Lens Cap & Heat questions

First question: How do you retain or what do you do with your lens caps when they are not on the lens? Such as walking around and taking a picture.

Second: This may not be a normal scenario for most of you, but.......... in my location it can get hot, especially inside a vehicle. Vehicle inside temperatures 140-160° F. On occasion, I may be going someplace where the camera gear needs to stay in the vehicle (extended cab PU) for a while before I will be able to use it for some fun. It is not an office job where the equipment could be taken into for the duration. I hope that is enough info to give an idea of the situation I may be dealing with. Any suggestions on keeping the equipment at a safe condition, temperature wise? I had toyed with the idea of placing the camera bag inside an ice chest san ice. All covered with quilt/blankets.

To answer your first question: I keep mine either in the camera bag or in my pocket. Depends what I'm wearing.

To answer your 2nd question: You're just asking for trouble if you leave your camera in a vehicle with that kind of heat! Severe damage can and will result! Your idea of the ice chest is a good one. I know photographers who do just that...but they DO add a little ice in a plastic bag.

fotojack said:

To answer your first question: I keep mine either in the camera bag or in my pocket. Depends what I'm wearing.

To answer your 2nd question: You're just asking for trouble if you leave your camera in a vehicle with that kind of heat! Severe damage can and will result! Your idea of the ice chest is a good one. I know photographers who do just that...but they DO add a little ice in a plastic bag.

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Thanks, I had thought about doing some test temperature readings inside an ice chest vs vehicle temp. The ice idea I was hesitant about considering moisture, but in a good bag or two I guess it would be ok. Ha!

If you're worried about the moisture, what about just one of the frozen ice packs rather than frozen water?


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Lens cap, not an issue. pant pocket, belt pack I use, or bag. when I started I used those straps that connect to the front. the hits the lens got annoyed me too much. looks amateurish as well.

I would NEVER leave my gear in the car. no matter what circumstances. when I would drive to my GF's place (1.5 hours) I take my two camera bags with me. having insurance is great but I dont want to go through the hassle of filing and rebuilding my gear. no way. the heat as well can cause a lot of damage. when I shoot weddings at venues I dont trust, I have a laptop alarm that I lasso around my gear, hide the unit where it cant be seen so if anyone moves it, the alarm goes off. maybe get that for the workplace if you need to. also, did location shoots of the BG where their car was broken into. they see the big ribbon on the car, wait for us to leave to go do the shoot, then break in. I would never leave my bag in a car.

RE Lens cap: Put it in your pocket or leave it in the bag. If you lose one, they're cheap to replace.

As far as leaving your gear in a hot car: Just remember that heat is the #2 enemy of electronics equipment, after water. I would think that putting your gear bag inside a cooler would do the trick. Some of them come with an ice pack that you can screw into the lid, which would be even better to keeping the temp down, and those usually don't have condensation issues. No one is likely to break into your vehicle to steal a cooler either.

Still. If this is your normal situation, it wouldn't hurt to get an Inland Marine insurance policy to protect your gear. If something does get stolen, your auto insurance will only cover so much, and it probably isn't enough.

rocketman122 said:

...looks amateurish as well.

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Odd. I've often heard the same thing about guys who point their on-camera flash straight up in the air.

Dont bother with lens caps for my sigma i use one of these in black

Waterproof Lens end Cap fits Canon Nikon Sigma Tamron 70-300 in 5 colours | eBay

Browncoat said:

RE Lens cap: Put it in your pocket or leave it in the bag. If you lose one, they're cheap to replace.

As far as leaving your gear in a hot car: Just remember that heat is the #2 enemy of electronics equipment, after water. I would think that putting your gear bag inside a cooler would do the trick. Some of them come with an ice pack that you can screw into the lid, which would be even better to keeping the temp down, and those usually don't have condensation issues. No one is likely to break into your vehicle to steal a cooler either.

Still. If this is your normal situation, it wouldn't hurt to get an Inland Marine insurance policy to protect your gear. If something does get stolen, your auto insurance will only cover so much, and it probably isn't enough.


Odd. I've often heard the same thing about guys who point their on-camera flash straight up in the air.

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I guess you can say that to all the pros in the wedding field who I know. it softens the light (even though a lot of the light is wasted) and isnt so specular. try it, youll be surprised at the difference. but only when youre a certain distance from the subject. too far and its not effective. almost completely with the head up. outdoors when im shooting family formals I shoot from 85mm and up and so I add fill at -1 to -2 for just a minute amount.

Lense cap stays in my shirt pocket

I normally carry the DSLR with me, as in India it can get really hot in the car (ambient is 45 degree so the inside can hit 60 degrees centigrade). I like the idea of ice box. Another long term solution is to have a small refrigerator in the vehicle. Here most of the high end cars have one that is run off the air conditioning circuit. That would keep your camera (and beer) cold for quite some time.

One thing that we have noticed is that the electronics does not give up ghost if stored at 60 degrees. It is the plastic parts that do. Most electronics will run as long as the internal temperature on the chips is below 80 degrees, but the packaging (and cooling) of consumer electronics is such that the interior reach that temperature after 30 degrees ambient.

