Possible Overheating Situation?

Mikungfu

Mikungfu

Active member
Hi!

I have had an issue today that worried me big time.:huh:

I am o-b-s-e-s-s-i-v-e-l-y cautious (squeamish sometimes) with my cameras. I ordered customized reinforced flight cases just to carry my cameras around for any work I do. They have a compartiment inside that is exactly the same size of the camera body, which fits inside like a glove.

Today however something went wrong: I simply forgot to turn the power off... And placed the camera body inside the flight case for about an hour.
When I removed the camera to shoot again, to my surprise, the camera was considerably hot. I wouldn't say extremely hot but... Reasonably hot. I noticed then I had left the power on. It baffled me that since it wasn't recording or anything that it could get that hot... But I guess that being inside the flight case with all it's padding, didn't help much.:undecided

So, I went ahead and started shooting... Or so I would have, if it wasn't for the message on the screen saying "No Card" or "Check Card"...:shocked:
The camera simply didn't detect my card or at least couldn't read it. I removed and reinserted the card twice with no results... PANIC!

Then I changed to the second slot and the camera was finally able to read the card. All that I had shot was there. So I removed it again and inserted it back in the first slot. Curiously enough, it was now able to read the card on the first slot too. So, everything seemd to be back to normal.

Questions:

a) Does the camera have a safety power off, to prevent overheating situations?

b) How could the camera temperature cause it not to be able to read the cards? Is this possible to have been the cause?

c) Could this have been caused by the counterfeit cards? I strongly suspect my Sandisk 64GB SDXC cards are countefeit, given the fact that they were bought on ebay and don't accept VFR recording...

d) Can leaving the camera on standby in a bag or case like this, cause overheat? Could this ever cause permanent damage?... Could this damage anything in long term or reduce the life span of this camera in any way? If so, shouldn't there be a safety "auto-turn-off" mechanism??...

For someone that is obsessive squeamish with the camera, this certainly was a scary and frustrating experience... It leaves me coleric to be so careful and then have these things happeing.:Drogar-Angry(DBG):
 
I actually left my camera on for a couple of hours on sticks indoors and it did get warm so I suspect this is normal and much more so if in a closed case. Your card seams to not be a genuine Sandisk since you can't do VFR. It is class 6 or 10 right? Bad cards is begging for trouble so I would buy a new card and toss the bad one. Maybe the camera is more sensitive with built up heat and bad cards.
 
Its summer here in Australia - we've had some hot days. One hot day I needed to test an OEM battery (wanted to test if the camera read the battery time correctly). I placed the camera outside in full sun and recorded the sky for 3.5 hours as intermittent clouds passed overhead using Panasonic cards. No issue. Im guessing youre dodgy card may have been the culprit, but only based on my own experience.
 
My camera sat on the dolly in the studio right in amongst the set lights ...constantly turned on for 12.5 hours day one and 15+ hours day two.

Got slightly warmish. (We checked ). No issues.

I would think it would get hot in a sealed case. Most electronics have heat sinks. All energy produces heat.
 
I'm feeling like a donkey here... My cards are class 4. This in itself is more than reason not to be able to do VFR... No wonder, duuhh...

Actually, when I looked at the printed logo, it seemd genuine based on some web articles that teach how to tell a counterfeit by the print quality). Maybe they are not counterfeit and simply don't do VFR for being class 4?.. Are class 4 cards inappropriate for the AF101 at all?

Anyway, what I'm most worried about is that this may have meant that the camera suffered any form of damage... Long term, or even permanent. Could the type of overheat (if any) caused by closing a camera in standby on flightcase for an hour, result in any damage?
 
Last edited:
I've left my HVX200 on inside a pelican case, in the trunk of my car, in the summertime… It was hot enough to fry an egg on the front lens element. No damage still works fine; and I suspect at some point I'll end up doing the same thing with my AF100's.

I've also dragged them through snowbanks in -40ºc weather, and into the snow spray from a snowmobile track - both times they were encrusted with so much snow I thought they were trashed. But they are still shooting, and making me money.

Not saying that you shouldn't be careful with your gear, but it's tougher than you might think. If I have a choice between babying the camera or getting a great shot - I'll get the great shot every time.

G.
 
Yes, both what you and Noel are saying makes sense and allows me some relief but, it's possible that there is a difference in overheating from the outside and overheating from the inside due to electrical activity... I don't know...
 
Mikungfu said:
Yes, both what you and Noel are saying makes sense and allows me some relief but, it's possible that there is a difference in overheating from the outside and overheating from the inside due to electrical activity... I don't know...
Click to expand...

