Film camera you keep in your car?

bluechromis

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I have an idea about acceptable risk with gear. I think of all this great analog gear that is languishing unused in the the back of someone's closet, collecting dust in a thrift store shelf or just throw in the garbage by people that don't know. I think that stuff deserves to be used. There is one kind demise of gear that is just stupid, like absentmindedly leaving it on an airplane or a bus. But there are situations out in the field where we have to take risks with gear--and possibly with ourself. We might be hanging off the side of a boat or on a mountain peak. Obviously it depends on how valuable and how cherished is the camera or gear. But, for example, if one climbed into the canopy of rainforest tress in Amazon and unexpectedly a Harpy Eagle swooped down and snatched the camera, to me that means the camera died in combat, it was an honorable death, an acceptable risk.
 
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Vaughn

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No I don't. I don't use a car much these days, and when I do it is often to move LF gear 50 miles north or south into the redwoods.

If I have not fallen too far behind my development, I am likely to bring the Rollei TLR along on hikes and stuff. I just do not use a 35mm -- otherwise keeping my old XA2 on the bicycle would make sense.
 

jimj

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Interesting idea to consider. I may try with a thrift store beater to see if I even end up reaching for it.
 

perkeleellinen

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I left a Ricoh GR1s in my car overnight during winter by accident and in the morning it wouldn't turn on. Very stressful day with me warming it up in my pocket, it finally came back to life in the afternoon.
 

guangong

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Not in my car for reasons already mentioned: too hot, too cold, theft. Carry a Rollei 35, Minolta 16 or Minox in pocket. Ultra small format not very suitable for landscapes, but handy for simple or small subjects. Sometimes a small folder such as Contessa or Retina. If a large pocketed coat a Kiev clone of Contax II. Camera in a pinch...iPad.
 

Huss

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Why does a camera have to fit in a pocket? Straps work. But of course I do often take something like a Ricoh FF1, which IMO is far superior to a Minox and I prefer it to a Rollei 35.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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I tried that for a while, but here in Hawai’i, I found myself parking in spots that got too hot too often. I do often keep a tripod in the car, though, in case I bring a camera, so that I have one less thing to carry from the apartment to the parking garage.

When I lived in New York and used public transportation, I’d usually have a folding camera like the Voigtlander Perkeo II or Vitessa L in a pocket of my briefcase.
 

Alan Gales

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Huss said:
Sounds perfect for a Nikonos.
Click to expand...



Remember when Jeep had a deal with Levi's? Their seat materiel wasn't denim but it looked similar to Levi's jeans.

Nikon should have had a Jeep edition Nikonos complete with denim looking plastic on the camera. They could have had commercials with photographers jumping out of their mud covered Jeeps holding mud covered Nikonos cameras. "Nikonos, cameras as hard working and adventurous as Jeeps and Levi's.".
 

foc

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The only car I would keep a camera ( a Zenit of course) in would be a Lada Riva (VAZ 2105) because no one would break into it.
 

Sirius Glass

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The downside of keeping a camera in the car is that the heat can cause the lubricants to migrate and screw up the shutter, aperture and or fog the lens surfaces.
 

Huss

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Sirius Glass said:
The downside of keeping a camera in the car is that the heat can cause the lubricants to migrate and screw up the shutter, aperture and or fog the lens surfaces.
Click to expand...

Insurance companies used to provide a roadside package that included a disposable film camera to record the scene of an accident if you were unfortunate enough.
 

alter ego 6x9

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Sirius Glass said:
The downside of keeping a camera in the car is that the heat can cause the lubricants to migrate and screw up the shutter, aperture and or fog the lens surfaces.
Click to expand...

Depends on where you live. I would worry more about the battery drain due to cold in my geography (that’s why I keep Olympus Trip which has no batteries)...
 

Alan Edward Klein

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Lithium batteries hold a charge five times more than regular ones and they hold up in cold. They're more expensive though. Of course, that for batteries like AA. If you;re using the camera manufacturers battery, you get what you get.
 

Stats

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I have a grab and go kit. It consists of a Hasselblad 500c and assorted lenses, but I always bring it back inside at the end of the day. Other than that, I like to keep a 4x5 wooden pinhole camera in the back of the car with a loaded holder of Tri-X film, for any possible landscape images.
 

Alan Gales

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George Mann said:
The secret to keep a camera in a vehicle is to insure a proper amount of airflow.
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Ok.

But doesn't that create a new problem? If your vehicle's windows are down or your top is down for airflow then how do you keep out the thieves? I don't know how Denver is but here in St. Louis we have almost as many thieves as we do mosquitos. At least the mosquitos disappear when the weather cools off.
 

George Mann

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Well, I am currently in Arizona. But one always has to weigh the risks and advantages of what they choose to do.

Is your camera valuable, or is it something that you can afford to loose?
 

MattKing

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I don't leave a valuable camera in the car.
I leave a camera in the car that is durable and simple, on the expectation that I will rarely if ever need it, but will have it there if I do.
 
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