Temperature tolerances of EOS R6 & RF24-105 lens

[dshombert]

I'm wondering what range of temperature  fluctuation a camera and lens can tolerate. I carry an R6 and the RF 24-105 lens in the back of my car, and I've measured temperatures as high as 110 degrees inside the camera bag at the end of a summer day.  Can the camera/lens combo tolerate that on a regular (i.e., daily) basis?  What about winter - the other end of its tolerance range?  Is there a camera bag specifically designed for this purpose (insulation)? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

The camera's and lens's manuals should provide the temperature range information. 

[shadowsports]

5DIV is correct.

Operating temperature: 0–+40°C / 32–104°F

Operating humidity: 85% or less

Its up to you.  I personally would not leave my camera gear in a hot or cold trunk.  I'm not the right person to ask though.  Even my bikes live inside the house. 🚲 I avoid the extremes where possible.  The gear can handle the hot or cold, but I would not operate the camera outside of either extreme.  Batteries don't like extreme temp fluctuations either.  

[BurnUnit]

I'm just grabbing at straws here, but I wonder if an insulated, soft sided, lunch bag might help keep things at least a bit cooler. No ice or freeze-packs inside with your gear, of course. Though I think I've seen some of them that had an external pouch or pocket to hold one of those flexible gel freezer packs away from the contents. Might help keep things cooler on at least a day-at-a-time basis.

[normadel]

Chilling the camera, then exposing it to the heat immediately will cause condensation on/inside the camera......unless the camera is in an airtight bag in the lunch bag and you let it acclimate to the outside temperature before opening the bag.

[BurnUnit]

Good idea . . . Better safe than sorry. But I'm looking at this more as a way to insulate the contents from excess heat. Even with an external, isolated cool-pack I don't think you'll drop the temperature of the gear inside by any great amount.

[wq9nsc · Accepted solution]

110 degrees shouldn't hurt the camera or lens, just keep them and their camera bag out of direct sun.  I would keep the windows/sunroof cracked because depending upon where you are the temperature can go a lot higher inside a car.  Even if it got a little hotter in the car, it isn't going to damage the camera being stored BUT if you start at a high ambient temperature and then generate a lot of heat then the internal temperature is going to soar.

I have been shooting for years with my 1 series Canon DSLR gear and that includes shooting sports when it is hot and the gear is being directly hit by sun.  I have shot playoff games where the temperature is in the low 20s meaning the camera is in that for several hours. 

Electronic components have a wide temperature tolerance range but what you have to avoid is creating excessive operating heat in an already hot device.  Shooting long high bandwidth video clips is going to generate a lot of heat and that is worse in more compact bodies.  Battery long term life is reduced by excessive heat and activity level is reduced by extreme cold so you will have shorter usage between recharge cycles in the cold.

I take good care of my cameras but I didn't buy them to sit on a shelf.  The 1 series are Canon's best in terms of environmental resistance and I have shot with them in the cold, heat, rain, and snow.  The rest of their line will handle temperature well with the caveat that many don't manage internal heat buildup as well as the 1 series bodies.

Rodger

[dshombert]

Thanks, Rodger, that is very helpful.  I think I'm going to follow your lead - leave the camera in the car, but not on the very hottest days.  I started carrying it because I just missed too many shots while out & about, and I've been glad on several occasions that I had it with me, but I was worried about the temperature effects on the structural parts of it - maybe the sensor could warp, stuff like that.  I'll just be more careful about the most extreme days.  Thanks for your help.

[ebiggs1]

My rule of thumb was and is if it is too cold to hot for me it is too cold or hot for my gear. That said I have done work in conditions that are far and away rom what the Canon manual says is normal operating conditions. I have been in a hurricane, a blizzard and I did several shoots in the US southwest desserts.  However, camera/lens and photographer were all well and ready to shoot again. I don't recommend the first two and I did not repeat them ever again.

As to the question of leaving gear in the trunk of your car, no never do that is my advise.

[ebiggs1]

"Electronic components have a wide temperature tolerance range ..."

Rodger has great knowledge of electronic devices as well as photographic gear. However, here the issue goes a bit farther beyond just the electronics. Your lens has lube inside. It gets thicker in very cold conditions and gets thinner in very hot conditions. In very hot conditions it can stray into places where it does not belong. Now if you have periodic C&C done this is never an issue but 90% of you will never have a C&C done on your gear.

I will always advise to never store or leave your camera gear in the trunk of your car.