ectobuilder
Veteran
Under what conditions have you experienced overheating with the A7II? I thought they solved the issue by coupling a heatsink to the sensor even though it has IBIS?
Newsshooter: Sony A7RII overheats and shutdown after recording 4K for a while
- Thread starter Nicholas Natteau
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Under what conditions have you experienced overheating with the A7II? I thought they solved the issue by coupling a heatsink to the sensor even though it has IBIS?
ectobuilder
Veteran
Typical old school Sony answer. If their product lacks a solution filmmakers need then they need to fess up to it.
Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. Just having the camera on (framing up, clipping mikes on, getting the lights and exposure set exactly right, pausing between takes) generates heat. The longer the camera is on, the shorter the actual run time before overheating. And the challenge is that it's not predictable.
While testing and using it on some of my own work this week (so I don't have to say to a client "Sorry we'll have to stop – the camera has overheated") the *actual* record time was VERY variable. Sometimes less than 3-4 minutes, if I was shooting multiple clips with little cool-down time between.
Did you just contradict yourself there? Which is the better *video* camera? ;-)
HD in S35 with IBIS on the A7R ii is AWESOME! Very little rolling shutter, IBIS works very well, and in that mode it doesn't overheat. Even with the 4K heat *issues*, I still love this camera.
Now there's a good idea.
NeedCreative
Well-known member
No I didn't the A7S is overall the better video camera.
I'll have to test what you're seeing, if it's just a matter of keeping it on but not recording, well that's not good. Couldn't possibly be the only camera you would use on a set. Great for b-roll though! I'll check with a shogun too and see what happens.
ectobuilder
Veteran
I categorize overheating as a logistical issue. It is a limitation that surrounds the creative side of the camera.
As creatives, we all know that the more we worry about things not directly related to being creative, the lesser our work becomes.
As creatives, we all know that the more we worry about things not directly related to being creative, the lesser our work becomes.
NeedCreative
Well-known member
Ugh bad news. I tested shooting 4k to shogun recorder without recording in camera. Just letting it sit there and do nothing but output hdmi, it overheated in 32 min. That's not good at all...
Im trying now again after a 20 min break. Then I'll try S35 cropped HD to see what that does.
EDIT: for some odd reason this problem only showed itself if you trigger recording on the camera versus the recorder. If I triggered recording on the recorder, the camera never overheated, and it only stops recording when its battery or the recorders battery shut off. I can't explain this, and the images look the same when recorded either triggered on the recorder or triggered on the camera. The camera was not internally recording. I have tested since just internal recording and found that it definitely needs a few minutes to cool here and there. It's not a matter of just shooting 30 minutes at a time and waiting unfortunately. But with the recorder, it looks that heat is not a problem after all.
Im trying now again after a 20 min break. Then I'll try S35 cropped HD to see what that does.
EDIT: for some odd reason this problem only showed itself if you trigger recording on the camera versus the recorder. If I triggered recording on the recorder, the camera never overheated, and it only stops recording when its battery or the recorders battery shut off. I can't explain this, and the images look the same when recorded either triggered on the recorder or triggered on the camera. The camera was not internally recording. I have tested since just internal recording and found that it definitely needs a few minutes to cool here and there. It's not a matter of just shooting 30 minutes at a time and waiting unfortunately. But with the recorder, it looks that heat is not a problem after all.
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Jorn van Oostende
Active member
Can't remember if I ever did a 20 min take in 4K. 20 minutes recording 4K is not bad at all for such a small body, I've had an Epic or BMC overheat faster then that.
dustylense
Veteran
It's not about doing a 20 minute continuous take. Again people, read Dan Chungs report. He clearly says that during the filming of the street hippie, that the camera shut off and had to cool down. Thus, he missed shots. He might have filmed 2 minutes here, reframed, 3 minutes there, made some adjustments to the camera, filmed another minute here, reframe, another 30 secs, reframe, camera shuts off because of overheating, missed shots, missed shots, missed shots, camera cool enough to go and overheats again 10 minutes or 20 minutes later.
Now NeedCreative has reported that the camera overheats at 32 minutes recording out to the shogun. Not sure about you guys, but I can't think of a video project in which I need the camera ready to go at anytime for an 8-15 hour day, all day, every minute that something needs to be captured.
The camera overheats recording out to HDMI. FAIL.......
Jorn van Oostende
Active member
That would be a problem. bummer.
dustylense
Veteran
I just can't imagine in 2015 working on a project where the director and actors are discussing the shot and going through run throughs and he says "Action!!!" then filming the scene then hearing "CUT, that had to be the shot!!!!" only for him to turn to you and ask for a playback in which you bow your head and tell him, "The camera shutdown on that take because it overheated". Good luck with that.....
Barry_Green
Moderator
I couldn't imagine it back in 2008 when the 5D Mk II first came out... nothing about that scenario will ever change, no matter what other redeeming qualities a product may otherwise have...
dustylense
Veteran
Yeah, but that was 7 years ago and there was nothing quite like the 5DmkII, so we dealt with it and most understood it. Then it was a limitation. Today it's a fail. But I'm agreeing with you Barry.
You guys want a 4k video camera, buy a video camera. This is a stills camera with a video feature. By the time you rig it up to work in a pro enviorment, it's about the same size as an Fs7, just a bit clumsier.
Emanuel
Cross-Examiner
OK, here's the problem then. They will need to address it. Why not?
Emanuel
Cross-Examiner
NeedCreative
Well-known member
Follow up
And I apologize if I posted this already I've been very busy. I tested this again multiple times last night but instead of triggering recording on the camera I triggered recording on the shogun. And the result was that I could record continuously until one of the batteries ran out, usually the cameras, sometimes the shoguns. At most I got about an hour and a half with no overhear warnings; when it shut down is because the battery was exhausted ( as per the message on the screen). I did not test on external power. If I triggered the recording in the camera, making sure that internal recording was off, it would overheat in 30 minutes. I don't know what's going on here and have passed my thoughts to Atomos. My theory is that processing is kicking in when you click record even though it's not dumping to the card but if you just let it roll without hitting the record button on the camera you get the output right from the sensor. I tested the same theory with the RX 100 Mark four. I got the same result. That camera records for less than five minutes before overheating if you record it on camera but if you just roll from The HDMI you can get an hour out of it before the battery dies. Again, with no overheating. Weird.
And I apologize if I posted this already I've been very busy. I tested this again multiple times last night but instead of triggering recording on the camera I triggered recording on the shogun. And the result was that I could record continuously until one of the batteries ran out, usually the cameras, sometimes the shoguns. At most I got about an hour and a half with no overhear warnings; when it shut down is because the battery was exhausted ( as per the message on the screen). I did not test on external power. If I triggered the recording in the camera, making sure that internal recording was off, it would overheat in 30 minutes. I don't know what's going on here and have passed my thoughts to Atomos. My theory is that processing is kicking in when you click record even though it's not dumping to the card but if you just let it roll without hitting the record button on the camera you get the output right from the sensor. I tested the same theory with the RX 100 Mark four. I got the same result. That camera records for less than five minutes before overheating if you record it on camera but if you just roll from The HDMI you can get an hour out of it before the battery dies. Again, with no overheating. Weird.
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