Canon T2i is great photo cam very bad movie cam
 

I own two T2i and one 550. I was planning to do a feature movie with them, but the cams cannot handle temps around 30 - 40 degree Celsius. They shut off every time after showing the shutdown sign.
So IMO they are worthless for making movies. Great Photo Camera though.
The question is: Is this a manufacturing error from Canon or not. I think it is and Canon should be ashamed
in producing such a product and keep manufacturing it without modifications. I hope that this is not removed, but really it makes me mad to hear that nothing can be done about it.
All the stories about using icebags and other way to minimize the problem, are just a laugh.
One should get what is paid for and no more or no less. Canon is selling the cams with the movie capability, and is not telling the customer that overheating is normal for these cams.
Iam planning to open the **** cam end see if any modification is possible.

The cameras handle those temps just fine. I live in Florida, which is warmer than the area you live in. I have not had any trouble at all like you speak of when filmmaking. I have gotten the overheat sensor when filming at 80p for longer periods. But that doesn't really cause me any problems.

Worthless? So get rid of them, and get something that will work. I certainly wouldn't bother trying to make movies with worthless gear.


No, it is not a manufacturing error. It is a product of trying to put video into a product not designed to handle it. People keep clamoring for it, and saying they will work around the problem. Clearly, this is not viable for you, so you likely need to go buy a proper video camera with an APS-C sized sensor in it. You've apparently purchased a product not suited to your needs.

I would not purchase a Ferrari and then complain that is is poor on muddy roads. So why purchase a stills camera and complain that it doesn't work like a $50k digital cinema camera? It wasn't designed to.


Do people have a laugh at the RED when it has the same issues, and the problem is solved the same way? How's this for a laugh. The heat vents on the RED are on the BOTTOM of the camera and not the top. Big laugh there. Camera's get hot. Film, Digital, you name it. Do what is required. Some of the EX1s got so hot you could barely touch the top of them. And they don't have a heat sensor warning like the Canon's do. That was very thoughtful of Canon.


Thousands of owners shoot on these cameras without incident or problem. So why do you think you are having a problem?


Awesome. Let us know how that works out.

It is a bad movie cam, in fact it's the cheapest one in the market. You should look into Panavision or Arri those are the best.

I had way too much fun reading this thread.

bring an umbrella or a hats over your camera from direct sunlight.

I recommend shooting all of your films in a meat locker.

Lol!! Wrong forum dude.

Dude, change your name and leave the country.

Even if I make a movie about how the cams are behaving, all you guys who are "satisfied" with the camera will still think nothing is wrong. It is not that I own one cam, I have 3. Statistically I cannot be that unlucky.
Yesterday we start shooting in-house with temp of 30 degrees Celsius. The first cam took 10 minutes, the second 2 minutes and the third 4 minute to get overheated. The were all in the same room if it matters.
We switch-over to the Sony EX3 (I have the EX3, EX1 and the Shoot SGblade) to continue the shoot.
The only reason to use the Canons is the wonderful picture the produce without an adapter and the fact that they are so small. I was planning an expedition to the inlands, but I think I have to reconsider the weight to carry in my backpack.
I will open up on of the camera's and see if I can add some heat sinks to the body; who knows one of you might thank me for it someday.
I see that Iam just a caller in the woods and all you guys are very satisfied, so iam waisting my time writing my complains here; good luck to you all.
Anyway, Canon shoot pay all you guys who don't have any problems with overheating; they should love you for saying that and that is worth a lot of money these days....................

Remember the T2i is a stills camera first and foremost. The design of the body isn't very good for video and we all know that already. Putting that much data and processing through a small camera is of course going to have heat issues in hot environments you want them to work in.

Luckily here in the UK we rarely get temperatures above 30c so I've not had to worry about over heating. I've used the camera well past an hour in one go yet never saw any warning messages.

These cameras are extremely cheap and create probably the best value for money out of any camera in terms of picture quality. That said as its so cheap you have to realise there will be sacrifices in this case its the body design, lack of pro audio etc.

Actually, I think it is a legitimate issue with the camera. I have the 5D and the T2i, and certainly, the T2i goes to warning on occasion, but in a direct sunlight situation on a hot day, I even had my 5D go into a warning.

I have never had the the T2i shut down on me, and I wonder what others experience when they just keep shooting, with the warning on screen. Anyone ?

Hi. Having your t2is shutting down so quickly seems abnormal. I had only 1 overheat warning while shooting in the sun on a very hot day this last summer. I finished what I was shooting and then just gave the camera a rest. 30 degrees C (that's 86 degrees F) shouldn't pose much of a problem if any at all, at least in my limited experience. If you bought those 3 cameras together then I would be pretty concerned and send them in to Canon while under warranty. Also if I had the budget for THREE t2is, I would probably just "settle" for two 7Ds which can handle the heat far better not to mention the rain as well.

Your frustration has produced a kinda funny thread, so you shouldn't take the joking around too seriously.

I sincerely hope you get this issue worked out, and I doubt I'd be laughing if my t2i was overheating in 2 minutes at 30 degrees C. :/


(off topic newbee question. can anyone tell me how to get smilies showing? i can't find any smilies.)

How long are you running the camera...? I've run it for atleast 24 minutes and have had very little heating...

