Canon EOS cameras in car in summer - question

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.

Sure, generally speaking, equipment in vehicles could succumb from all kinds of loss causing issues, definitely agree...

More equipment is likely lost in car accidents and vehicular fires than heat related sitting-in-car failures too, but I am not sure that warrants discussions about how to secure gear so it doesn’t fly across the vehicle, or how to buy fire proof bags for equipment.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19236314
Sure, generally speaking, equipment in vehicles could succumb from all kinds of loss causing issues, definitely agree...

More equipment is likely lost in car accidents and vehicular fires than heat related sitting-in-car failures too, but I am not sure that warrants discussions about how to secure gear so it doesn’t fly across the vehicle, or how to buy fire proof bags for equipment.

Car fires are pretty rare, I think, I'm not going to look it up.

But good point about securing gear when the car is in motion too.

There are roughly 200k vehicles fires a year in the US, much more than the number of people losing gear due to high internal vehicle temperatures, I am sure!

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19236346
There are roughly 200k vehicles fires a year in the US, much more than the number of people losing gear due to high internal vehicle temperatures, I am sure!

A fire doesn't make high internal vehicle temperatures?

Yes indeed and hopefully at that point insurance takes care of everything then you just get new gear!

Probably the root cause of some of those fires perhaps, lol.

John from PA wrote in post #19236289
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.

When I travel, no matter if near home or while on the road, I always pause in a temporary parking location by the side of the road, some distance from our actual destination, to transfer things into the trunk, and then drive on to our actual destination so when we exit the passenger compartment contains nothing visible. And no one observed us putting things in the trunk there before walking off!

Visible items are the target of thieves, and many are too stupid to not break in to steal a child's backpack or a bag full of dirty diapers!

Criminals and thieves can be some of the smartest people in society. It's just a shame they don't use their talents for the good of humanity.

We had a vehicle theft ring around here once who would watch the movie theatre parking lot. When they saw a car come in that they wanted one of the crew would follow you into the theater, buy a ticket to your movie, and sit down in the theatre with you to make sure you are going to stay. After a bit they would signal the gang outside it was safe to make a move on your car.

This could apply to trunk contents theft as well.

Swayzee in Roadhouse had it right, keep the nice car for weekend driving and drive the crappy car to public lots!

The problem is I had my share of junk cars and couldn’t drive one any more in my older years.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19237323
Swayzee in Roadhouse had it right, keep the nice car for weekend driving and drive the crappy car to public lots!

The problem is I had my share of junk cars and couldn’t drive one any more in my older years.

I still do this. My wife's car is the shiny new one we use for trips of when she needs to go about town. I have always had old beaters some costing no more than $100. When it's time for an oil change, I just sell it and get another. We go shopping in this car, I use it for work, haul stuff and such. Right now I have a 2003 E150 conversion van that's still running strong. A bit old but she's a workhorse.

My wife gets to drive my late son's Lexus while I drive a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee, sounds unfair until you realize that the Lexus is a 1998!! Still going strong will be an antique in 3 years!

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19237323
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Swayzee in Roadhouse had it right, keep the nice car for weekend driving and drive the crappy car to public lots!

The problem is I had my share of junk cars and couldn’t drive one any more in my older years.
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The only car I have is a junk car. . Can't possibly afford anything nicer, and probably never will be able to.

That's probably why my car has never been broken into - because it is old and all beat up and dirty and so cluttered inside that it looks like a mobile homeless shelter. . Little would anyone guess that there is always about $20,000 of photography gear lying under the clutter at all times. . And when I say $20,00, I mean that is what I could get for it now if I sold it used on eBay ..... I paid much more for it.

Priorities.

I would much rather have $20,000 in camera gear and drive a $3,000 car than have a $20,000 car and have $3,000 in camera gear. . What kind of car I drive, and its condition, has very little affect on my life or my happiness level, while the kind of camera gear I use has an enormous affect on my life overall, and has a great affect on my happiness level.


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #19242990
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The only car I have is a junk car. .
Priorities.

I would much rather have $20,000 in camera gear and drive a $3,000 car than have a $20,000 car and have $3,000 in camera gear. . What kind of car I drive, and its condition, has very little affect on my life or my happiness level, while the kind of camera gear I use has an enormous affect on my life overall, and has a great affect on my happiness level.

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Wise, too. Depreciation on a car is almost endless, whereas used lenses seem to retain good value. Digital bodies is another matter...shown to be 36% compounded annual depreciation, until it almost has to be given away for its lack of demand in the marketplace.

I am a sports car fan and love to drive any distance when the vehicle is fun to drive. I have had over 45 cars since college, and I have had my share of clunkers like the Chrysler K car, a 71 nova, a 2.2 turismo, an old Taurus and bonneville, etc.

I liked them from a standpoint of never worrying about door dings, scrapes or break ins (sort of). However they were still targets of theft for drug running dealers etc and were easy to start without a key, so I never left valuables in those.

Getting back to the original question . . . When I lived in Los Angeles I shot a lot of college sports. I pretty much always had my gear in the trunk of my car summer and winter and I never had any problems with it.

Wilt wrote in post #19243010
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Wise, too. Depreciation on a car is almost endless, whereas used lenses seem to retain good value. Digital bodies is another matter...shown to be 36% compounded annual depreciation, until it almost has to be given away for its lack of demand in the marketplace.
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That is one of the primary reasons why I always buy used bodies, and usually wait until I can get one for less than 50% of the original price. . No matter how badly I need something, it kills me to buy something, and then a year later see how much I could have saved if I had just waited another year. . So I wait until the used prices level off a bit, and then buy.


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