Over heating : New Cameras

Over heating is the major issues always pop up during new cameras are introduced this started during digital evolution in cinematography.

Reason is when cameras have more Resolution,frame rate and compact form factor.

Red, Arri cameras initially faced heating issues due to introduction of raw data recording features and they were able to fix it adding coolent fans and advanced algorithms for processing huge data.

It is common for the camera to be warm to the touch. … When capturing video at high resolutions or high frame rates, the camera may become quite hot to the touch as it requires lots of processing power and large amounts of data being written to the SD card very quickly
cameras that are designed to be small and lightweight don’t have as much options for dissipating the heat, and therefore, they are more prone to overheating. Mirrorless cameras need to produce a live view from the sensor, so the sensor has to deliver data at a high frequency.
Imaging brands such as Canon, Sony and others introduced full-frame mirrorless cameras. If we talk about two of them that were really important for camera users -it is Canon EOS R5 and Sony a7S Mark III. Both these cameras draw the attention of professional photo-takers and videographers. While Canon’s EOS R5 has an 8K RAW video recording feature, the Sony’s a7S Mark III can record 4K videos at 60p.

With such high-end video capabilities, it is common that cameras will come with thermal limitations. There have been reports that say Canon EOS R5 overheats when shooting 8K or even 4K videos. Canon itself has been transparent about the thermal limitation of its new mirrorless R5 camera. In fact, a new report by Canon Rumors suggests that Canon is delaying shipments of the EOS R5 and EOS R6 cameras due to overheating issues.

On the other hand, at the product launch of Sony a7S Mark III, the company officially said that they have managed the airflow well to prevent overheating problems. Sony claimed that the a7S Mark III can shoot 4K videos at up to 60p resolution for over an hour, double the time of Canon EOS R5, without overheating.

Canon with  R5 and  EOS R6’s overheating issues and introduced an additional RF mount adapter which works as a fan-driven cooling chamber to remove hot air from inside the image sensor compartment.

Here some suggestion on heating issues.
Capturing a video with interchangeable lens cameras and compact cameras is growing in popularity. These cameras are great for recording short movie clips, but are not designed to replace the non-stop video recording capability of camcorders. All manufacturers in the industry have defined a limit of up to 29 minutes, 50 seconds for continuous video recording with these cameras. This limit, however, can often be much shorter depending on the camera.

Sony interchangeable lens cameras have an upward limit of 29 minutes, 50 seconds for non-stop video recording. This time will be affected by the following factors.

Ambient temperature
The number of clips being recorded at once
The amount of time the camera is allowed to cool between clips
When using the camera to record long movie clips or shooting many continuous bursts of still pictures, the temperature inside the camera increases. If the temperature becomes too high, a warning icon may appear and the camera shuts down to protect the circuitry. This is not a failure and the camera simply needs to be turned off for several minutes so it can cool down.

Maximize the Available Continuous Recording Time for Movies
Turn the power off when the camera is not in use.
The duration of time available for movie recording varies with the temperature or condition of the camera before you start recording. Anytime the camera is on, the internal temperature will increase.

Avoid exposing the camera to direct sunlight as much as possible
For interchangeable lens cameras (DSLR and SLT models), the SteadyShot setting to Off.
When you have the SteadyShot turned off, using a tripod will help reduce the shakiness of your video.

And finally the heat issues is all about calculations of data…..Major camera manufacturers fix it with their New firmware releases.

Those who bought a new model face heating issues need not worry. It will be solved by firmware update or recall of the model.

Speaking to Adnt Ratna chennai camera dealer Mr.Ranjith Kumar said that he has given two components of Canon R5 and still he did not receive any complaint regarding over heat problem.

He continues to say R5 camera is special not because of 8k video, it shoots brilliant 4k video, we should see 8k as future proof and at present there is no need for 8k video except for re framing.

– C.J.Rajkumar

Author/Cinematographer