Maybe somebody requested that the 7D behave more like a RED ONE, so the Canon engineers added an overheating feature. ;) ;) ;)

Okay, so I shot several back-to-back clips at 1080p30 (this morning) and 1080p24 (just now), indoors in an air-conditioned room at around 74 deg. F. *without* getting the temp. warning indicator.

However, as posted earlier, under the same conditions I couldn't get a single 480p60 clip to record a full 30 minutes before encountering it. At 720p60 it happened four minutes into the second clip.

So my guess at this point is that the 60p frame rates will produce the temperature warning sooner than shooting at 24p or 30p. In my opinion 1080p24 is the frame rate which is the least taxing on the camera. I'll bet it works hardest, and therefore heats up more quickly, at 480p60 because of all the real-time down-conversion it has to do. Knocking it down to 640x480 from eighteen megapixels is probably a bigger job than going to 1920x1080 or 1280x720. But I'm just guessing.

I use the 5d2 as a supplemental cam for the past few months and have never shot a clip longer than 4 mins - and while I do feel that the body warms up, I've never seen a temp warning. I can see if you were running this thing full out, that the body would continue to heat up and possibly cook.

If this real a serious threat - wouldn't we have seen more cooked 5d2 bodies by now?

I couldn't find any warning in the 5d manual (though I may have missed it). Maybe this is an ulterior motive behind the 12 minute recording limit?

How about outside with no air conditioning? I can't always shoot in comfortable conditions.

I just read the warning on the manual, it said holding a hot camera for a long time could slightly burn your hand, I wonder how hot it would get for them to put a warning in like this, and maybe this is the reason why they recommend using UDMA card to avoid banding and noise?

Page 13 of the 5d2 manual:

"Cautions during prolonged use

When you shoot continuously for a prolonged period or use Live View shooting for a long period, the camera may become hot. Although this is not a malfunction, holding the hot camera for a long period can cause slight skin burns."

I have a 7D, though I've not tested it for prolonged video time. (My attitude is that the 7D is to be used only for video shots where you can control, and possible retake if you have to.)

However, I've had overheating issues with the Canon T1i as well, which uses the same APC sized sensor.

Huh, I didn't see 'built-in handwarmer' on the list of new features. It'll make winter shooting a bit more comfortable... :)


Charles, I know that deflated feeling.


I had it when playing with my new Pentax K7. It could not be treated like a video camera in connection with the temp issue and using the LCD like a normal video LCD. For live events or wildlife work where there is some waiting in between spontaneous shots, it gets tricky. I had to switch out of Live View and use the optical viewfinder to frame shots, then switch back to Live View and hit the trigger. Kinda like needing to pre-roll a tape for a few seconds before a shot. Cumbersome.

I returned the K7 for the 7D.

If Don Miller is correct-- "touch a button and it's ready to go" --then it may not be that crippling (except when near continuous shooting is required). Leave it in still mode, or at least keep LiveView off, then switch to video 'instantly' for the shot.

Looks like there are two heat sources, the processor and the LCD. Too bad they didn't design in a swivel LCD that would've simultaneously self-ventilated by being out in the open, away from the body.

The camera self-protects from meltdown, so I look forward to some experimentation when mine arrives, venturing into the Heat Zone, ie recording while the Temp Light is on, looking for a correlation between image degradation and heat. Falk Lumo, one of Pentax's beta testers, ran his K7 25 minutes while the Temp Warning was lit, in 27C ambient conditions.

Just went out for an hour shooting in about 85 degrees. Took a little more time to set up some shots using sticks. More time between takes giving the processors a little more time to cool and the temp warning never showed. 1080 24p.

I would guess that the heat sources are the sensor, LCD backlight, and the two processors.

If the LCD is dimmable, turn it down all the way. Use a hood or loupe (or HoodLoupe!) to see the LCD better. The 5D2 includes a light sensor that adjusts the backlight automatically. If the 7D has one, cover it with your thumb or with tape.

With the backlight turned down, the battery should last longer as well.

Maybe an external monitor is part of the solution. That turns off the LCD completely.

My finished video done despite the lockups and heat warning is here Shooting China’s 60th anniversary parade with the 7D, 5DmkII and Nikon D700 DSLR News Shooter

Hope I can figure out a work around for this, cool box maybe?? it shouldn't come to that.

Dan

What frame rate were you shooting at? Do you get lock ups at 1080 24p?

*edit* read the excerpt. So the whole day you were shooting 720 60p with 7D? No 108024p at all?

Randy, yes it was 720p all day for this one.

Dan

I wonder if the flash capacitor creates any heat?

Dan, have you seen heating problems when shooting 1080p at 24fps or just in 720P 60fps?

I was serious about the chemical cold pack.

I shoot with an external monitor in usually cool conditions and have never seen the warning. A camera on rails should cool better than one held in hand.

Is it possible to disable the LCD?

Amazing that some of the guys with preprod units didn't report this.

I don't see how you could shoot with the LCD disabled, except with a separate monitor and camera on a tripod. That would eliminate lots of hand held work.

If it's on a tripod why can't you use the viewfinder?

Plug in an HDMI monitor

If, in fact, it runs cooler on a tripod, I think for handheld shooting few people would be doing continuous 30+ minute shots where overheating might be an issue.

Just a thought which might give people a little less concern.

Not Surprised
 

I've use the Canon T1i for months now and this is something that I've dealt with when shooting 720 30p outside in the sun for prolonged periods. Shooting at night outdoors has not posed a problem yet though. It is pretty consistent if I keep the LCD on and run around getting clips at an event. Usually works fine for at least 30-45 minutes before I have to let it sit for about 10 minutes. I try to put it in a cool dark place but even if I put it in the bag out of the sun it's usually fine after a few minutes. And the grip does get extremely hot to the touch.

