Film camera you keep in your car?

jay moussy

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jun 10, 2019
Messages
1,315
Location
Eastern MA, USA
Format
Hybrid
Do you keep a camera in your car, perhaps a beaten-up one, and how so?

I often find myself on a casual drive, and encounter that one old barn or other feature I wish I had a camera for.
Need to fix that, older SLR or even select P&S.
 

Ernst-Jan

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Mar 15, 2020
Messages
558
Location
NL
Format
Medium Format
No I don't, during the day it might get to hot and during the nights to cold.
Forgot my M645 in the car one night, after that I had problems with diafragm blades that were sticky. Probably it was too cold...
 

Donald Qualls

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
12,502
Location
North Carolina
Format
Multi Format
I carry one back and forth with me, currently my Weltini with f/2 Xenon, but recently a Kiev 4 with Jupiter-8 -- and sometimes a MF folder like my Voigtlander Rollfilmkamera or Super Ikonta B 532/16. I don't leave it in the car, however; as noted, huge temperature swings are bad for mechanical stuff and for film.
 

Kino

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
7,899
Location
Orange, Virginia
Format
Multi Format
Make up a tiny ditty bag to hang on a hook by the door and grab it on the way out. Just don't forget to bring it back in at night!
 

BradS

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
8,126
Location
Soulsbyville, California
Format
35mm
I very frequently carry a camera but will not leave it in the car for even a few minutes.
 

Paul Howell

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Dec 23, 2004
Messages
10,006
Location
Scottsdale Az
Format
Multi Format
A low desert summer is too hot, in the winter I carry a couple, in the front seat a point and shoot with Tmax 400, current is a Pentax IQ zoom, 38 to 120, in the back of my SUV under a trap a Yashica D, or a new to me Mamiya Press with 100 3.5 and a tripod. Not that I need to bother this year, not going places during the pandemic.
 

bsdunek

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
1,611
Location
Michigan
Format
Multi Format
I carry a Yashica GSN a lot, and sometimes, my Minolta 110 Zoom. Either one is great for general shooting. Hot days in the car are bad for cameras, but I never had cold hurt them. You do want to let them warm up in the case before using them - especially if it's been very cold, like -40 deg F.
 

Kino

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
7,899
Location
Orange, Virginia
Format
Multi Format
With Winter coming on, don't forget to include a resealable plastic bag that is large enough to fit the camera!

Avoid cold-related condensation on your gear!
 

flash26c

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
129
Location
Oregon
Format
Medium Format
I made up a kit to take with me, got lazy and just left it in the trunk, thinking that I would have it if and when I needed it. Battery corroded and ruined the camera. Seemed like a good idea at the time!
 

Paul Howell

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Dec 23, 2004
Messages
10,006
Location
Scottsdale Az
Format
Multi Format
That's a good point, with when I carry the Yashica or Mamiya I use an old GE light meter, the Pentax PS used a lythrum, not too worried.
 

George Mann

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
2,924
Location
Denver
Format
35mm
I currently keep all of the cameras I use in my campervan. But in a car, the camera would be my Pentax Espio/IQ Zoom 120.
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Allowing Ads
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
54,604
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
I keep an Olympus Trip 35 in the car.
 

Alan Gales

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
3,253
Location
St. Louis, M
Format
Large Format
No. I own a 2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a soft top. It's not the best environment for a camera to live in.
 

barzune

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Mar 28, 2010
Messages
281
Location
Ontario
Format
Multi Format
jay moussy said:
Do you keep a camera in your car, perhaps a beaten-up one, and how so?

I often find myself on a casual drive, and encounter that one old barn or other feature I wish I had a camera for.
Need to fix that, older SLR or even select P&S.
Click to expand...
Spring and Fall, I've been leaving my Rollei 35 loaded with Tri-X in the glove-box, but after reading these comments about the possibility of condensation damage, I'll carry it only when I go out.
 

jp498

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
Messages
1,525
Location
Owls Head ME
Format
Multi Format
I keep a rolleiflex automat, extra film, and a meter in an ammo/fishing case in my vehicle. It's waterproof/resistant so the temp changes don't cause condensation issues (unless I open it quickly after bringing it in from the cold)
 

Alan Edward Klein

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Aug 29, 2017
Messages
9,949
Location
New Jersey formerly NYC
Format
Multi Format
I've left cameras and film in the trunk of my car in my uninsulated garage for extended periods overnight and during the day in Summer and Winter and never had a problem. They were in hiking type cases. I live in New Jersey so the weather can get pretty hot and cold and humid.
 

ignatiu5

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
334
Location
Philadelphia, USA
Format
Medium Format
Pentax Spotmatic and three SMC Takumar lenses. In the car year round along with rolls of Tri-X. For exactly the reasons noted in the OP; there might be a time when in the car and I find something I want to shoot.
In agreement with others' notes here, yes, the car was broken into within days of moving to Philadelphia, and yes, the previous iteration of Spotmatic (actually the kit I learned to shoot with) was stolen. And yes, it was sad.
 
Last edited:

bluechromis

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
691
Format
35mm
Mine is a Canon AE-1 with FD 50 mm f/1.8 lens as well as with box Tri-X tucked under the driver's seat where hopefully it won't get too hot. It may be unfair to the Canon that I have it there as sort of expendable because it's a perfectly good camera. But it is one that one that has both enough capability and one I wouldn't be devastated if was stolen. But they say often the best camera is the one you have with you and often is has been the AE-1. My Yashica Electro GSN is another possible car camera. I'll have to get into the plastic bag thing for winter. Some say they would never leave a camera in the car and I would never leave one of prized cameras in the car. But I'm not that organized to always think to bring a camera every-time I might need one. I am lucky if can remember to leave the house with my cell phone. So leaving some camera in the car comes down to having any camera or not. There are many unexpected moments of opportunity that have come up that it was worth having a camera of some kind available.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register