CANON EOS REBEL T7i AND THE EOS WEBCAM UTILITY - IS IT SAFE TO USE

[DoctorElectro]

Last night, Decemeber 13, 2020, I tried using my Canon EOS Rebel 7Ti with Canon's EOS Webcam Utility.  Amazingly, this combination worked great at first after downloading the EOS Webcam Utility and attacking my Rebel T7i via a USB cable to my laptop.  It worked for about an hour; but, then it video feed died.  I suspected that the Reel T7i battery probably died.  There was no response to turning the camera off/on again.  So I replaced the battery with a freshly charged battery.  Eventually, the camera came back to life.  So I continue to livestreaming a Zoom meeting utlizing this set up.  Finally, the video feed stopped again after about 45 minutes.  This time when I tried placing the battery, NADA.  No response from the camera off/on switching.  My camera appears to be dead.  Did I do something wrong?  Has anybody experienced this situation?  I thought that with the new Canon EOS Webcam Utility that webcaming with a Canon EOS Rebel t7i was authorized.  I am now facing the issue of possibly procuring a new camera body, unless there is a remedy for my situation.  Can you burnout something in camera during extended webcamming, eg. an hour ot two of webcamming?  Thank you in adavnce for any information.

[kvbarkley]

Yes you can damage the camera. You can overheat the sensor with extended bouts of webstreaming. The canon software is supposed to mitigate this, but it is a possibility.

[DoctorElectro]

If you overheat the camera sensor, does the camera just trip out temporarily through some safety interlock?  Would the sensor be permanently damaged in that case?  My camera seems to be functional again; but, I am concerned moving forward.  I want it to work when I need it.

[kvbarkley]

The answers are all over the map. And I doubt that you will get a definitive answer

[DoctorElectro]

Well, the next morning I took out my Canon EOS Rebel T7i that appeared to be dead as a door nail last night after extensive live streaming utilizing the EOS WEBCAM UTILITY.  The camera was still dead.  However, I decided to remove the SD card and try inserting a new SD card.  Suddenly, my camera came alive again.  Now I'm really in a quandry as to whether my camera will be reilable moving forward.  I originally bought this camera November 7, 2017, so it's 3 years old.  I am not sure of its expected lifetime.  Anyone have any idea how long a Rebel T7i is suppose to last?  I have been looking at the Rebel T8i body only as a replacement since the Rebel T7i body only is discontinued.  Any comments on the T8i?  I really would like to use it as a webcam too; but, I am afraid of screwing it up.  Is there any Canon representatives on this forum to provide recommendations about he Canon T7i or T8i use as a webcam using the EOS WEBCAM UTILITY?