I spoke to my local dealer where I purchased my camera and the Canon rep is working on a replacement. Difficult task at this moment I know. They had no word back from Canon concerning any issues with overheating and the warning icon.

But really the camera does not feel hot externally. There does not seem to be excessive heat in the battery area, the LCD is warm but not hot, removing the lens and feeling the shutter area was cool and the lower body was just warm. Compared to my EX1 it seems to be generating less heat.

But I am by no means and expert on the guts inside the body of a HD shooting dslr. I just want to use it to shoot some nice footage and develop a confident work flow with the 7D.

I really wanted to purchase the 7D but, now I really dont want to be an early adopter and put up with headaches...

Dano

Being realistic...
 

I ordered mine on Sept 27th (pre-order with B&H), it will be delivered Mon Oct 5th. Yesterday I noticed this thread and my heart sank. But as I followed the discussion it seems the overheat warning comes on quickest at the 60p framerates, folks shooting primarily 1920x1080 30p are apparently seeing little problem with the overheat icon showing.

For me that is what most of my use will be. First off this will not be my primary video camera, it will supplement video with what it does best. More lens variety, actual control over DOF with real aperture management, low light performance and such.

1280x720 60p will be used only occasionally for slow motion, and my way of working does not include a need for long continuous sequences (for that I would use conventional video cam anyway), almost all of what I do calls for short takes so I don't look to experience much in the way of overheat problems.

After a few takes of a scene the camera can be turned off (conserve battery too) while the next scene is setup, composed, rehearsed, and then the camera will be powered on and on we go. This is essentially the way I work with my HF100's (again to conserve battery power).

So after the initial "misgivings" about it I look forward to getting my hands on mine in THREE MORE DAYS...

...And there are some real good ideas in here on protecting the gear from high temps, a white towel will become part of my "kit".

I think I'll hang onto my 4 month old T1i for some "backup" too.

Same warning came up on my virgin set today! Maiden shoot for an hour or so and the LCD was on & off. The warning came up when I got out into the open BUT the weather was gloomy, and I did not transit from an air-conditioned place. (its summer all year round here)

Didnt happen with the pre production model i used 2 weeks back. Exactly the same kinda bashing then. Never happened on my 5D2 as well. Will have to check with the Canon dudes.

Sounds like maybe some manufacturing issues, if some cameras do it and some don't. Very distressing.

What format were you shooting?

More likely to be thermal design issues. There could be a few reasons why there is variation between cams.

The temperature sensor that triggers the warning will have a tolerance, so some cams will be more sensitive than others. Also the operating mode of the camera (e.g. 1080/24 or 720/60) could have a bearing as the processors will consume more power and generate more heat when working harder. And of course the brightness setting of the LCD panel could be the killer.

Richard

1920@ 25p.

And time runs fast!! People in Spain are already complaining about this issue! It's worldwide!Tomorrow I'll pick up mine. Wishing for luck!
http://www.canonistas.com/foros/7d/1...odo-video.html

I wonder if this does turn into a problem Canon might do an early firmware upgrade with hopes of Magic Lantern getting ported by dear Tramm.

Me, too. Through trial and error, I've determined the 7D's product ID (0x80000250) and can get it to try to load a firmware image, but the loader is doing some additional checks on the firmware file and is rejecting my dumping tools. Perhaps they have made a minor change in the file format or there is a field in the header that I am not setting correctly (and that is ignored by the 5D).

So now I am considering other avenues to get a firmware dump. The USB port is one such approach; I've been doing quite a bit of analysis on it (and can add new commands to the PTP interface on the 5D). There is a way to send a new firmware image over the USB port and that may be a way to get a read of raw memory.

Any news or thoughts on 7D heating up.
 

Just wondering how people are viewing the heat issues as they have had more time to test and work with the 7D for a few days. Is it going to be a matter of using the camera and working around it heating up? Will the 5D be a better choice if you need a workhorse camera?

I am waiting for word from my Canon dealer. They are working to get me a replacement camera. The warning icon seems to come up on mine sooner than others so I will certainly try another to see if there is a difference.

I am a Sony video user for years so I am not sure what to expect from Canon in response any problems. Just curious how others who plan to use the 7D primarily for video are looking forward.


Thanks,
Dasher

http://dasherfilms.com/

5D - 1 processor, 7D - 2 processors - more heat, similar body. Comparing the battery life between the 2 cameras should be a reliable indicator of the amount of heat generated by each.

