A7RII Overheating Shutdown in 4K

[Evidentiary]

I just looked at a review of the subject camera and it was stated that the A7RII overheats and shuts down when recording 4K. It did not state how long it would record before shutting down. Does anyone have any information on the period of time that you can record 4K? Does the period of operation before shutdown depend on the 4K mode? I record some sessions that take a while and overheating and then having to wait for the camera to cool off before starting again could be a problem. I have an A7RII on order. Thanks for any information on the above.

 

[RichRMA]

I just looked at a review of the subject camera and it was stated that the A7RII overheats and shuts down when recording 4K. It did not state how long it would record before shutting down. Does anyone have any information on the period of time that you can record 4K? Does the period of operation before shutdown depend on the 4K mode? I record some sessions that take a while and overheating and then having to wait for the camera to cool off before starting again could be a problem. I have an A7RII on order. Thanks for any information on the above.

Time for mfgs of compact cameras to introduce some kind of cooling system (if possible) in their cameras. I'm frankly amazed that miniaturized electronic products with powerful processors can operate at all.

 

[Evidentiary]

Here is the quote:

"One thing I discovered about half way into the shoot was that the camera has a tendency to overheat when recording in 4K for extended periods. At first a yellow warning sign pops up on the screen, then a few minutes later the camera shuts itself down with a black warning saying it needs to cool down."

From:

http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/08/...andheld-to-tell-the-story-of-a-london-busker/

 

[Astrophotographer 10]

I don't see that as too much of a problem. If you are doing video of family or things like that short clips are all the is needed.

If you wanted to video a speaker or lecturer or a concert then that would be a problem. I can't see too many times wanting to video for more than a minute in most uses. If its known it can't do 29 minutes continuous say, then you can plan to use another lesser video machine.

Greg.

 

[ntsan]

The only way to overcome it would be using external recorder or use 1080P mode which the quality isn't too great.

I am pretty sure the A7S II won't have this problem

 

[Evidentiary]

I am aware that the overheating shutdown while recording issue is in the manual. That does not answer my questions as to how long it will record or if different 4k recording modes might provide a workaround. It does not appear anyone has the answers to those questions, so I may have to wait until I get the camera and derive the answers at that point. If anyone already has an A7RII and has gotten a feel for the issue, I would appreciate any findings.

Thanks

 

[SQLGuy]

I am aware that the overheating shutdown while recording issue is in the manual. That does not answer my questions as to how long it will record or if different 4k recording modes might provide a workaround. It does not appear anyone has the answers to those questions, so I may have to wait until I get the camera and derive the answers at that point. If anyone already has an A7RII and has gotten a feel for the issue, I would appreciate any findings.

Thanks

I would think bigger factors would be whether the camera is being used in sunlight or in shade, what the ambient temperature and humidity are, whether there's a breeze, whether the camera has a case on it, etc. All that would make for quite a complex chart in the manual, assuming Sony had done the extensive testing necessary to fill in those variables.

 

[Photoman]

Here is the quote:

"One thing I discovered about half way into the shoot was that the camera has a tendency to overheat when recording in 4K for extended periods. At first a yellow warning sign pops up on the screen, then a few minutes later the camera shuts itself down with a black warning saying it needs to cool down."

I wish my love life was like this...

 

[Evidentiary]

I am not suggesting the manual should have such data . . . . I am looking for any data/experience subjective or objective that someone may have. Sorry if I have not been clear.

 

[Charles Hull]

Here is the quote:

"One thing I discovered about half way into the shoot was that the camera has a tendency to overheat when recording in 4K for extended periods. At first a yellow warning sign pops up on the screen, then a few minutes later the camera shuts itself down with a black warning saying it needs to cool down."

From:

http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/08/...andheld-to-tell-the-story-of-a-london-busker/

Nice work by Dan Chung as usual. The first thing that impressed me was the stabilization he was able to get. I don't have the A7RII yet, but have the A7II with 5 axis stabilization and can not achieve this level of stability. The good news could be that the A7RII has improved stabilizing capability beyond the A7II. But the bad news is probably Dan has steadier hands than me.

The little RX100IV that was announced at the same time as the A7RII has a time limit of about 5 minutes with 4K due to overheating. Sure enough I was shooting 4K with this camera yesterday, outside at about 100F (38C) and it did shut down from overheating in about 5 minutes.

So it will be interesting to see how much of a limit this will be for the A7RII. It shouldn't be much of a problem for me since I seldom shoot long clips, but my A7RII should arrive later this week, and we will still have hot weather, so I'll start it recording 4K and will find out. Also, will it be different between full frame and S35? And will it be different with the 5 axis active versus turned off?

 

[RichRMA]

I am aware that the overheating shutdown while recording issue is in the manual. That does not answer my questions as to how long it will record or if different 4k recording modes might provide a workaround. It does not appear anyone has the answers to those questions, so I may have to wait until I get the camera and derive the answers at that point. If anyone already has an A7RII and has gotten a feel for the issue, I would appreciate any findings.

Thanks

There is a company making camera coolers for astrophotography (less noise). It might work for this, (if they make one for the Sony) but it would somewhat ungainly.

