Canon 60d keeps shutting itself off!!

[gregoriodavila]

I'm having a major issue with my Canon 60d and I'm hoping you can help me.

I'm shooting a documentary with many interviews. This **bleep** camera keeps shutting off. Not the 12 min shut off during video, it just keeps shutting off.

I read on blogs about the SD card not keeping up. I've used two cards: ScanDisk 32 mb class 10, and Transcend 32 mb class 10 and had the same issue. I'm shooting 1920x1080 24fps.

I'm thinking maybe the camera is getting hot? It will initially record fine for about 20 min's then shut off. Recoding again it shuts off after about 7 min. then 5 min, then 3 then continues at a lower and lower recording time until it shuts off around 30 seconds into recording.

I have found nothing online that will solve this problem.

I am interviewing many well know figures who have been around a long time and have great notoriety, and it's extremely embarrassing  to have this happening. Not to mention not getting the information I need for the movie because of camera issues.

Please help!!!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Much gratitude,

[gregoriodavila]

So I did a test today in my house in a cool air conditioned room.

I let the camera record in 1920x1080 at 24fps.

I got 4 smooth recordings where I stopped and restarted recordings manually at roughly 8 to 9 minutes each time. Then the fifth recording shut the camera off just after 3 min. Turned it immediately on agian and it rudely capped off at just 20 seconds!

I took the card out and let the it and the camera cool for 15 min then tried again.

The first recording turned off around 7 min. I turned it back on immediately and I got 3 min. Then got 1.5 min.

The overheat light NEVER came on at all during these recordings.

So while the cooler room helped, it didn't solve the issue. Basically I was able to get only about double the uninterrupted video that I have been getting in the warmer rooms.

Anybody have a Panasonic gh3 they wanna trade??

[cale_kat]

I think you're going to have to send it in for repair.

Good luck with your service call.

[RobertTheFat]

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@cale_kat wrote:

I think you're going to have to send it in for repair.

Good luck with your service call.

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It sounds as though there may be a problem with the warning lights in the OP's camera. But let's face it: The real problem is that the OP is using a consumer-grade camera on an application for which a professional-grade camera is needed. If he's levelling with us about the important personages he's interviewing, and there's no reason to suppose that he isn't, then he has to understand that freedom from embarrassing equipment failures starts with having the right equipment available. I'm not a videographer, so I don't know what camera he needs. But I don't think it's a 60D.

Bob

[cale_kat]

I have suggested the same and recommended that the OP get a second body. Tools are tools, so I'm not inclined to argue the merits of the choice. But the OP has asked a question about their tool so I think it is more productive to suggest how to get better results rather than suggest how they could have made better choices. But the limitations of the camera are not predictable in the absence of the warning symbols. It should be fixed and the OP should have this as a takeaway from the thread. Unfortunately, the OP seems more interested in venting.

[gregoriodavila]

Well I've recieved the use of a Panasonic gh3 from a friend (who says he specifically avoided purchasing the Canon becuase of it's history of overheating), so for now my problem is solved.

I most likely will sell this camera 'as is' and hope the next owner has a better use for it and it's limitations than I.

Thank you for those who posted constructive advice. And I hope this thread will be a helpful too for anyone who is researching camera's before purchasing.

Happy 4th!

[cale_kat]

I keep an eye on the Panasonic boards. I have a feeling you'll be showing up there. And don't break the loaner...

Happy Fourth!

[gregoriodavila]

We shot the first half on the Panasonic and had absolutely no problem, so I think it's the better choice at this point.

[gregoriodavila]

I don't think expecting a camera to record video longer than 40 minutes at a time is unreasonable. Whether a camera is 'professional' grade or not this shouldn't be an issue. Documentaries are shot with all types of camera grades: that's the nature of documentary filmmaking. 

[TCampbell]

My camera will get fairly hot internally and not shut off.  I think we have 6 other guys in my astronomy club who all happen to own the same camera and they're not seeing any problems either.  These cameras can be run... taking exposures continuously for hours on end.  I have a good friend who owns a 60D which he uses almost exclusively for video -- he has no problems either.

Add to that, you're not getting a heat warning at any time.  That all seems a bit suspicious for it to be heat.

It would be easy enough to rule out... put the camera in front of an AC vent and let it shoot video for 29 minutes to see what happens.  If you can consistently get it to work when it's cold, but cannot get it to work it's in more normal shooting temperatures, then you may actually have a heat problem.

How repeatable is this problem?  Will you _always_ get the camera to fail if you try to shoot 25 minutes worth of video?  (...and you never get a heat warning?  Are you looking for the icon?)  

How old is the camera?

How old is the battery?  Is it a Canon battery or 3rd party?  How often is this battery used & recharged? (e.g. once per week?  once per day?)  I'm trying to estimate the charge cycles on your battery or batteries?

If the camera shuts down, can you immediately switch it back on ... or does it go non-responsive and make you wait a while?

I'm still suspicious that you may need to evaluate the micro-switches on the doors because that WILL cause the camera to power off instantly (you get no warning... try it sometime...  power up the camera and open a door (battery or memory card door.)   

Power on your camera (you don't need to be shooting video - just make sure it's on and you can see the display on the screen).  VERY SLOWLY start sliding back the memory card door as if to open.  How far can you slide it back before the camera switches off?

When I do this (slowly open the door to see how much it takes to power off) on my 5D II and 5D III bodies and then measure it... I'm getting a little over 3mm (this isn't estimated, I'm using a digital depth gauge ... actually it consistently needs just a tiny bit more than 3mm or it wont turn off.)  

IF, on the other hand, I do the same experiment with my 60Da body, it will switch off within the first 1mm ... using a digital depth gauge I got a measurement of .64mm and a measurement of .55 on the next test.  If Canon cannot guarantee that they maintain that tight of a tolerance in manufacturing, then I'd consider that to be a design flaw.  

The battery door didn't require much either but it was a little more than the memory card door.

Anyway... this is what I mean by attempting to isolate and test the alternatives.  

[cale_kat]

TCampbell writes, "...put the camera in front of an AC vent..."

Please, OP, do not do this! It is a recipe for disaster because cooling the outside of the camera could lead to condensation internally. This is very bad advice.