The truth about overheating DSLRs

October 13, 2010 By David Elrich

Are overheating DSLRs like Sony’s A55 and A33 a scandal of Watergate proportions, or simply physics at work?

Blogs are buzzing about a supposed flaw in DSLRs that shoot HD video. “My God, they overheat if they’re used longer than specified or in conditions other than intended in the owner’s manual!”

Puh-leeze, this is truly much ado about nothing.

The Curse of Multitasking

At one time, people were content taking photos with cameras and videos with camcorders. Manufacturers rightly thought, “Hey, why not combine their main functions into each?” In theory, this is great, but early on you got cameras that shot lousy standard-def video, and camcorders that took horrible stills. Over time, chips got better and quality improved in both cases. Still there were major compromises cramming this functionality into their respective skins. Digital Trends readers well know I’m not a fan of DSLR video, compared to what you’ll get with even a $350 AVCHD HD camcorder. Camcorders are designed to record for hours, or until the battery runs down or media fills up. They focus properly, and are as easy to use as opening a bottle of water.

Still the idea of a high-def recording DSLR is very cool. And if you’re spending $1,000 or so for a camera, shouldn’t it take good videos? Nikon hit the jackpot when it introduced the D90, a 12-megapixel DSLR that also recorded 720p movie clips. Since its introduction, practically every new DSLR captures 720p or 1080i movies — even if it’s difficult getting properly-focused results.

Since the D90 arrived, there was always the fine print that’s been glossed over. The camera and its brethren were never designed to continuously shoot video for long periods, and the Nikon owner’s manual specifically states: “Movie files can be up to 2GB in size and maximum length is 5 minutes for movies with a frame rate of 1280×720, 20 minutes for other movies.” Nikon also addresses overheating by noting that a countdown display will appear 30 second before shooting ends if the camera starts to overheat. “At high ambient temperatures this display may appear immediately when the camera is in Live View (movie) mode.”

This is not to pick on Nikon — you’ll see these warnings in every HD-recording DSLR’s manual. To simplify, it takes a lot for a camera to record HD, and it puts a lot of strain on the large imaging sensor and processor. It’s not exactly the same, but think of your notebook burning your lap — and those devices have loads of heat sinks and vents to dissipate heat build-up.

The DSLRs that have been the target of the blog buzz are the Sony Alpha SLT-A55V and A33. According to the company, both have a maximum HD recording time of 29 minutes but with a caveat — optical image stabilization needs to be turned off. The manual states the A55 can operate for 9 minutes at 68 degrees, while the A33 does 11 minutes with OIS engaged. If things get too hot, the camera will give a warning and shut down if it overheats. The cure for this is just turning it off for a bit and starting it back up. This is what I did in Wyoming when I intensively used the 10 fps shooting mode, and took AVCHD videos in 90-degree heat.

This is no Watergate, Iran Contra or missing WMD. Sony never said this is a camcorder — it takes camcorder-quality videos and very good ones at that. If you just want short clips, there’s no problem using the new Alphas or any other quality DSLR to capture high-def movies. If you want to shoot for hours on end, just buy a camcorder.