Charles,

I have been an EX1 user since they first came out and was drooling over the 7D, but this heat issue has but my dreams on hold. I shoot in some very hot and humid environments, in fact I had an EX1 burn up on a shoot in Thailand. Right now I can't see myself trusting either the 5D or 7D to hold up to my style of shooting. I am pretty bummed about this because I had visions of carrying an SLR around and getting some pretty awesome footage and not looking like I work for a network.

Hopefully they can work the heat issues out.

Daniel Weber

Well I just tested my camera and I have the issue as well, takes mine about 40 mins to get the light 76deg ambient at 1280x720 60p. This does not bode well, Canon seems to have skimped on the heatsink. Or this task just really taxes the processor badly. Not sure why they would overlook that the magnesuim body should be able to augment cooling like a big heatsink itself.

It seems that most people have the problem when shooting 720p/60. In my case I would only do slomo for maybe a minute or two at the outside. If shooting 1080P/24 is not a problem, then maybe I can live with that.

Processors. There are two of them in this camera. That could be part of the reason for the overheating issue.

Do you think its also a problem when camera is on for a long time without recording = for test framing, lighting the sceen, test takes and so far? I think with monitor on hdmi / display off and filming 1080 25p it should be no problem?


Daniel

Bill in my limited experience with the 7D I have it will show the overheat icon in both 720P/60 and 1080P/30. 720P seems to bring it on more quickly.

My plan is to get an IKAN 5.6 HDMI monitor as part of my 7D rig and I am hoping this will help alleviate some heat by turning the built in LCD off.

I am also facing the reality that I may have to limit the usage of the 7D for certain types of filming that I do. When shooting a surf contest for 6 hours straight with an EX1, I shoot every wave I can because you never know what will happen. After each shot I decide wether or not to keep or trash on the spot. In this scenario my camera is running long hot hours and from what I can tell currently the 7D will not handle this work flow.

I was also considering replacing my HV30 and water housing for a new 7D housing but this could be quite problematic with heat build up inside a water proof mini oven.

I am not very familiar with Canon as a company so I am waiting to see how they address this situation. When I adopted early on the EX1 Sony took measures to replace and fix units that had problems (back focus, body paint coming off, battery drain) so despite some anxiety early on the EX1 has been a solid tool to work with and I am hoping the same for the 7D.

I have waited a couple of years for a camera like the 7D and I willing to work around some issues. It just does not look like I will head out on a trip without the EX1 in tow for the time being.

If just being turned on with the LCD running and the camera then heats up when you start shooting, is that really a processor issue? Maybe it's poorly designed for heat dissipation. I can see how intensive use at 60 fps might cause excessive heat, but not just being on and then shooting normally.

I was all ready to buy before this issue came up. I guess I may wait to see how they respond. It could be that a hybrid camera is really not suitable for normal video production. I don't do lots of long takes, but I often do shoots where the camera is on all day, much as you mentioned, so I can get a quick shot when it happens.

What I really need to see is for somebody to turn on the camera, let it sit there for half an hour, then pick up and shoot some 1080P/24 or /30 video with it, off and on, some 4 gig clips, some short, etc., ie., normal shooting for most people, and see how long it takes for the heat thing to happen. All video cameras can get hot, but if you can't leave one turned on and grab it for some ordinary shooting, what good is it?

Has anybody heard any response at all from Canon?

I don't think we will hear from them since they warn us about it in the manual, I just didn't think that it would overheat so quick, I did read that in the manual before I bought it but man this overheating is too quick, my workflow is switch liveview off in between shoot and have not get anymore overheat warning but this shoot was a test shoot at a reception and it is in an A/C environment, I also couldn't test anymore because I had to send it back to exchange due to a giant dead pixel even at ISO640.

If you have the live view off, how long does it take for the camera to get ready to shoot video when you turn it back on?

If it like the 5D, about 2-3 seconds

How many minutes of video per battery on the 7D? I get about 45 on my 5DII.

I'm inclined to believe the heat sensor is set lower on the 7D after reading reports from owners of both cameras. I think most people will do O.K. if they leave they auto off a 1 minute. Charles' type of surf shooting is one example where these cameras may not be appropriate.

Charles you might look to rent a 7D and test. I see 5D rentals at many places.

