Is it bad to leave your digital camera in your car all the time?

Question

I have a cannon powershot and I need it on a regular basis for my job and it is quite embarrassing if I forget it at home or the office. Will high or low temperatures ruin it if I leave it in my car all the time?

Answer 1

Put it in an insulated bag, and place it under the seat.

For the hot season, purchase a window shade and a solar car cooler to keep the temps down. Better for your car interior anyway.

http://www.amazon.com/Rite-Life-Reduces-Conditioning-Consumption/dp/B000IC04LA/ref=sr_1_2/104-3112962-3490367?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1174514052&sr=8-2

If it doesn't get too hot or cold, you'll be ok.

Answer 2

All I can tell you is I would leave my digital camera in the car and every time my battery would be drained. Yes, high or low temps. do ruin the life of the battery. It is just a matter of getting into the habit of making sure you have this piece of equipment the same as you do a cell phone or watch. Since I carry a handbag I make it a habit to place the camera bag with it so I remember to have it with me.

Answer 3

It depends on the car. If you have a car with high security and you lock it in the trunk, it might be okay. I would be careful though because heat and cold can damage a camera and the film inside. I think that would be pretty embarrassing also. Especially with all of the hard work put into taking good photos.

Answer 4

To add to all of the above, if it's below freezing in the car, moisture inside the camera can condense and put a layer of frost on the electronics. When it thaws, you have water, which can short out the circuitry.

Answer 5

From the owner's manual:

"Avoid using, placing or storing the equipment in places subject to strong sunlight or high temperatures, such as the dashboard or trunk of a car."

"Battery operating temperatures: 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit"

"Battery storing temperature: 32 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit"

Keep your camera with your car keys or hang it by the wrist strap from your door knob.

Answer 6

Yes, extreme temperatures are bad for electronics of any kind. You can buy an insulated camera bag that should protect from both hot and cold.

Answer 7

A good thing you can do is attending a comprehensive photography course. If you can't afford it there are many online courses available.

I recommend this great web site: http://learnphotography.toptips.org

It has very well made and explained video lessons that will help you a lot.

Answer 8

Yes

Answer 9

1

Answer 10

Film is the biggest potential problem, since you won't even know if it's ruined until you've sent it off to be processed, but a digital camera doesn't use film. That doesn't mean, however, that your "film", being flash memory cards, won't have similar issues. SanDisk claims that their Extreme III line (which is considerably more expensive than pretty much anything else I've seen on the market) is designed for extreme environments and is less prone to damage due to being dropped or subjected to harsh climates. It's not necessarily something you'd need to buy, but it is certainly something to keep in mind if you plan to store your camera in your car long-term.

Temperature extremes are the next thing to be concerned about, as electronic devices won't work properly if they're just a bit too cold, and many vital components can be permanently damaged by going too far out of range. If you still have your camera box and/or instruction manual, there should be a temperature range listed that will tell you how far it can go in either direction without any permanent damage, though it still might not work without being warmed up first if its at the low end of the range. You can probably get away with it, but you'll definitely want to watch out for any weather patterns that swing way out of range so you can bring it indoors.

And of course, theft is a major concern. You'd normally want to keep an expensive device safe in the trunk, but that'll subject it to the worst heat of the summer and won't allow it the benefit of being able to heat up in the passenger compartment in the winter (which, again, could mean that you'll have to wait for it to do so before you can take any pictures with it).

If you've got a glove-box that's large enough to accomodate your camera, store it in there and make sure you keep it locked. If you've got an SUV/van/minivan, obviously you won't have trunk, so that's a non-issue, though you'd probably be able to get a box installed in the back end that can be used to secure valuables much like a very small trunk but would be kept more or less at the same temperatures as the rest of the passenger compartment. I wouldn't advise doing so with a truck, though, for the same reasons I suggest not storing in the trunk of a car.

If you do have a car, and your camera is not small enough to fit in the glove-box, you're pretty much going to risk having your car broken into if it's sitting out in plain sight (and if it won't fit in the glove-box, it might not fit under a seat either). If you don't specifically need the capabilities of your current camera, you might want to consider buying a backup camera of the compact or ultra-compact variety to store in your car and keep the regular one near something that you take with you every day for work (like your car keys) or near the door.

Of course, there's still one other problem that you're going to face, and that's battery life. All digital cameras will draw a charge just to keep track of the date and time. Also, standard NiCad or NiMH rechargables have a high shelf discharge, and will run out of juice just from sitting around for a few weeks to a month without even being used to power anything. If your camera uses standard AA or AAA batteries, there are NiMH batteries that use a new technology that enables them to both deliver a slightly higher voltage (1.25v vs. 1.2v) and retain about 80% of their charge after a full year of just sitting around. These would be your best option for not having to make an emergency stop to pay $10 for a $5 pack of batteries at the nearest gas station, as you'd probably only need to swapt them out for a top-off charge once every month or two, unless you're actually depleting the charge through use (and you can always keep a spare set tucked in your glove-box, coat pocket, or at work in case you do run out of juice). Circuit City sells the new Eneloop brand, and I've seen what appears to be a comparable next-gen Rayovac NiMH battery around as well.