T2i Unfortunately must return: OVERHEATING

[Richard J. Johnson]

We put our cameras in the fridge between set ups. And If we are shooting outside we have cooler with those Squeeze and Pop ice packs. We just set them in there and get back to it.

 

[ROCKMORE]

After reading up on the GH-1 a bit, I might have to consider that!

Do you own one or have any experience shooting on one? If so, how did you like it?

I don't have a GH-1 but all the people who have them, love them, over Canon for many reasons.
I wanted a Canon with H-264 as apposed to MTS files and the larger sensor. Another issue for me is Pal / NTSC. I work in both so I would need 2 GH1s, one for each region.
My work is all short commercial takes so I have no worries about overheating and do the bulk of my lighting and prep looking through the lens as I would a 35mm Arri. I also use an EX-3 for anything long form where heating may be a problem and have the Canon as a B cam.
The quality from the GH-1 is quite beautiful from what I've seen. If your interested I will find a few links to footage I that sold me it is a great camera. There is also no issue with aliasing and moire with the GH1 so for your brother's drawing with fine lines will prove to be less problematic.
They have no heating problems primarily because there is no mirror, but i shoot a lot of stills which make the Canon set up better seeing directly through the lens. The other advantage is the GH-1 can take lenses the Canons cannot because of the mirror. I have some Arri Zeiss lenses the would be nice on a GH-1. You should probably return your Canon while you can if the long form work is the primary task. Go to the GH1 threads and see what's new. Your project sound interesting. Good Luck.

 

[MadHMC150]

The GH1 is a good camera... its more adapted to typical VIDEO CAMERA functions which is not necessarily needed in all types of production - but would be a good solution for you.

I wouldn't say there is 'no' issue with aliasing and moire, but its far less apparent with the GH1 over canon's. Plus there are many added features I have found a big advantage over canon's lineup in general. Its kinda sad since I love 5D footage, but it hardly fits into the needs of my productions.

On the note of ice packs and putting the cam in the refrigerator.... This just doesn't sound like a long term good thing for electronics... To much humidity in FL I think...

 

[Vince K]

May I ask on what part of the camera do you put the ice pack too?

Thanks

Actually, I only cool the camera down during setups and in between takes.
I don't use the hard ice packs in the neoprene bag, but the soft gel packs ( more flexible) and I just sit it on top of the 7D with part of the bag sitting along side of the CF slot.
I originally made these for RED 1 shoots that I AC on, since you can actually sit the bag on the camera body during takes, but it's proved to be wicked/ awesome with my 7D as well. Not one issue since day 1.

 

[ATL Media Group]

I wanted a Canon with H-264 as apposed to MTS files .

Heads up.. They are the same thing. The h.264 is in either a .mov wrapper or as an .mts file. Same AVCHD/h.264 file within.

That's why Edius Neo 2.5 can edit both very smoothly in RT... Neo 2.5 has the "AVCHD Booster" technology which works for the Canon .mov files and standard AVCHD .mts files.

See this video:
http://vimeo.com/10189412

And here it is with 1080p60 footage:
http://vimeo.com/10384127

 

[Cieloent]

Actually, I only cool the camera down during setups and in between takes.
I don't use the hard ice packs in the neoprene bag, but the soft gel packs ( more flexible) and I just sit it on top of the 7D with part of the bag sitting along side of the CF slot.
I originally made these for RED 1 shoots that I AC on, since you can actually sit the bag on the camera body during takes, but it's proved to be wicked/ awesome with my 7D as well. Not one issue since day 1.

Thanks for the tip, I have a shoot coming up and will try this method!

 

[Vince K]

awesome! let me know how it works for you

 

[FatBird19]

Lets start over.

How about instead of using the battery you connect the camera to an outlet with the DC plug, this should help on the overheating. Second blast that AC in the room you are in and this should also keep your camera cool.

Last but not least you can look into the GH1 which records non stop ( your card size ) and does not over heat.

ps. Excellent footage and your brother has amazing talent!

Thanks, Cieloent.
Glad you like Matt's art. I know he'd appreciate it! He is VERY talented, and I hope his business opportunities continue to grow.

We actually bought the DC plug. Didn't seem to make a difference. And there's situations when we just can't control the temperature of the room (for instance, if Matt wanted to do a timelapse of an art piece he was making outside), and we don't want an overheating camera to limit the types of artwork he can promote on his channel.

We've been thinking it over and I've seen that the GH1 kit costs about $300 more than the T2i kit. For the price difference, we'd rather keep the T2i for all the other things we want to use it for and just buy a cheap, dedicated timelapse camera instead.
We've found a few Sony and JVC ones that look promising; video quality isn't great, but it's for timelapse anyway.

Basically, the T2i has far too many awesome features for us to return it in favor of a $300 more expensive camera with a smaller sensor and different lens mount.

My hope is that Canon would release a firmware update will allow users to:

1. Shoot timelapse mode in 1080p video (there've been many times I've been on a set with an HVX set at 2fps on the crew while they're setting up a large rig for just this purpose; it's really cool)
2. Have the option of disengaging the mechanical shutter when shooting photos from live-view mode
3. Have the option of shooting in 720 and 640 modes from the cropped portions of the full 1080 image

Those are just some ideas I'd like to see Canon implement in a firmware update (along with manual audio level control, obviously).


I'm not going to wait for them to do that though. Matt and I are going to buy a cheap camera for timelapse regardless, but my hope is that Canon would expand the functionality of their great camera with some features like this.

Thanks for all the help, everyone. :smile:

-J

 

[FatBird19]

Actually, I only cool the camera down during setups and in between takes.
I don't use the hard ice packs in the neoprene bag, but the soft gel packs ( more flexible) and I just sit it on top of the 7D with part of the bag sitting along side of the CF slot.
I originally made these for RED 1 shoots that I AC on, since you can actually sit the bag on the camera body during takes, but it's proved to be wicked/ awesome with my 7D as well. Not one issue since day 1.

This still looks like an interesting option for me.

Are these gel packs reusable? What brand do you use?

So If I understand correctly, the neoprene bag prevents all moisture from escaping onto the camera. I suppose if you trust it enough to use it on the RED while you're AC, then it must work pretty well!

Thanks.

 

[Cranky]

[Gel pack] still looks like an interesting option for me.

Don't forget that the T2i has a plastic body, which has much worse heat conductivity than metal. Putting the camera in a fridge may be a better solution... cooling-wise.