Camera Equipment and thermal stresses

[Keith Baker]

Greetings, There I was driving down the road when I saw the shot....of course I didn't have my 4x5 or 35mm cameras with me because I wasn't going out to photograph. I liv e in Boston and I don't keep my stuff in the car because I worry that the summer heat and the winter cold will damage either the cameras/light meters etc or the film. I shoot both color and B&W film. I would like some feedback of the sort s of abuse (thermal in particular) camera equpment (lens/bellows/meters/etc) and film can take. Thanks

[David Richhart]

Keith... Photography is a hobby for me, and I support that habit by laying brick. I have a 35mm Pentax K1000 camera that has been riding in a camera case behind the seat of my work truck for over 10 years. I load it with color slide film. I bought it at the time because I wanted a cheap and reasonably good camera to document my work, and for all those times when you wish you had a camera with you. The only real precaution I take is keepint the outfit in a plastic bag to help keep the dust out.

After all the hard use and abuse it still works great... better than I would have ever imagined. I live in Ohio, and it has seen rain, and snow, and temperatures from below 0 to above 100 F.

Imagine what some of the old Speed Graphics and Nikon F cameras have been through in combat situations... -Dave

[Mike Mahoney]

I wouldn't worry too much about cameras or meters, etc., but film does not like heat and/or rapid temperature changes.

As a previous post indicated, you're not likely to put a LF camera through anything that hasn't already been done.