitry, but again I wonder more about the lenses, hence my previous response (#10).

By the way, many people have stated "The trunk of a car will be significantly cooler than the passenger compartment". Something perhaps not realized is that a substantial amount of air flows through the trunk while the car is in motion. I wonder how often that fact may be contributing to the idea that the trunk doesn't get hot? After all after a long drive, your gear, luggage, etc. is relatively cool.

Behind the rubber bumpers of most cars (out of sight and out of mind) are one way vents, sometimes called exhausters. These are in both the front and rear of most vehicles. They are designed to allow the flow of air through the passenger area and out the trunk when the vehicle is in motion. (Remember "flow through ventilation" of the 1970's?) In the passenger department they also act to minimize the pressure that occurs due to closing a door. In the trunk they provide airflow from the passenger area through the trunk when the car is in motion for cooling thus helping to maintains a trunk temperature close to the selected temperature of the passenger compartment. They also help to insure that fumes like gas or exhaust don't enter the trunk from outside the vehicle.

The image I've attached shows the rear vent from a Volkswagen. A quick search find the original patent application from Chrysler at https://patents.google​.com/patent/US6409591B​1/en if you are interested.

Hosted photo: posted by John from PA in
./showthread.php?p=192​36226&i=i93108180
forum: Canon Digital Cameras

Try a thermometer in both the passenger compartment and trunk at the same time. It seems you've repeated post #14- where the only temperature in the trunk was measured.

From your patent citation:
"The aperture is enclosed with a vent. The vent typically forms a check valve function to assure egress of air or moisture from the trunk compartment but not to allow the ingress of air into the trunk compartment from the exterior of the vehicle."

So typically, the trunk is isolated from the passenger compartment when the car is parked and shut down.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19236139
Just depends on area and the type of people...

Cost of living is low and great areas to live in. Again too we have tinted windows to help with heat and prying eyes, and gear is on floor covered. Anyways theft has nothing to do with the question at hand.

Reminder of theft is certainly a pertinent response. I suspect more gear is stolen from cars than damaged from heat.

John from PA wrote in post #19236226
OK, I did a test yesterday by placing a wireless grilling thermometer in the trunk of a stationary burgundy Honda Accord. The car was parked in full sun from about 10 AM to 2 PM EDT and the air temperature here in Philadelphia reached 74 deg F. The grill thermometer peaked at 141 deg F, perhaps not high enough to damage most digital circuitry, but again I wonder more about the lenses, hence my previous response (#10)....

You got me interested. Here in Texas the sun is insanely hot in the summer. A couple years ago my son wondered if you could cook an egg in the sun. We tried it and it did better than I would have expected.

Link to cooking egg here.

Capn Jack wrote in post #19236257
Try a thermometer in both the passenger compartment and trunk at the same time. It seems you've repeated post #14- where the only temperature in the trunk was measured.

I am not contesting that the passenger compartment is not hotter than the trunk. I’m simply trying to get across that the trunk may get hot enough to damage some items. I also measured 141 deg F, almost 70 degree above the ambient outside the vehicle. What would the trunk temperature be when the ambient is 90 deg F? Perhaps 150 or 160 deg F? I simply would not want my 70-200 “L” lens in that environment.

Capn Jack wrote in post #19236260
Reminder of theft is certainly a pertinent response. I suspect more gear is stolen from cars than damaged from heat.

In this regard, the very large company I worked for recommended that transfer you computer gear to the trunk while you were mile or two away from restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, etc. It was said, and I won’t refute it, that gangs would watch these type of places, and minutes after you moved the stuff to the trunk, while in a restaurant parking lot for instance, they would break into the trunk knowing that you would be in the restaurant for an extended period. I know from experience with several members of my engineering team who had computers stolen, that they were stolen after the transfer occurred in a restaurant parking lot and often at night.

John from PA wrote in post #19236285
I am not contesting that the passenger compartment is not hotter than the trunk. I’m simply trying to get across that the trunk may get hot enough to damage some items. I also measured 141 deg F, almost 70 degree above the ambient outside the vehicle. What would the trunk temperature be when the ambient is 90 deg F? Perhaps 150 or 160 deg F? I simply would not want my 70-200 “L” lens in that environment.

I understand now. I still maintain the trunk is likely cooler than the passenger compartment, so I'll choose the lesser of the two temperatures.