Leaving your camera in the car....

Not sure this is the correct discussion fourm for this topic, but do any of you leave your camera in the car? I like to take my son to the park on nice days and I would like to bring my XSi with me. Problem is, it gets hotter than hell in the car when I wouldn't be using it, and I don't want it damaged. I would like to bring it on my hunting/fishing/campin​g/scuba trips and so forth but it would be exposed to hot environments (in the car or left in the tent). Thanks for any tips or suggestions.

The only thing I would worry about leaving my camera in the car would be that of theft. Although heat is rarly a problem in the UK!

Like heck! I've had my car broken into enough times to make me leery of leaving anything of value in there, especially not my camera. Ironically enough nothing of value's ever been taken when it's been broken into despite it being in there (e.g. breaking a window where there's a nice Manfrotto tripod on the seat below that very window and only stealing a cheap sleeping bag out of the boot) but.... no.

Heat and cool I wouldn't be all that worried about unless you're in extreme conditions; I wouldn't like to leave my camera in the car on a 45 degree day in the Australian sun - though that's just me being cautious, I'm sure someone with more electronics knowledge could chime in with how likely it is to cause some actual damage.

Get a small cooler and put it in the cooler then put the whole thing in trunk instead of the cabin.

It would be in the rear of my Grand Cherokee under the sun shade. Sounds like it should be ok. THANKS!

I believe that the electronics will be OK but I've heard that leaving your equipment in the car can cause grease in the lens (on the autofocus mechanism) to lose viscosity and get on the aperture, making it stick.. but not sure about that..

I always bring mine in just to be safe

Yea I leave it in the boot (or trunk as you say stateside) the boot is usually a lot cooler as its in total darkness in their (not that it gets too hot in Ireland anyway)

I deadlock the car if I'm leaving a laptop/camera or anything else valuable in it. Gotta love those deadlocks, even if you had a key you would not be able to open the door, even if you broke the window and got inside the car you still can't open the door or boot without the clicker thats in my pocket

I too think if it's in a bag or something so that it's not directly hit by the sun, it should be ok.

I have to agree with olly_k above on this one, certainly as far as the UK is concerned, as heat and cold aren't really an issue over here. Theft would be my greatest worry. And, some insurance companies can be less than helpful in the event of a claim, refusing to pay out unless the equipment is kept in the boot (trunk) and that this is inaccessible from the car interior (unlikely in most of the cars I know).

This question was going through my head on Wednesday, it was around 36C here and my lowpro was very HOT.

I have left my keys in my cars most all the time over the last 8yrs, sometimes even my kitted out Lowpro overnight several times, never known of anything being nicked locally.

Now I have more gear and shoot anything that moves, and everything that doesn't, I find I have my gear with me all the time.

Steve

Canon Rebel XSi manual........page 12......Handling Precautions #4 .... "Do not leave the camera in excessive heat such as in a car in direct sunlight. High temperatures can cause the camera to malfunction."

If it's in the trunk it's out of direct sunlight but the whole inside of the car (even trunk) still gets pretty darn hot. It can kill pets/children if they are locked up inside a hot car...might kill a camera too... just my 2 cents. I wouldn't ever leave my camera in the car all by it's lonesome.

I carried my 300D with me for 2 years in my car in the southeastern US. Temps outside from 5 degrees to 98 year round. Never had any problems with the gear, the camera and and lens are still working like a champ today.
It was always in the front passenger floorboard in a padded Canon bag and within easy reach if I needed it. I do have 14% tinting on my windows which keeps out a lot of sun but it still got hot in the car.
When arriving to my end of the day destination I would move the bag to the trunk or sometimes take it inside to the motel or my home to upload to my laptop or PC.
This is just my experience and I am in no way liable for any damage you may experience doing what I did....and continue to do now with my 30D.
YMMV

I use a clean dry cooler to when I need to leave mine in the car, I also throw a beach towel and other junk over it to help with insulation, but also too make things look like I just have a messy car.

Jack

I leave mine in the car. Heat won't affect it and it is insured against theft from a vehicle as long as it is stored in the boot (trunk).

As others have said leave it in the boot\trunk