 

[AdamLA]

I've done a lot of video with a Sony NEX 7 and it overheats after about 20 minutes. I was shooting longer takes and wound up going to a Panasonic GH3 which has no problems with takes as long as 70 minutes. You might try the GH4 which can do 4k. Also I hear the Sony A7s can do takes reaching an hour.

 

[jaybr]

Oh man, 4k overheating might be a deal breaker for me.

I'm paying almost $4000 for a high end camera, and I don't expect it to shut down from overheating. It's supposed to record 29:59 minutes in 4k.

If it can't consistently achieve that, it's going back.

J

 

[ChuckTa]

I've done a lot of video with a Sony NEX 7 and it overheats after about 20 minutes. I was shooting longer takes and wound up going to a Panasonic GH3 which has no problems with takes as long as 70 minutes. You might try the GH4 which can do 4k. Also I hear the Sony A7s can do takes reaching an hour.

Actually, A7S can't do 4K, it needs an extra external record. I believe heat problem is the main reason why the A7S can't do 4K internally.

 

[ChuckTa]

Here is the quote:

"One thing I discovered about half way into the shoot was that the camera has a tendency to overheat when recording in 4K for extended periods. At first a yellow warning sign pops up on the screen, then a few minutes later the camera shuts itself down with a black warning saying it needs to cool down."

From:

http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/08/...andheld-to-tell-the-story-of-a-london-busker/

On the yellow screen image, the video record shows its at 0:07. It seems even after the restart of camera, it will still take a long while to cool off, otherwise the warning screen will show up again very quickly.

 

[Colin46]

I am not suggesting the manual should have such data . . . . I am looking for any data/experience subjective or objective that someone may have. Sorry if I have not been clear.

Well I don't really shoot much video but I thought I would give it a try.

i let the camera record a 4k video for 30 minutes (max length in one shoot) and it never showed any warnings throughout this period. I did the same thing again 5 minutes later and again no problem.

im using 256 gbyte lexar 2000x cards

this was indoors, camera on a tripod with a USB battery pack plugged into the camera as I wasn't sure if the battery would last long enough, it probably would.

its not especially warm over here in the UK so I wonder if that has any thing to do with the situation.

 

[JurijTurnsek]

I am not suggesting the manual should have such data . . . . I am looking for any data/experience subjective or objective that someone may have. Sorry if I have not been clear.

Well I don't really shoot much video but I thought I would give it a try.

i let the camera record a 4k video for 30 minutes (max length in one shoot) and it never showed any warnings throughout this period. I did the same thing again 5 minutes later and again no problem.

im using 256 gbyte lexar 2000x cards

this was indoors, camera on a tripod with a USB battery pack plugged into the camera as I wasn't sure if the battery would last long enough, it probably would.

its not especially warm over here in the UK so I wonder if that has any thing to do with the situation.

I did the same test with my NEX-5N and got the same results, only to have lots of trouble later in the field, in a cooler environment no less. Maybe static scenes are not that demanding on the processor and it creates much less heat.

 

[Colin46]

I am not suggesting the manual should have such data . . . . I am looking for any data/experience subjective or objective that someone may have. Sorry if I have not been clear.

Well I don't really shoot much video but I thought I would give it a try.

i let the camera record a 4k video for 30 minutes (max length in one shoot) and it never showed any warnings throughout this period. I did the same thing again 5 minutes later and again no problem.

im using 256 gbyte lexar 2000x cards

this was indoors, camera on a tripod with a USB battery pack plugged into the camera as I wasn't sure if the battery would last long enough, it probably would.

its not especially warm over here in the UK so I wonder if that has any thing to do with the situation.

I did the same test with my NEX-5N and got the same results, only to have lots of trouble later in the field, in a cooler environment no less. Maybe static scenes are not that demanding on the processor and it creates much less heat.

It wasn't a static scene, I was panning, zooming, follow focusing etc

 

[Evidentiary]

Thanks for all your inputs. I am hoping image stabilization contributes to the problem. If so, most if not all of my long recordings are on a tripod and if I can turn IBIS off, that could solve the problem, at least in part.

Just curious: Why is their a built-in 29 minute limit on video recording?

 

[JurijTurnsek]

I am not suggesting the manual should have such data . . . . I am looking for any data/experience subjective or objective that someone may have. Sorry if I have not been clear.

Well I don't really shoot much video but I thought I would give it a try.

i let the camera record a 4k video for 30 minutes (max length in one shoot) and it never showed any warnings throughout this period. I did the same thing again 5 minutes later and again no problem.

im using 256 gbyte lexar 2000x cards

this was indoors, camera on a tripod with a USB battery pack plugged into the camera as I wasn't sure if the battery would last long enough, it probably would.

its not especially warm over here in the UK so I wonder if that has any thing to do with the situation.

I did the same test with my NEX-5N and got the same results, only to have lots of trouble later in the field, in a cooler environment no less. Maybe static scenes are not that demanding on the processor and it creates much less heat.

It wasn't a static scene, I was panning, zooming, follow focusing etc

Ok, scratch that. We need a test with a laser temperature gauge pointing at the back of the body under the LCD screen to gauge how quick is the cool down compared to the heat buildup during use.