The Tropical camera was, nominally, ideally suited to the extremes of temperature and humidity associated with the tropics. In reality most tropical cameras probably never went further than the English Channel and the finish was a way to justify producing a more expensive camera. Lizars claimed that teakwood, usually found in tropical cameras, had advantages over Spanish mahogany: 'Teakwood. This wood being full of natural oil of the tree which it retains offers resistance to the two great extremes, moisture and dry heat. Warping and twisting will therefore be reduced to a minimum. The appearance of the wood when polished is very like that of Mahogany. It will therefore be seen that Teakwood is the most suitable material for a varying climate, and in addition to causing little or no trouble, the lifetime of the Camera is enormously prolonged'.