2 seconds at most. With an external monitor it will somewhat depend on how fast it can get synced. Touching any button turns it back on. It's possible to get in the habit of hitting a button as soon as you know you will be shooting again.

If the camera has not automatic turn off then I think just 1 second or so, if it has auto shut off then probably 3 seconds or so.

Bill, the 5d Live View turns off very quickly ( I don't have it in front of me - but probably around 20 seconds) if you're not using it, and comes up real quick (less than a second) when you need it. The camera does go to sleep fairly quickly as well when not in use, but again wakes up very quickly. I can't see why they would change this on the 7d as it works very well - and would help to keep the camera cooler. The 5d manual does say that if you use Live View for long periods - the camera will heat up. While they say it's not a malfunction, they do warn that it may burn the skin.

Again this is the 5d, but I've been following this thread because i was looking at a 7d as well. And I read earlier in this thread about some 5d's getting cooked on film sets. My initial thought was that the 7d warning tolerance was set lower (in over 3 months use - I've never seen the warning on the 5d) I've shot 2 wedding in 90 degree F for a full day - (intermittent shooting).

That's faster than cueing up a tape in a regular video camera that's been on long enough for the tape to unthread.

We used our 5Ds in the desert heat several times during August with no problems (I've never seen the overheat warning). But we weren't shooting continuously by any means. I'd say that the ambient temperature has less to do with the overheating phenomenon than, say, the operating duty cycle.

On the 5D, you can adjust auto shut down time. Camera is set up with auto shut down at one minute, for Live View to shut down. But you can actually set it to go longer, ie., various levels from up to 1 hour, I think.... and even shutting down the feature completely to leave it on full time.

I shot this weekend and found the 1 minute delay to short, when you are setting up a scence and I advanced it to 30 minutes. But to save battery, I should probably have used 3 minutes, because I found myself leaving it on occasionally, while not really needing to. As a result battery ran down a lot faster. Luckily most shooting was indoors with power available and I used the Canon AC power input, which is absolutely great.

It seems this camera would be good for features, not ENG. I'm wondering if you carry a couple of cans of compressed air to use as portable AC, if that would help? You know, the type used to clear off keyboards and lenses and inside of a PC.

I've heard it said that the 7d bodies aren't noticeably warm when the warning shows up - whereas I have felt the heat (more warmth really) through the 5d body but never gotten a warning - but my longest take has been 4 minutes. So I don't know where you'd spray the compressed air.

Any chance that Canon has simply set the warning at too low of a temperature?

They're warm but not at all what I would call overly warm. Not hot in other words.

Does Canon post?
 

Chris

I have seen representatives from other companies post on dvinfo. Are you aware if Canon follows the info here and do they ever post info?

I have not heard any info back from the local dealer I purchased my 7D from.

Thanks

The only Canon rep I'm aware of that does this is Chuck Westfall.

Canon USA knows that they have a standing invitation to post here, but my understanding is
that their corporate policy pretty much forbids it. The door is always open at DV Info Net though.

I know for a fact that Canon USA and Canon Inc. both closely monitor DV Info Net regularly.

In 70 degree A/C, shot 84 minutes 1080 24p back to back without any heat icon. Would have gone longer but battery died. Good enough for me :).

Can someone do a little heat-test to see what is the problem:

1. Day = Continous Rec. 1080 25p with Battery and Display on
2. Day = Continous Rec. 1080 25p with Battery and Display off
3. Day = Continous Rec. 1080 25p with AC Power and Display off
4. Day = no Rec. with Battery and Display on
5. Day = no Rec. with Battery and Display off
6. Day = no Rec. with AC Power and Display off

If you wan't to make more tests per day please let cool the camera down long enough between the tests.


thanks
Daniel

Red has indicated how they're cooling their upcoming cameras.

Sealed sensor/electronics package with two pipes exiting to a vented area with a fan. I assume they are circulating a liquid to a radiator. I believe they said that the fan is easy to remove to clean or replace. They're claiming substantial weather sealing on all main components.

Canon likely has the tech to continue to produce more efficient cameras than Red. But it seems that Canon will likely need at least an external metallic surface to radiate heat. I don't know where that would go in the 5D/7D form factor.

In the 1D form factor it might be easier to figure out cooling. Future cameras need to be able to achieve a steady state internal temp and an external temperature that can''t potentially burn the user.

Either that, or DSLR's doing video will remain an impressive trick, and they'll migrate what they have learned from the 5D/7D to make a better video camera.