Cheap cooling for A6300

[wonderotter]

Though I haven't had the camera shut down during a real shoot yet (it has shut down when it was sitting on my bed...4k 30p - no ventilation underneath) I have had the high temp. warning come on during a paid shoot (4K, 30p). The A6300 was a B cam but important nonetheless. I got through a 6 hour shoot with some breaks for cooling. I thought I would try to make an active cooler for the camera. Sharing it here 'cause it's cheap and easy and seems to work.

I glued together 2 30mmx30mmx10mm 5 volt DV brushless cooling fans side by side and then connected them in parallel to a USB power cable. I am using a USB power bank to power the fans. They'll run for hours on a power bank. They do produce some noise but it is not significant for what I'm shooting. I'm usually 10 feet away from interview subjects with the B cam. It would be even less of an issue with event shooting.

The fans slide in very nicely behind the screen when it is tilted and I have run the camera for hours without getting the high temp. warning at normal room temperatures. Not sure how it will work in the summer heat or a hot venue. I have 3 more paid shoots next week in a variety of situations. I'll report back on temperature and usability when those shoots are done. I'm confident Sony will address the temp. with a FW update, but in the meantime...I can worry less about temperature when shooting for extended periods.

[LiveShots]

Have you tried running the A6300 from an external power source ? I suspect that much of the heat is coming from the battery, if you use an external power source I doubt that the A6300 would overheat at all.

[wonderotter]

Have you tried running the A6300 from an external power source ? I suspect that much of the heat is coming from the battery, if you use an external power source I doubt that the A6300 would overheat at all.

Yes...you're right. Just using the battery is the worst from a temp. perspective. I have tried both using USB and using a knock-off Sony AC-PW20. With the USB power, the battery still drains when shooting 4K, but at a reduced rate and it does heat up but not as hot or as quickly as with battery alone. Using the AC-PW20 is the best solution, but I had the temperature warning come on after extended use even with the AC-PW20. When using USB or battery alone power, a good practise is to change the battery to a fresh, cool one. That's why I tried the fan cooling - all power methods eventually triggered a high temp warning, though the camera continued to shoot for quite some time with the warning icon on.

[Austerror]

I was reading somewhere that leaving the battery door open can aid cooling also.

 

I've not verified this myself.

[wonderotter]

I was reading somewhere that leaving the battery door open can aid cooling also.

 

I've not verified this myself.

Likely helps as does opening the flash. I've not had a chance to be very 'scientific' in my testing methodology ; )

[iankelsall25]

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i have made some progress on how to keep my A6300 from overheating when filming in 4k mode. i figured that to make it practical, it would have to able to be attached to a tripod and have a quick release for the camera. the result has allowed me to record continuously for just over an hour at 4k. this is using a patch that allows for continuous video recording. i also tried an idea that i got from reading this forum that suggests plugging in a portable charger to reduce overheating of the battery and slow down the drain. i tried this idea this morning and left the camera running continuously for 30 mins without a warning sign coming up for overheating. the battery had drained to 62% from 97%.
 
as i use the a6300 for extended video recordings (weddings) overheating and running over the brickwall 30mins has been
a problem when using 4k, not to mention the battery drain. i need to see how this setup performs in a hotter environment to see how long i can run the camera for but this is nevertheless a significant improvement for me at least if i use both ideas together.
the fan will run off a small usb charger with a modified cpu fan 92mm connector.