I had my 7D ripped out of my hand and watched bounc off the cement floor. Mind you the lense broke, put a new lense on, and kept shooting. The body had no issues.

did you install the new firmware bruce? supposed to have fixed the overheating threshold probelm although i never had an issue so cant confirm it..

Manus,
Right after I installed the new fimware, I let the camera run in record mode for a full 12 minutes several times. After the 2nd time, it started overheating. Then i id testimonila shots on wed, and thursday ( 2 hours each day), and turned the camera off and on after each interview, (10 each day) and got no overheating.
At this point, I have no idea...
Bruce Yarock

After you installed new firmware, you need to remove the battery for it to take effect, so maybe after that first time you removed the battery and it stop overheating but turning off and on for me is the key to keep it cool.

My precious has been through a lot.. Filming for 6-7 hours in - 25c degrees to working in heavy snow/rain/slush all day long.. Works as a charm :)
7D is more water resistant than most people think...

Morten,
I think that hot sun and humidity are the real problems. Good to hear that you've had such success in the cold.
I'm going to do another test having changed batteries and see if the firmware update did help.
Bruce Yarock

I've put mine through hell an back. Africa, jungles, volcanos, salt water, volcanic gases etc!! I shoot mainly in high heat, dusty, humid, cold, and environments where I hike through jungles for days with it either over my shoulder or in a backpack (not the kind made for the camera). It's held up well.

Used to use canon video camera, and they would go in the shop after every use. Switch to Panasonic P2 cameras, did not have a problem at all for three years. I bought a 7d for shooting time-lapse, but field tested it, and like it better then my Panasonics, so it became my everyday use. I shoot about 1000-3000 pictures a day and about 2 hours of video. I'm shooting an entire 10 part Africa series on it.

I get teased occasionally by BBC and others. Simon King (BBC Presenter/DOP) apparently told a group of people that he shoots with real camera equipment. But when lugging it up 5000-6000 meter Mountains and for several days in the jungles, I love it! I've managed to sell my series to the big boys, so who cares what people think.

Michael

I'm shooting outside this week end and a music video next week end in the hot South Florida sun. Looking forward to seeing how much the overheating issue comes into play, now that I've installed the new firmware.
michael- have you had any overheating issues?
Bruce Yarock

I have found that one of the simplest ways to keep the camera running during a shoot is to just bring a small cooler with some ice packs in it and a large ziplock bag to prevent condensation. Whenever I have a break in the shoot for more than a minute or two I'll put the cam in the bag in the cooler. Works great, though a few people have given me odd looks...

You could probably also just use a large, flexible ice pack and put it directly on top of the camera or something. I didn't have anything like that lying around the house so I went the cooler route.

Supposedly RED shoots often use ice packs.

How do you abuse your 7d?
 

Hi everyone,
I'm shooting nature video & stills in Florida. No overheating problems yet and still using the old firmware. Mostly I shoot short clips of 30 sec to 1 minute, so this probably explains it. The main reason for the short clips is that I focus and compose through the viewfinder as if taking a still shot, setting exposure manually. Then switch to video mode and use a remote Canon RC1 from my 10D days to start/stop the video. If I get the focus wrong I only lose a 30 sec clip instead of the whole shoot. Cheap insurance.

Here's the abuse from this am:
I was shooting a pair of woodpeckers in a tree at dawn doing microphone tests. The sun was behind a cloud and the camera was pointing directly at where the sun would have been. I took the CF card inside and listened to the audio. When I went back outside the full sun was blazing directly down the barrel of the 100-400 lens at full extension. Wow. I would never allow that intentionally and have always been very aware of the damage that could cause. Then went to a local park and shot some Swallow Tail Kites in a tree, both still and video. Perfect. Sorry 7D and thank you for forgiving me, I promise not to do that again.