A7Rii problem in low temperature?

[andyfowlie]

I have had the A7Rii since the start of August and it has been really fantastic... but in the last 3-4 days it has started to malfunction when using continuous shooting.

 

This happened first after about 1 hour of following a Eurasian Pygmy Owl the other day, the camera stopped in the middle of a 5 frame burst and said "camera error, please power the camera off and on again". I did so and the camera worked again for 20 minutes before the problem repeated... and this time power cycling did not help, game over for the day. A few hours later it was functioning again.

 

Today saw a repeat of the situation, but this time it happened immediately when I tried to shoot continuously (it was fine before and after when shooting single frames)

 

On both occasions the temperature was below zero, the first time it was -3C, the second time -8C.

 

So... I am wondering if my camera is broken... or if it is just too cold for it.

 

Has anyone else used the A7Rii with continuous shooting in sub-zero temperatures for any length of time?

 

Andy

[Guest Peter Kelly]

I don't have any experience of those conditions with the A7Rii, but it sounds suspiciously like a mechanical tolerance issue.

 

As the camera body gets cold then it will get smaller, through contraction, and if there is a mechanical part which has very little clearance normally then such a change in dimensions could cause sticking.

Whether this is unique to your camera, or something most users would find in cold weather, only time will reveal.

 

A quick check of the Sony site lists the operating temperature as 0'-40' C. Such specifications don't appear for their other cameras, so we are left to wonder if there is a reason. Perhaps because so much is crammed in a small space?

Unfortunately, it is unlikely we will ever know, and Sony will certainly never say, if there is a definite problem using in low temperature, but I suspect you've stumbled across it!

 

My only suggestion is to use single shot, or low speed continuous in preference to high, or certainly shorter bursts.

[andyfowlie]

Thanks for the reply Peter!

 

Single shot is fine for most of what I like to shoot, but when there is some interesting wildlife to shoot that really raises the difficulty... and living in Finland means that this kind of temperature is "normal" for nearly half of the year.

 

Hopefully others can tell if they have had any similar experiences in low temperature or if my camera is an outlier in this.

 

Andy

[andyfowlie]

There must be someone else in this forum who has tried continuous shooting with A7Rii in cold weather? Please let me know if your camera has managed this.

 

I have now contacted Sony support about this issue, waiting for an answer...

[seb]

Sorry, I was out below zero many times the last week, but I don't use continuous shooting. Now I'm back in the city and we don't expect that low temperatures. So I can't test that.

[Guest]

Have been out this morning, -4C.

I did some 5fps after one hour for ca. 10 frames every time.

No problem here, but I do not know how long time it will take for the body to be -4C inside, maybe it takes more than 1h

[andyfowlie]

Thanks OldSwede!

 

That is good news... if it is only my A7Rii that has this problem then there is hope that i can get a fix, my biggest worry is that the camera is "working as specified" when it fails in the cold.

[andyfowlie]

After a few exchanges with Sony support on this topic they have confirmed that there is no known issue with the camera for continuous shooting in low temperatures and if mine is failing then I should just send it to service. Good.

 

In the mean time it has been extremely cold here in Finland (currently -27C) and the camera been great for everything other than continuous shooting. I have mostly been using the fully electronic silent shutter (as it seems from the continuous shooting problem that my shutter does not enjoy cold temperatures) and the camera has performed very well, the camera lasts for longer than a photographer can in those conditions.

 

I plan to send the camera to service after a photography trip later this month.

 

In the meantime I would still be interested to hear from others who have either succeeded or failed with A7Rii continuous shooting in sub-zero temperatures. Let me know how that goes!

 

Thanks to all who have already commented!

[yali]

I used my A7RII in subzero this weekend. I didn't use continuous shooting. BUT I did notice the shutter sound to be different than when shooting above zero. Didn't seem to affect anything though...

[andyfowlie]

I used my A7RII in subzero this weekend. I didn't use continuous shooting. BUT I did notice the shutter sound to be different than when shooting above zero. Didn't seem to affect anything though...

 

Ok, that's interesting. I have also noticed a change in the shutter sound when doing single shooting (but the picture still comes out exactly right).

