Overheating Warning Icon in mild temperatures

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Do you keep the camera inside the camera bag or out during the night when air-con is switched on?
I think that the moisture from the air-conditioning combined with changes in environment from outside and inside tend to cause far more problems than the normal air temperatures you are experiencing.
I would also test the camera for prolonged periods in a dry atmosphere following a long spell stored in a non-air con environment.

[Charles Dasher]

The camera was out of the bag all night and then tested in the same air-conditioned environment this morning. No changes in temperature or humidity when I tested today.

It would be great if some other 7D users could conduct a similar test and just let the camera run in video mode and see if they run into overheating issues.

My dealer is actively taking this situation up with Canon and I am sure we will know more soon. I do not wish to raise a big alarm if this is merely an early run unit that has a unique issue.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Charles Dasher

I do not wish to raise a big alarm if this is merely a early run unit that has a unique issue.

Me neither, but the fact remains that unique issues with single units are very rare. So your call for more testing from other owners is a very good one, and I heartily encourage it. I'll try to work one in myself today.

[Don Miller]

Originally Posted by Charles Dasher

...................

I debated and waited a long time to get this camera versus an 35mm adapter for the EX1. I love the idea of using this camera in conjunction with my EX1 and also being able to take stills but I can not see the point is I need to turn it off every 20 minutes or so to cool down.

Still a good choice. The IQ of the 7D is decidedly superior to using an adapter. With the 5DII direct sunlight on the camera body is the only concern. It's very likely the 7D will have similar performance.
The cameras is instant on. So it is a good idea to leave auto off at 1 minute. Give it a little snooze now and then. Touch a button and it's ready to go.

[Don Miller]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Me neither, but the fact remains that unique issues with single units are very rare. So your call for more testing from other owners is a very good one, and I heartily encourage it. I'll try to work one in myself today.

But there is easily demonstrated component variability. Since the thermal design has little headroom, a component that would make a camcorder run a couple degrees warm may push these DSLRs over the limit.

They'll just replace the board on Charles's unit. Canon USA doesn't seem to have these parts right at introduction. Being just a few days old I suggest asking for a new unit.

[Dan Chung]

I'm just wrapping up from a day shooting The People's Republic of China's 60th birthday in Tiananmen Square.

It was quite hot and I was shooting intermittently for about 2 hours all at 720p/60 for slo mo with my production 7D. I'm sad to say it gave me temperature warnings almost the entire shoot and stopped me shooting at all at least 3 times during the period.

I was really happy with the footage that I did get, I'll post a link soon.

Dan

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Thank you for that information, Dan. Very revealing. I was going to try one out in France in 2-weeks time for certain work, but this thread has suddenly made me think twice and I may pull back on that option.

[Chris Hurd]

Just did five back-to-back 12-minute 1080p30 recordings indoors at 78 degrees F with no temp. warning indicator. Set up outside on the back deck, mostly overcast sky at 82 degrees F and rolled a 480p60 shot, left unattended while I took care of some chores. Checked it at 18:30 and saw the temp. warning indicator. Repeating the outdoor shot now at 1280p60.

Update: temp. warning at 9:00 -- out in the open with the sun mostly obscured; relatively mild day in CenTex.

[Don Miller]

Time for a hardware hack. Chemical cold pack? Radiator?

[Bill Koehler]

For what little it is worth, this is not just a Canon 7D issue.
It is also a Pentax K-7 issue. There they link rising camera
temperatures to the use of Live View, with there being a
five minute at a time limit.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

The camera should continue to work in a variety of tough environments, so shouldn't need cooling down or stop working, even in hot evironments. Possibly the dual processors will be a bigger future headache than most people imagined.

I wonder how the 5D MkII and 7D compare side by side during hot conditions, or even in tropical conditions when recording video.

[Kevin Lee Yuen]

Disappointing, guess I'll put off getting the 7d for now. Its 33c in the shade here, the 7d will choke before I could get anything shot.

[Phil Bloom]

i have shot A LOT with the 7d, albeit a pre-production one and the only time I have ever had this warning was when I was shooting the 7d training DVD in Florida, where you are Charles and I got it A LOT! Everywhere else it has been great. I have not tested my production model yet...

I did continue rolling when the warning came up and the video was fine.

[Charles Dasher]

Am I understanding correctly that the 5D can work a regular full day schedule like a video camera? I have followed the evolution of vdslr cams but have not heard much about 5Ds overheating.

This issue with the 7D is a bit of a surprise and changing my perspective on it's ability to work for me as an alternative to my EX1 at times. 90 percent of what I do is outdoor shooting and generally in the sun. No where in any pre production reviews did I see any warnings about overheating. So is this a defect or a shortcoming?

I am trying to think about work a rounds but it does not seem that one will be able to use this camera like a normal video camera. Will Zacuto build the 7D zfreezer?

Trying to keep it positive but it feels like my new bike I got for Christmas has tires with permanent slow leaks.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

I need all my stills cameras and video cameras to keep on working in a diverse range of environments worldwide in all temperatures from desert heat to Arctic snows, from low tropical rainforests to high mountain peaks - and none of my present stills or video cameras have so far let me down.
I was very much hoping that the most recent Canon DSLR hybrid (that at long last now caters to the needs of Pal shooters) would find a permanent place amongst my gear...but it looks like I'm going to wait yet again.

Hopefully the Nikon D3s when it is released will not suffer the same problems.