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,

[TCampbell]

I'm still suspicious that it may be a micro-switch since you're not getting heat warnings and those are designed to kill power. You may have a single switch which is flakey and not getting good contact.

The forums here are really an end-user support community. If someone has an issue because they're not using a feature correctly, odds are high someone here will figure it out and be able to help. But in your case, the camera isn't warning that you have an over-heating problem. A bad memory card will usually result in the video recording being ended before you want... but that wont power down the camera. The micro-switch on the other hand... that WILL power down the camera (that's why I'm suspicious).

To get this corrected you probably should contact Canon support and make arrangements to send it in for evaluation.

Is it a new 60D (it it under warranty?)

[cale_kat]

The pattern of performance the OP describes in the first post strongly suggests heat-related issues.

I quote, " 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."

Could a micro switch generate sufficient heat to cause performance to fail in this way? This sounds like the camera sensor overheating and not having sufficient time to cool down.

[gregoriodavila]

It does seem like overheating, but I never see the warning lights flash. Plus is it normal for the camera to start overheating just 20 min's into recording? Seems like it tenders this camera useless for video recording.

[cale_kat]

The room temperature, ventilation, and resolution will all combine to create a temperature reading. So what works in one environment might not in another. You really should have some baseline readings on the camera by now. I don't know how many interviews you've conducted, etc. But it would be, I imagine, really helpful to practice the shoot in the same conditions as they take place to determine the limitations of your equipment. If the lighting is creating additional heat then you might need to rethink your lighting.

Frankly, I wouldn't worry too much about not seeing the heat warnings. You probably weren't looking for them and were to busy managing a challenging job.

BTW, never point the camera at the sun when filming. It can destroy the sensor.

[gregoriodavila]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Unfortunately we shoot on location at each individuals home or office so it's not a 'controlled' environment. Plus it's been mid 80's here in L.A. for a couple of weeks now. We've alos been shooting with the Panasonic gh3 and never had this issue with it.

P.S. If anyone els has advice or tips please post. Thank you!

Wish me luck!

[TCampbell]

It can handle quite a bit of heat.  I run my 60Da hard for hours and the internal temperature sensor will reach 115-120ºF (The astrophotography image-aquisition application uses the Canon SDK which allows it to retreive that data.)

I think you need to consider alternatives.  

[gregoriodavila]

Hi TCampbell,

Can you tell me what you mean by "alternatives"?

[cale_kat]

Homes and offices? They've got AC in LA, don't they? 

[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.