Best color car for photography?

[Tom Peterson]

I have a white car. I love leaving my photo gear in the trunk in the hot summer sun and not worrying about frying the electronics. But I'll be getting a new car sometime this year, and I'd like to get a different color. Should I be concerned? Do you folks with dark-color cars have problems with cameras getting too hot?

 

[Jeff15]

Hello Tom and welcome, my car is red..........

 

[TWX]

Where do you live?

I live in the desert southwest, I am only willing to leave the camera equipment in my "Dark Cherry Metallic" '95 Impala SS for extended periods of time in the winter. Otherwise it comes in with me. There's possibly another total month that I would consider doing that in my white pickup truck, but I definitely would avoid late spring, summer, and early fall.

Here, interior and trunk temperatures regularly hit 160°F in the summers, and most camera manufacturers only guarantee proper function from the freezing point of water to 40°C, around 105°F. That doesn't mean that the cameras won't work outside of these ranges, but for me, I'm not interested in baking my camera fifty five degrees higher than what the manufacturer considers acceptable.

 

[TWX]

And amusingly, when I read the title of your post before reading the contents, I was going to launch into a diatribe of how different paint finishes like clear-coat versus single-stage, in different lighting conditions, on different body-shapes (curved versus hard-edged, etc) affect the results.

I like taking pictures of cars but I'm not going to claim to be very good at it. Doesn't help that most car shows' displayed vehicles have their hoods open to show off their engines, and cars don't look as nice with the hoods up. I have found if owners are nearby they're usually willing to lower the hood so a photo can be taken.

 

[Original katomi]

Would not leave my kit in the car that gets that hot.
The effects on expansion, the lubricant and long term effects on the plastic
These are some of my reasons
I used my camera in neg 3 deg C and found that I had problems with it being slow and the lens not auto focus and being stiff in manual.
Camera shop team said the cold made the lubricant to thick
Don’t know the answer, poss a temp controlled box, maybe

 

[Tom Peterson]

And amusingly, when I read the title of your post before reading the contents, I was going to launch into a diatribe of how different paint finishes like clear-coat versus single-stage, in different lighting conditions, on different body-shapes (curved versus hard-edged, etc) affect the results.

I like taking pictures of cars but I'm not going to claim to be very good at it. Doesn't help that most car shows' displayed vehicles have their hoods open to show off their engines, and cars don't look as nice with the hoods up. I have found if owners are nearby they're usually willing to lower the hood so a photo can be taken.

Thanks. I live in the Northeast. We get hot summers, but not as hot as yours. Thanks for your advice. It is so convenient to store cameras in the trunk; I think I'll stick with white.

 

[Designer]

I have a white car. I love leaving my photo gear in the trunk in the hot summer sun and not worrying about frying the electronics. But I'll be getting a new car sometime this year, and I'd like to get a different color. Should I be concerned? Do you folks with dark-color cars have problems with cameras getting too hot?

It would be enlightening to find out for sure how different colors affect the interior temperature, but my gut feeling is that it won't make much difference, if any.

As to storing camera gear in the car, I just wouldn't. The trunk of a car is not environmentally controlled, so expect extremes of heat and cold, with dust and humidity as well.

 

[Tom Peterson]

Thanks. I would think white would reflect the heat, and when I open the trunk in 90 degree weather everything feels cool to the touch. I don't leave it there for days at a time, but when I'm shooting at an outdoor event for several hours, I don't have too many options. Anyway, thanks for your reply. Based on what I'm hearing, I'm going to stick with a white car.

 

[Tropicalmemories]

Where I live silver and white are considered to help keep the interior less hot. But most of the solar gain is via the glass, and the air in the trunk connects directly to the cabin via the air ducts for the ventilation (air from the vents in the dash exits via the trunk - so color is only one factor, and reflective glass tint is another.

 

[webestang64]

Here you go....... Does the Color of Your Car Really Make It Hotter? | Stone Mountain Volkswagen

 

[compur]

I live in Los Angeles and drive a white car. The car's interior including the trunk gets plenty hot in the Summer. I wouldn't leave photo gear (or anything else I valued) in the car in hot weather in direct sun.

 

[Derrel]

Use an insulated cooler?

 

[Solarflare]

I love leaving my photo gear in the trunk in the hot summer sun [...]

*silently bangs his head against the wall, then leaves the thread again*

 

[bepsdubai]

Definitely the red color car is best for photography. It is my personal experience that photos with red color car are remarkable. The black color is also good.

 

[Space Face]

Kinda missed the point of a pointless question imo