Showing 20 comments

Allanz at 11:10pm 19th June 2011 Come on people just buy Panasonics new DSL cameras bot DSLR since it dosnt use mirrors and the gh-1 and gh-2 and the g3 are perfect for filming all of which are micro 4/3s and they don't have any problems and the livemos feature has minimized the Rolling shutter by far, and oh yeah no overheating at ALL!!
sayan at 4:48am 17th January 2011 Check out http://nikond-3100.blogspot.com for Nikon D3100 details and compare with other DSLR from Nikon. Check out http://nikon-d-5000.blogspot.com for Nikon D5000 details. Check out http://canoneos-500d.blogspot.com for Canon EOS 500D details.
Dodocam at 9:35am 3rd December 2010 Say what you want, Sony has been marketing these babies as dual purpose still/video cameras. Therefore, Sony should have stepped up and issued a disclaimer about the overheating problem. It is quite clear that the engineers overlooked this concern when they designed the stabilization system which requires the sensor to be floating and therefore not being heatsunk to the camera body. With hindsight they probably wish that they had opted for in-the-lens optical image stabilization like Panasonic. Nevertheless a consumer should not be left holding the bag for a design flaw by the manufacturer. Even to-date there is no mention of this problem on their Sonystyle.com website where they tout the HD video shooting capabilities of the SLT-A33 and the SLT-A55. The overheating issue is only mentioned under technical support which is only seen when the person has already acquired the product and then realizes that there is a heating problem.
willard at 9:12am 10th November 2010 DSLRs are used for taking high quality stills and camcorders for recording long sessions of videos. If used according to situation, problems like overheating can be avoided and equipment life can be increased
Rhubarb at 11:59am 9th November 2010 10 minutes is longer than most video takes. But some occasions require that. And, on many occasions, one might need to take successive 10 to 15 minute shots, with brief pauses in between, over the course of an event. Would the a55 still overheat and need down time? This may not deter someone dedicated to still photography, but a definite problem for anyone who needs a dual service camera and expects to shoot significant amounts of video. A principal reason to introduce the translucent mirror cameras is to offer AF during video, but if the video is so constrained by heat, there has to be some Plan B other than to requrie two cameras. Sony could have fitted the a55 with a small fan, or a better heat sink. With all the noise coming from the AF, a micro fan would hardly matter, and an external mic would not be affected. Could the in-camera stabilization be part culprit? Might that be why Panasonic puts stabilization in the lens, rather than the body, of its micro 4/3 cameras that shoot video? The m4/3 sensors are smaller too, but separation of the stabilizer from the sensor reduce the heat concentrations?
Michael at 9:27am 11th October 2010 I hope there is a plan to offer a translucent mirror type without video. I already have a video camera.
Alsyon Mitchell at 2:16pm 8th October 2010 Don't think there have been any such issues with Panasonic's GH-1. I've shot for a couple of hours straight with no issues. I do stop/start just to keep the files smaller, but I've never had or heard of a problem with the GH-1.
@hirestandards at 10:59pm 7th October 2010 I'm waiting for my a55 to arrive by Fedex tomorrow. I was unaware of these overheating issues. I agree that this issue should be mentioned somewhere in advertising. If the issue is the same with all DSLRs, okay, I'll have to live with it. I don't know when I'd be shooting a video of more than 9 minutes, but it would be nice to have the capability. But again, it would be nice to have the information up front. C'mon now.
Xor at 2:19pm 7th October 2010 O rly? Canon 7D have 12 min limit. In order for the 5D mark II to avoid being taxed as a video camera in the EU, the video recording limit is 30 minutes in standard definition (480/30p) mode. At HD bitrates this is roughly equal to 12 minutes of video, resulting in a 4 gig file. So, there is still limits and for both of them it is 12 min in full HD. For the sony it is 29min in the full HD w/o ISS, but could be done with sigma OS. a55 better then 5dmkII and 7D in this. " it's probably just those models within the manufacturer." - Yepp, Canon limitations.
David Elrich at 5:32am 6th October 2010 This is a bit of old news (circa May 2010) but here's a link to a story about the Canon 5D Mark II used to record an episode of "House." I'm sure everyone will want to walk around with a rig like this! http://www.pdngearguide.com/gearguide/content_dis...
David Elrich at 5:28am 6th October 2010 When I used the A55 during the press preview I shut it down for about 5 minutes with the lens off while sitting in the shade. I then reattached the lens, powered up and everything worked fine.
gman863 at 4:17pm 5th October 2010 I was sent a link to this article by Sony after I contacted them with a pre-sale question regarding this issue. While I now understand the limitations of these models, I agree the manufacturer websites and in-store signage should include a disclaimer (at least an asterick by the "HD Video" feature with the fine print at the bottom) on the maximum HD recording times. I still have one question: How long does it take for the camera to cool down and resume shooting HD video? If taking a few minute break in between shooting longer scenes, I can deal with it. If the cool down period is longer (say, 15-30 minutes), it cools off my interest on spending the extra bucks for the HD video option.
guest at 11:50pm 3rd October 2010 Well, lets see, names mentioned Sony and Nikon with pictures and of course well placed Ad's for both brands. This is not an article it is an Advertising extention... or an extention of the instructions ... These camera's could easily have an auto shutdown at a specific temp ... but demand is for high quality short video's ..and these camera's and other brands like the unmentioned and unadvertised Canon's do the job great!
El Paso Birdman at 11:47am 3rd October 2010 A 30-minute home movie? Quick, gag me with a spoon. I think the forums eagerly rip up any new product at the slightest hint of a flaw. DSLR videos are cool for those occasions where a still just won't do. I have had my D90 for over a year now, have taken maybe 6 short videos and am quite delighted. I have the Sony SLT-A55 on order and again, did not buy it for the video capabilities, although I'm sure that feature will also come in handy on occasion.
WML at 12:25pm 2nd October 2010 Do you really think they used one 7D or one 5DmkII to film the entire episode? Continuously? You're joking, right? Do you even know anything about video production to make a statement like that? All DSLRs will overheat and you really can't have continuous video for extended periods of time. Canon, Nikon, Sony, et.al. are all limited by sensor heat. As technology moves forward, this shortcoming will be ameliorated. But not now. Not yet.
1. Xor at 2:21pm 7th October 2010 How about 30min tax limitation? Do you think with the technology moving forward and of this manufactures will move DSLR into video camcoders?
JTZ at 11:44am 2nd October 2010 just fyi, many tv shows on the air today are shot with either the 7D or mkII. don't know what you're talking about when it comes to dslr's overheating. it's probably just those models within the manufacturer.
yellowfattybean at 4:30pm 1st October 2010 Do you honestly think they should be including and advertising features that the product clearly cannot handle?____Do you honestly think that paying a $1000+ for a camera that has features that can cause damage is fair?____All they really have to do is lock it at a minute and not worry about the camera being pushed to the point of shut down. Also this sensor is probably going to be the reason the camera is replaced in the near future. I've owned dozens of sony products and half way through I basically was buying their stuff just under the curiosity of what bonehead part is going to keep me from using said product. It was always something stupid and not fixable like heat errors and read errors.
1. ioman at 5:03pm 1st October 2010 Did you read the article? This even happens on Nikon cameras. It's something that will happen on most, if not all DSLR's.
2. David Elrich at 5:04pm 1st October 2010 But it does work--with the caveat you can't record for more than 10 minutes or so with OIS engaged. I've shot the A55V and the videos are really good with focusing that's far better than any DSLR I've tested. I haven't heard of any issues re: the Nikon D90 sensor frying but I'll check into it. That said Sony definitely has had its screw-ups, given exploding laptop batteries and all. The A55V/A33 overheating issue is nothing like that.