T2i / 550D Overheat Test

[Taky Cheung]

Perform some tests on how soon the T2i will get overheat based on T2i along, T2i + battery grip, and, T2i + battery grip + external monitor.

Canon T2i Overheat Test | L.A. Color Blog

From the result, the battery grip and external monitor does help in reducing the time for T2i to reach it's overheat status. However, the difference is not significant.

[Kevin Pineda]

great test, but are the times in hours minutes, or minutes seconds.?

[Taky Cheung]

it will be pretty sad it the T2i get over heat in 1 minutes and 4 seconds. =)

[Kevin Pineda]

lol just checkin thanks ;)

[Joel Peregrine]

Great test, Taky. I came up with very slightly better run times but couldn't tell you why. Did you let any of them go until they shut themselves down? I've been in some situations that baked my cameras and have gotten the overheating warning but never had one shut down because of it. That was one of my initial concerns even when I was only using the camera as a secondary angle.

Originally Posted by Taky Cheung

Perform some tests on how soon the T2i will get overheat based on T2i along, T2i + battery grip, and, T2i + battery grip + external monitor.

Canon T2i Overheat Test | L.A. Color Blog

From the result, the battery grip and external monitor does help in reducing the time for T2i to reach it's overheat status. However, the difference is not significant.

[Taky Cheung]

It could be the surrounding temperature that makes the difference. I wouldn't want to bake my cameras.. so when the overheating icon appeared, I turned off the camera.

[John Mastrogiacomo]

I did test the other day with mine with the battery pack in about 80 degrees temperature indoors.

The overheating light came on after 54 minutes. I kept recording for 4.5 hours and it was still recording fine.
I only stopped to change batteries and format the 16 GB card.

[Joel Peregrine]

Originally Posted by John Mastrogiacomo

I did test the other day with mine with the battery pack in about 80 degrees temperature indoors.

The overheating light came on after 54 minutes. I kept recording for 4.5 hours and it was still recording fine.
I only stopped to change batteries and format the 16 GB card.

I did the same thing. I just had to know what to expect. From what I've read the quality of a still image can degrade when the sensor is overheating, but movie quality isn't affected. I also used the continuous recording test to run all my cards from start to finish to check for defects.

[Bryan McCullough]

I keep meaning to do a T2i/7D overheating test. The other day I was shooting with both of them in an interview. Exact same conditions for both cameras (if anything the 7D was nearer to the lights).

After about an hour the T2i started giving an overheat warning. It never shut down and we shot for another 30 minutes, but the 7D never got the warning. I don't know if the warning on the T2i just happens earlier or what, I need to do a test and see which would shut down first.

[Harry Simpson]

I experienced this for the first time today shooting a 550D on tripod with RODE SVM mic on hotshoe

I looked up at the monitor and saw the flashing light - being new to the camera i figured it was the battery or memory warning but another tog told me it was the overheating warning

I cut off the camera and retired it for the day. Is the overheating for real or just a bug in the camera?? From the above post it sounds it may be ok to operate it and ignore this light?

[Olakunle Olanrewaju]

Originally Posted by Harry Simpson

Is the overheating for real or just a bug in the camera?? From the above post it sounds it may be ok to operate it and ignore this light?

I think it is for real and should not be ignored. I think i have heard this from one of the canon rep sometimes ago but i am not too sure.

[David Quakenbush]

I've received the overheat warning on multiple shoots (90+ degrees on set with extended takes, worse in direct sunlight). In my experience it does create additional noise in the video. Also, if ignored my particular camera develops a "hot" red pixel that has to be addressed in post.

Letting it rest for 10 to 15 minutes brings it back to working trim. Turning the camera off between takes (while the director gives stage direction, etc) can extend the working time significantly.... at least when you have a chatty director :)

[Taky Cheung]

It got challenging while filming catholic ceremonies as they always last over an hour. It just happened on me but I have 3 cameras to take turns.

When that happens, I turned it off for a few minutes and it gets back to work again.

[Harry Simpson]

That is such a huge problem though!! I mean major design flaw in the camera if I want to ever consider this camera as a "second video camera" which is what I bought it for. My 5D mk2 has NEVER overheated and I have used it to video over long periods of time. The $800 seemed a cheap alternative to another 5Dmk2 but if it can't video over a longer period than 30 minutes i don't have much.

If I'm shooting a live band and their set has each song running into the next song I barely have time to stop and start recording. I don't have 5 minutes to let it cool between songs. If there is some aftermarket heatsync or fan let me know. I'm not into wrapping the little camera in ice packs.....battery grip help a lot? From reading here i've not really heard a consensus on that.

I can see my next interview asking everyone to wait while my camera cools off..... :-(

[Taky Cheung]

This is a still camera with video function after all.