I usually take my lens caps and toss them in my camera bag, or a pocket if I have one.

On the other topic, heat is an enemy of electronics and can damage latent images of film too, especially color slide film. In FL, it can easily top 160º in the car, especially if it is dark colored like my Jeep. It is never a good idea to leave photo gear in the car, not only because of heat, but because of the possibility of theft as well. I would either take it inside or leave it at home in lieu of leaving it in the car.

Thanks for all of the responses. The auto problem is created when I have to go out in the middle of nowhere on a job (heavy equipment mechanic and welder, etc.) As I am sure all can appreciate, sometimes when out there are some good photo opportunities that can appear. No camera, no pictures. This is not a every day occurrence, but when it does happen there aren't any buildings around to store my equipment in (watering the bushes is also the only facilities available, if you know what I mean). I had, as I stated originally, considered an ice chest, but I did not think about the "Blue Ice". That will probably do the trick, I'm sure. It keeps the food cold. Ha!

The lens cover, is not a big deal. Pockets have been my solution most times, but I usually keep the lens covered until actually taking a picture. Hey, I can look like a beginner with a tether on the cover, however because I am new to the Nikon. Ha!

Thanks again to all.

Oh, and theft was not much of a concern. Where I am at there usually aren't many others around and they would have more than they could handle if they try to get into the truck. We will leave it at that. Ha!

I love lens cap leashes! Since I am not a pro I don't have to worry about not looking like one (lol, anyone remember that thread).

I like the cooler idea with the reusable ice pack

These are great

bhphotovideo.com/c/product/850525-REG/Sensei_ck_lp_Cap_Keeper_Plus_Lens.html

I frequently shoot in hot conditions and I've found that putting my gear in a cooler/ice chest works fine. I don't bother with Blue Ice, personally, since the cooler seems to keep temps under control all by itself. If you want to use a block or two of Blue Ice, I'd wrap it in a dish towel to absorb condensation and call it good.

I only use lens caps when storing my camera. If my camera is "deployed" the lens cap is in the bag; I don't see the point in carrying it with me.

...

1) For the lens cap - a Hufa lens cap clip works well and keeps it out of the way, but to be honest... half the time, mine just ends up in a pocket.

http://hufaholder.com/product/hufaclip/

http://hufaholder.com/product/hufa-s-clip/

2) Hot car? My camera is on my back. Theft is random, but still makes me nervous. HEAT, on the other hand, will always be there in the summer, so the camera is in the sling bag, on my back, no matter where I go. I, too, have thought about the cooler solution, but I'm always nervous that someone will see me putting stuff in and out of the cooler (obviously not drinks) and be a bit too curious. I have used an empty cooler at some of my Scottish Games, when I'm close enough to keep an eye on it, but it's not convenient to have it with me or out in the sun. It serves 2 purposes then: keeps it from heating up so much and protects it from lumbering giants in kilts who sometimes drop heavy things in random places with impunity.

I leave my camera in the heat frequently. Never had a problem. It's not made of film! Obviously theft is a possibility, so I make sure it's in the trunk or backseat of the truck, out of sight. Don't advertise.

Note, if you have it in the A/C then take it outside you could get fogging, so watch that. I had this happen once with my D70 and had to wait 30-45 minutes for the lenses to clear up. The thermostat on the A/C died overnight, and it kept running, getting the temperature and humidity pretty low...then I took the camera outside into the humidity. Fog!

Lens cap usually goes in my left front pants/shorts pocket.

As far as the heat question goes, After having a bad experience with a film camera years ago, I like to keep things relatively cool. I had a lens that had to be repaired because the shutter leafs stuck together from some grease? that melted on them from the heat.

Pretzel, It would be great if I could keep the camera, etc. on my back, but crawling around under equipment, etc does not lend to that scenario. Ha! I'm basically looking for solutions that will allow me to have a camera available AFTER a days work while traveling home, etc.

Thanks again to all who have replied. Once I get some thermometers located, I will be doing some tests.

cwgrizz said:

As far as the heat question goes, After having a bad experience with a film camera years ago, I like to keep things relatively cool. I had a lens that had to be repaired because the shutter leafs stuck together from some grease? that melted on them from the heat.

Pretzel, It would be great if I could keep the camera, etc. on my back, but crawling around under equipment, etc does not lend to that scenario. Ha! I'm basically looking for solutions that will allow me to have a camera available AFTER a days work while traveling home, etc.

Thanks again to all who have replied. Once I get some thermometers located, I will be doing some tests.

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Film could deteriorate in heat, but electronics is more robust. The D3300 manual states that "Operating Environment" is 0-40 degrees centigrade, but here in Delhi it is around 43 degrees and the camera is working fine. The non-operating temperature should be at least 50 degrees centigrade if not more. Just let the camera cool down before using it. The most temperature sensitive part in a DSLR is the battery, so be sure to take it out from the camera if the ambient is going to be very high, less chances of leaking.

6 Tips: Keeping Your Camera Gear Safe in the HeatPhotoShelter Blog

How did the cooler idea work out? In a similar situation didn't see any sense in starting a new thread.