Overcoming NEX 5N overheating. a cheap and real fix!

R

richg101

Well-known member
I have been using the 5n for some professional event shoots where a full rig is too big and the inconspicuous nature of the Nex5n. On 2 of the three occasions it has been very warm and the camera overheats after about 20mins continuous.

lifting the screen helps, blowing air on the back cools it a bit more. all i know is that the panel underneath the screen gets warm.

So, I searched for some small heatsinks and found some DDR3 ram heatsinks with thermal tape included. I bought a pack of them and stuck them in the area where the camera gets hottest. All I will say is that since then, the camera stays a lot cooler- i have not yet seen the overheat icon pop up. for 5.99gbp the heatsinks are so good for keping the camera cool! they are working because you can feel that they are getting abit warm:)

the thermal tape is really strong, but can be removed easily without damage:)

Some images of the little 5N stealth rig. In case, with kit lens+ added rubber grip to make the silver lens less shiny and visible Note the way the screen no longer can be fully closed. not too much of a problem though as it still goes flat due to the articulated screen system.


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nice - does this still work if you use it with the screen down, covering the heatsinks? (like in the last picture)
 
pulling the heat away from the camera itself a lot quicker than it would without the heatsinks. my tests have been done with the screen positioned flat against the heatsinks. the camera no longer shows the overheat icon. gets to 29:50 on the record timer without any sign of the overheat icon. notice the way the heatsink fins are channelling upwards to assist the heat in travelling upwards and away from the heat source.
 
Martin Oller said:
Damn nice. And what's that Sony screen?
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cheers

sony clm-v55. pricey compared to lilliput, but the form factor of it is about half the size of the ugly lilliput 5" offering. really look the part when out and about. event guys take you more seriously and you can hit focus a lot quicker when grabbing that golden moment or smile of a crowd member:)
 
Interesting solution there - this might work with other articulated-screen cameras too.
Loving that tiny rig too, btw. (slightly jealous!)
 
I'm also very interested in trying this out. If you could share where you purchased them from, I would really appreciate it.
 
those copper ones look great - just make sure you install them with the fins in vertical direction, so the hot air can escape upwards
 
Got to 29:50 on PAL unit (50p). Overheat icon visible though from about 15min-isch. A lot of heat seems to go out onto the lens, guess air ventilation would be the optimal way to do it (like astro-DSLRs have grips with fans in them). But, the spreaders surely works great & makes this thing more trustworthy (although, a tad more ugly). Compensate with a big shiny lens ;)
 
Yeah I've noticed a lot of heat also comes out of the sensor too. But meh, ordered some heat sinks anyway. Even earning a few more minutes before the dreaded overheat would be worth it
 
ed_lee83 said:
Yeah I've noticed a lot of heat also comes out of the sensor too. But meh, ordered some heat sinks anyway. Even earning a few more minutes before the dreaded overheat would be worth it
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using mf lenses + aluminium adaptors help a lot with sensor cooling!:) It works best if you are using lenses all with the same fitment, ie, all canon fd, or all oly om fitment. if this is the case use some thermal tape between the emount and the adaptor itself. you'll want to sand paper the black paint from the face f the adaptor which joins to the emount. this creates a very good thermal path from the emount to the alyminium adaptor. test it. you can feel heat on the adaptor. buy a cheap 10gbp adaptor and have a play. You can even attach heatsinks or file the outside of the adaptor to increase the surface area so it acts even more like a heatsink..
 
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