I really think the LCD is a big heat generator as well as the battery itself. I don't mean to discount the processors or the sensor for generating heat though. I have changed the battery while the warning symbol is on and it's hot enough that I can't put it in my pocket until it cools off.

I've been using a production 7D for the last two days and it hasn't happened at all. Although the temperature + humidity here in Florida has dropped tremendously within the last week. I also haven't put the 7D through nearly what I would at a normal event yet though. Colder Climates without as much humidity as we have here in the south are probably in much better shape.

What are the odds that Canon could fix it with a Firmware update? My current solution is to grab the second camera, but that is just a band-aid.

-Michael

The mirror is flipped up to expose the sensor while recording video - meaning the viewfinder is blacked out.

-Michael

Very little. There is no active cooling like a laptop.

Humidity shouldn't be a factor.

The battery grip option might help by moving the battery away from the electronics

I enjoyed watching your movie clip and time-lapse Dan. Some of the tighter images of slowed-down walk pasts and fly-overs contained some powerful imagery, with great framing of subjects and colour.

I suppose when the D7 stopped working you simply picked up the 5D MK II and continued filming or taking stills with the D700 until the 7D cooled down. But if you ONLY had the 7D with you do you think you would have missed some vital footage? (I think so!).

Have you found any problem mixing the 5D video footage with that of the D7?

Once again, very nice work Dan. Was any of that to be used for the Guardian?

After reading your web page, Dan, I now realise that you probably didn't have quick access to the 5D for use as back-up due to it being clamped to a lampost! :)

I just placed my 7D on the coffee table and aimed it at the HD TV.

I'm on my 2nd 16GB card. Got 47 minutes on the first card with no more than 2-3 seconds between stop and start.

Shot 1080p at 30 fps with a shutter speed of 60. Used custom settings (mostly -2 or -3 on everything but sharpness which was -1) w/ a Nikon prime lens.

I'm currently into a 2nd card, probably about 1-2 minutes between changes as camera stopped with card full.

Haven't seen any warnings or anything else that shouldn't be there.

I'd take the camera back and exchange it. Most dealers will do that although they probably don't have another to give you.

It's not warm in here, probably around 70 F.

Good Luck.

70f is fairly cool for testing for this problem, Jim. I would try the tests again in hotter outdoor conditions to see if the results are the same.

Once again, based on my tests from yesterday, my take on it is that it seems like an issue only for the 60fps modes (720p60 and 480p60). I didn't see it at 1080p30 or 1080p24, and I pushed it even harder with continuous recording in those modes... still indoors, though.

One hypothesis would be that the 60fps mode is working the sensor harder since it is scanning it twice as fast as the 30fps mode. Here is a big question for you folks with a 7D: is the rolling shutter reduced in 60fps mode?

Yeah, some outdoor tests would be nice, in a warm place like Austin.

Currently there's a cold front in CenTex (finally). Austin won't go above 82 deg. F. (and yes folks, that is indeed a cold front in this neck of the woods... we had about 60 days of triple-digit temps this summer).

Here's Jon Fairhurst's suggestion for a rolling shutter test:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-eo...g-shutter.html

I've got a busy day in front of me and I doubt I can get to it.

I remember those days in Austin from my deep dark past at UT. I left my last final in mid afternoon wearing a short sleeve shirt and before I was 100 miles north it was 20 degrees and freezing rain. Texas weather.

During one of my trips to Texas there were people actually dying due to the heat (the hottest in 100-years), and I spent most of my time in air-conditioned cars and buildings both day & night. Opening the car door was like being hit by a brick wall!

We were getting it a lot whilst shooting the 7d DVD didn't we Michael but that was pre-production model.

Since it was out only a few weeks before the production model, I doubt there would be any significant differences.

We certainly were, and it is fair to mention it was a pre-production model. I wasn't surprised when it started happening, but you did just keep on rolling and everything was fine correct? It was sweltering hot that day, but it's pretty typical here. Plus, the heat encouraged you to break up the continuity of your DVD. (Dude, Really, Awesome, Seriously) :-)

I think the fact that so many people are putting it to the test with different frame rates and procedures is a valuable effort. Some really good suggestions have been brought up to help people to deal with it. But only time will tell how wide spread the issue is for the production models of the 7D.

Yesterday I shot for an hour or so outside. I was in the shade and it was 80 degrees. No overheat warning at all.

Today I was playing around inside in the ac shooting off and on. Half way through I plugged in an HDMI monitor so the LCD was off. After an hour and a half off intermittent shooting the warning came on. First I was shooting 1920x1080 24 then I switched to 1280x720 60.

The camera itself did not feel very warm to my hands. Nothing like a MacBook Pro on your lap or anything. I turned the cam off and pulled the battery out for a couple of minutes and then turned it back on. It recorded 1920 30 for about 25 minutes before the warning kicked in.

From what I am hearing the 5D can get pretty hot to touch without the warning kicking in. Also with extreme prolonged heat abuse some 5Ds have burnt out. Is it possible that Canon has lowered the heat threshold for the warning icon to kick on?

After reading Jim's report of 47 minutes plus with no issues I am wondering if this unit has something haywire going on.

I think this is a strong possibility.

Maybe, but then the 5D doesn't shoot at 60fps and so far, the reports seem to indicate that extended shooting in 720p causes the problem, while just shooting in 1080 doesn't seem to cause the problem (or at least nearly as quickly.) And it's not like the problem was unknown with the 5D...

It would be interesting if anyone can get it just shooting 1080 without switching to 720.

Obviously the 7D has a different sensor, processor and LCD to the 5D, so there's lots of other variables, but I'm not sure yet there's a strong case that Canon has lowered the heat threshold (though they certainly might have.)