 

How could i describe what i hear... it is like the shutter gets half-way through its action, then pauses for noticeable moment, and then completes (instead of being like a single continuous action). The second part of the shutter sound (after the noticeable moment) sounds somehow lazy, like it is not going as fast or as smoothly as normal. Were you getting a similar sound?

 

This could be consistent with the continuous shooting problem, if the shutter struggles to complete one action then it would certainly struggle to start the next shot... which would mean that in single shooting you get a noticeable sound difference but in a burst you would get a fatal error.

[yali]

Yes, it sounded like it was somehow slower. And with being slower it also changed the frequency of the sound. I actually took a couple of shots with the camera to my ear just to make sure everything was ok.

I guess if it's the shutter that's too slow when cold you could solve it completely by switching to Silent Shutter?

[andyfowlie]

Yes, it sounded like it was somehow slower. And with being slower it also changed the frequency of the sound. I actually took a couple of shots with the camera to my ear just to make sure everything was ok.

I guess if it's the shutter that's too slow when cold you could solve it completely by switching to Silent Shutter?

 

It has been -15 to -27C here in Finland for the past couple of weeks and during that time I have been using the silent shutter a lot in case this issue is in danger of damaging the shutter... but as for solving the original problem that doesnt help at all - continuous shooting is not supported with silent shutter on the A7Rii - silent shutter is for single exposures only.

 

I have a trip this weekend to take pictures of golden eagles in the north of Finland (we will be in a hide which is heated so hopefully I can use continuous shooting without problems), after that trip I am planning to put my camera for service to see if they can find any fault with the shutter. If I get any news from that I will post back to this thread.

[djschwartz13]

I recently joined the Sony Pro Support program. It is $100 a year and provides full support for cameras and lenses. They also provide camera checks and cleanings each year. If I had he problem you were speaking of, I would send it to them. They guarantee it back in 72 hours. They also have loaners

[andyfowlie]

Thanks a lot djschwartz13, that's a good tip!

[maple888]

Ok, that's interesting. I have also noticed a change in the shutter sound when doing single shooting (but the picture still comes out exactly right).

 

How could i describe what i hear... it is like the shutter gets half-way through its action, then pauses for noticeable moment, and then completes (instead of being like a single continuous action). The second part of the shutter sound (after the noticeable moment) sounds somehow lazy, like it is not going as fast or as smoothly as normal. Were you getting a similar sound?

 

This could be consistent with the continuous shooting problem, if the shutter struggles to complete one action then it would certainly struggle to start the next shot... which would mean that in single shooting you get a noticeable sound difference but in a burst you would get a fatal error.

I am currently in Canada on a photo tour and I am experiencing the same thing, the camera works fine for a bit then the shutter sound starts to sound different exactly as you describe and then the camera error messages start, you need to take the battery out to restart the camera.Once the camera warms up it starts to work as normal. It has failed on 3 separate shoots 2 sunsets and one sunrise where the temps have ranged from -6 to -18 C. On all three occasions I have switched to my A7r backup camera with no issues.

[Username]

In the thread so far I see no reference to watching the 

little red "writing to card" LED. Maybe when the battery

is cold the processor hesitates. An a7r-II will be more 

demanding of processor energy than the rest of the a7  

series, due to its larger file sizes. 

[Time2Shred]

I'm having the same issue shooting continuous shooting with the a7rii in cold temps (-10 to -20 F). When shooting in continuous shooting the camera freezes with an error message saying to turn the camera off and turn it on. The only way to restart is to remove the battery. Very frustrating as I'm trying to shoot skiing. Called Sony and was told that the operating temps are above 32 F, which is a pretty frustrating answer. Stumbled across this and thought I'd post. I guess I'll try wrapping hand warmers or something,...would also be curious to hear if others have found a fix, or have any additional info. 

 

[SaveTheORca]

I've expeirenced something similar with my a7rii but with bulb mode at -15 celcius. It seems to be fine with shooting long exposures up till 10 minutes, but around the 10-15 minute mark it shuts off with a battery exhausted error. Now the funny thing is that after the batteries warmed up it had only lost about 20%