I understand what you are saying and can understand your frusteration...i'd be mad too after throwing money into something that can't function properly. Perhaps you should try to call Canon and tell them your camera is excessively over heating and you think its a problem..See if they'll send you a new one and then test it out..see if it does the same thing..

thats what I'd do anyway...

In reply to T2i issues..
 

Hi John

I know you've got 3...and sense says you can't have 3 dodgy cams... but i've had mine since they came out and i film with it a lot. I did a lot of filming this summer...inside and outside in sunlight. I've never had it crap out on me. I've seen the buffer warning a couple of times... but i've never seen a temp warning.

It's very possible to shoot a movie on these cams... people have...i have. No special mods to keep it cool, just as it comes.

Out of curiosity, what SDHC are you using? I know some tend to give people problems. I'm using Transcend with no issues at all.

Good luck with it.

S

Anyone, does the use of an external monitor on a T2i lower the heat buildup?

Looks like you have money to burn considering the cams you own. Since you like the creative look you can get with an APS-C sensor look into the camcorder sony is releasing with an APS sensor with interchangeable lenses.

If you're considering taking Charles advice, I have a few panavision's in the garage, going on a "you pick up" and they're free basis.

I use 2 t2i's and a 7D, and in hot sun they will overheat after a few long back-to-back shots. Somewhat inconvenient. If I turn them off between shoots or even stop filming, I usually avoid the problem. A black cam in direct sunlight isn't a good idea for any camera, these are more sensitive.

I seldom use them for continuous recording, which they are lousy for anyway. I just turn them off when not needed and seldom have a problem. The little "movie" shooting I've been around is typically long periods of boredom and preparation punctuated with a few seconds or minutes of capture, then back to boredom. Not much chance to overheat if I turn of between sets.

There are a lot of people shooting with these cameras. I've seen a lot of very impressive shorts and whatnot on YouTube and Vimeo. If overheating is such a problem, how are they overcoming it?

Hey brother, I'll gladly pay for s & h if you want to send it my way...

Just saying.

Sean we live in the uk i cant think the problem should worry us .

I assume they don't work?

It was a joke

I have to correct the heatlockup story of the T2i.
It seems that a 8gb card that was used, made it all happen.
The same memorycard was constantly used and produced the overheating warning and shutdown
of all the different cameras used..
We are now shooting with class 6 and there seems to be no problems for now.
Tomorrow is the defenite test in the open with direct sunlight.
I will keep u guys posted.............................

HAHA...wow.

Well hey, thats why we're all here...to help each other figure things out. Eventhought this discussion was borederline heated, it did come down narrow down the problem and solved it... Hopefully it stays that way...

Glad you figured it out!

Don't like to say i told ya so...
 

See? It's down to the SDHC like i suggested. Bad card = bad performance, and not just buffer issues. If the cam has problems trying to write, it will heat up.... same as a PC or anything else. Stress it out and it'll break.

Glad it's all sorted.

S

Perhaps a lesson is not to start out with a sweeping generalization. They are often wrong, as was the case here.

And on a different note: You might want to use a battery grip. Several people reported that it helps since it keeps the batteries that get hot while you shoot further away from the insides of the cam. You can get OEM grips for around 60 bucks...

I completely understand the OP and the dissatisfaction expressed. I sought the 500D as a second video camera because i'd heard it had the same video capapbilities as the 5Dmk2.
After never seeing anything related to heat problem on the mk2 it surprised me that after 30 mim of steady shooting the light came on. In shade at about 80F. Course I manualy shut it down. Can I rely on the cam to shut itself down? My cards are Transcend 16GB. Would the larger cards have effect on the heating?

I did some tests on T2i overheating issue with bare cam, battery grip, and external display

Canon T2i Overheat Test | L.A. Color Blog

Thanks for these results Taky.

In another thread there is premis that the whole overheating thing may be originating from the type of memory card used. If you have access to different types of cards it'd be great to like do two or three timed tests to the over heating point for each card and compare the averages for each card against the averages for the other cards.

The idea is that the read write to the card is heating up the card which in turn heats the camera and triggers the heat warning.

So, ah, when can I expect that camera?

;)

Any any camera can overheat - even a film camera (if you count film melting in the can anyway). For more see a retro review of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA:
DVD Review - Lawrence Of Arabia

If it's overheating in conditions that clearly don't warrant an overheating - like out of the box in a cool room - the unit is bad and Canon should replace it.

Interesting theory. As I shot a bunch here in hell...I mean Phoenix over the summer, I probably have a "worst environment" possible and I learned a couple of things.
First, the battery grip is a must unless you can use the a/c adapter. The batteries do generate a lot of heat.
Second, keeping the camera out of sunlight and tungsten lights is a must. I used a white towel or umbrella or moved the camera away from lights as much as possible.
Third, using cold packs on the right side of the camera works. My worst shoot temp-wise was 111 deg in a parking lot for 5 hours. I saw the temp light once.

The card thing may have some merit as I used to see temp warnings all the time and sometimes indoors after 10 min with Delkin class 6 cards that have worked like a charm in my hmc150. Because they had a sale, I picked up a couple of Sandisk class 6 16gb cards and that's when the frequency of temp warnings went down a lot. then adding the ice packs, as I mentioned, I didn't see them at all indoors and only the one on a day well above most card-based camera's operating temps as stated in their specs.

So theres my 2 cents on the t2i and I will be watching my new 7D carefully! It already has Sandisk cards and the battery grip so we'll see if the icepacks are necessary.