My HVX was on and in the case in the car trunk - double whammy of heat from the inside electrical activity and from the outside...
 
Oh, I see... Well that's somewhat comforting to know... But if someone still has other ideas whether this is dangerous or if it's possible that some damage can accor in a case like I described, I'm all ears...:huh:

And, also... Any theory on why I had the "chck card" message and my camera couldn't read the card for a while, is also greatly appreciated.:thumbsup:

Last but not least... How bad are class 4 cards and what are the possibilities that this may have had influence on this happening?
 
Heat is the enemy to electronics. There are temporary and permanent effects.

Temporary - what you experienced. Electronics may fail or operate with bugs when operated over the designed temperature. That is a temporary condition. It can be permanent if the temperature goes too high.

Permanent - Heat also shortens the life of electronics. You've stressed your equipment. It's life may have been shortened. The longer you run equipment at high temperature, the shorter it's life will be.
 
But couldn't have this been only related to the SDXC card? I mean, couldn't it be that the overheat malfunction was on the card rather than on the camera?... And by removing it a few times and reinserting it, it fnally cooled down to the point of being functional again?
 
thats why i use a Kata bag for my dvx (and 7d)...they have a some kinda thermal technology in there that keeps things cool. Even when the sun is blazing. I've left my dvx on in there and it was warm...but not as warm as i'm sure it could have e gotten. I doubt you did damage to the camera though
 
Mikungfu said:
But couldn't have this been only related to the SDXC card? I mean, couldn't it be that the overheat malfunction was on the card rather than on the camera?... And by removing it a few times and reinserting it, it fnally cooled down to the point of being functional again?
Click to expand...


Yes, that is a possibility. Regardless of that, you have stressed your camera. I'm assuming your flight bag has some nice foam in it. That is a good insulator. The heat can't get out. The camera gets hot. That stresses the electronics. How bad did it stress it is unknown. What long term effects it has is unknown. It may be insignificant. One thing is certain. Heat shortens the life of electronics. There are very precise calculations that are available to make predictions on the life of electronics. Heat is a prime factor in those equations. These are used to predict MTBF (mean time between failures) that are essential in important electronics such as communications, satellites and the like.

Don't let what I am saying freak you out. It's just some tidbits for future reference. Have fun with your camera and don't do it again. :)
 
Mikungfu said:
a) Does the camera have a safety power off, to prevent overheating situations?
Click to expand...

Don't think anyone answered this, but yes, the camera does have a Power Save mode that automatically turns the camera off after 5 minutes of inactivity. Its in the "Other Functions" menu...if you're lucky enough to have gotten Barry's book with your camera, its covered on page 186 :)
 
jaypass said:
Don't think anyone answered this, but yes, the camera does have a Power Save mode that automatically turns the camera off after 5 minutes of inactivity. Its in the "Other Functions" menu...if you're lucky enough to have gotten Barry's book with your camera, its covered on page 186 :)
Click to expand...

I absolutely hate this function… The art director is fussing with the set, or the food stylist is primping the cake - and just when you are ready to shoot: the camera shuts down. Great if you are using it for home movies at Grandmas birthday party and you sit the camera down to eat some cake; but not for use on any paying job.
 
Hi,

I fully believe your card was at fault for most of the malfunction part of your experience. I would expect that the camera would get warm in a case without and air to cirulate. This would be normal. I have left a camera on for days in the lab, and it was warm but not hot. I would expect in a closed case it would be hot. I wouldn't recommend the pratice, but I don't believe it will harm anything. It is only coincidence that you happen to be feeding it a faulty card. Buy cards from an authorized reseller and the issues with card mounting, recording and playing back your footage will go away. Class 4 will record AVCHD, but you need Class 6 for VFR.

Best,

Jan
 
Something I don't understand is this: Why buy cheap unproven cards? Especially on ebay… Class 6 or 10 cards from Panasonic and other high quality manufacturers, purchased through reputable suppliers aren't that expensive; especially when you consider the consequences of card failure.

Pony up the extra $ and get cards that you can trust.
 
Because my dealer said something that lead me to believe he was going to include Panny SDHC cards on the bundle but, it turned out there were none so, I rushed into buying some without understanding a lot about it. The cards are not unproven or counterfeit, I believe... And not everything is bad on ebay if you know your ways around it. But I bought class 4 out of sheeer ignorance. I will certainly rush into buying new class 6 cards.

@Jan: Thanks a lot for your feedback. It certainly was most reassuring to learn all you've just stated. Yes, it does make perfect sense... Specially now that I've had more issues with the cards having to play clips to repair them, etc... And all that without overheating and with both cameras alike.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top