[SOLVED] G7X Mark iii HDMI Turns Off

[cutelikeshadows]

This is a pretty straightforward problem to describe, I have the camera connected via USB power, no battery. An HDMI cable through to a capture card, and I load up my software (pick one, Skype, OBS, IG, etc) select the output after turning the camera on, and 30 odd seconds later, the output goes black.

The camera still has the lens extended, and next to the play button there is a blinking light - but no video feed. Doesn't matter if I am recording or not. I've tried various combinations already (different cables, with and without battery, and as mentioned different software - also different ports on my PC)

If I remove the HDMI cable and start actively recording a video from the camera record button, this doesn't happen.

Any ideas?

[Waddizzle]

It sounds like you are trying to use a stills camera as a video camera.  Is the G7x Mark III on the Canon list of their camera bodies with "Clean HDMI" output?  Google it.

[cutelikeshadows]

Yes it is.

[rs-eos]

Yep, it is supported: See This Link. Scroll the bottom of the page and open the Clean HDMI section.

[bkspero]

We had an issue similar to this after about an hour of continuous operation with a G5 MkII because we left image stabilization on.  But with your display turning off in 30 seconds it sounds more like you have either a settings issue or product defect.

Could you have Eco Mode / Power Saving configured to turn off the display after a few 10s of seconds?  Pages 264/265 in the manual.  If you half press the shutter button when the display is off, does the display resume?

BTW, if you have the camera on a mount you might also confirm that image stabilization is turned off.  It will save power and cause the camera to run cooler.

[cutelikeshadows]

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@bkspero wrote:

We had an issue similar to this after about an hour of continuous operation with a G5 MkII because we left image stabilization on.  But with your display turning off in 30 seconds it sounds more like you have either a settings issue or product defect.

Could you have Eco Mode / Power Saving configured to turn off the display after a few 10s of seconds?  Pages 264/265 in the manual.  If you half press the shutter button when the display is off, does the display resume?

BTW, if you have the camera on a mount you might also confirm that image stabilization is turned off.  It will save power and cause the camera to run cooler.

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I guess I'm looking to find someone who uses it as a webcam successfully, because I want to know it's not supposed to do this, and they don't have this happening. Do you use yours as a webcam/video camera connected to a capture device and powered over USB PD?

If it can't do what I want, I might just return it. It's kind of unfathomable to me that it's so difficult to get it working in this mode. To answer your questions:

Eco Mode = Off.
Power Saving = Display off: 30 seconds, Auto Power Off: Disabled.
IS = Disabled all image stabilisation settings.

Connected to Elgator Cam 4K + USB PD, opened Skype, went to video settings, screen goes black after a short time. The little light next to the play button on the lower right of the camera begins to blink at a slow rate when this happens - no idea what that means.

[bkspero]

Our G5 MkII is used as a web cam connected by HDMI to a $15 no-name HDMI to USB video capture device that you can see all over Amazon and eBay.  It accepts an HDMI input of up to 4K at something like 30p and outputs via USB 2 at up to 1080p to a few year old Macbook Pro.  Software sees it as a USB webcam.  It has worked with Zoom and every other application with which we have tried it.  We use Audio from a microphone due to limitations of the G5 MkII audio.

I see that you have Display Off set to 30 seconds.  Sounds coincidently like the time it takes for your output to shut down.

You also describe that the status light on the back of the camera begins to blink when your display shuts down and ask what that means.  Well, on page 34 of the G7X manual there is a table showing the meaning of that status light, and there it says that a slow blinking light indicates that the display has turned off (another coincidence???).

Also note that on page 265 of your manual it says that the Display Off timing is applied even if you set Auto Power Off to [Disable].  So even though you might think that setting Auto Power Off to Disable would keep the display output alive, it looks like it doesn't do that.

It sure sounds to me like you need to disable the Display Off setting (or set it to some very long time) and the camera should work as you intend it.  At least that's what I see from reading the manual from your camera.  Maybe you could go through the manual and see what you find.

[cutelikeshadows]

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@bkspero wrote:

I see that you have Display Off set to 30 seconds.  Sounds coincidently like the time it takes for your output to shut down.

You also describe that the status light on the back of the camera begins to blink when your display shuts down and ask what that means.  Well, on page 34 of the G7X manual there is a table showing the meaning of that status light, and there it says that a slow blinking light indicates that the display has turned off (another coincidence???).

Also note that on page 265 of your manual it says that the Display Off timing is applied even if you set Auto Power Off to [Disable].  So even though you might think that setting Auto Power Off to Disable would keep the display output alive, it looks like it doesn't do that.

It sure sounds to me like you need to disable the Display Off setting (or set it to some very long time) and the camera should work as you intend it.  At least that's what I see from reading the manual from your camera.  Maybe you could go through the manual and see what you find.

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But... there is no disable option for that, the longest is 3 minutes. 😐

[cutelikeshadows]

I changed it to 10 seconds, timed it again and yes - it turns off after 10 seconds.

According to this, it cannot be disabled:
https://asia.canon/en/support/8202599200

How the heck do I stop that when there is literally no 'Disable' option for it?! :<

[bkspero]

Bummer.  Unfortunately our G5X MkII is elsewhere so I can't check the settings that we are using (and I set it up too long ago for my feeble memory to recall what I did<G>).

One more thing.  In a few web pages people mention that the camera should be set in Movie Mode.  If yours isn't set there, it's worth trying.

I did a forum search and found another thread where the poster said that he had gotten the G7X MkIII to stream via HDMI without shutting down when the display off time was reached.

https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/PowerShot/G7-X-Mark-III-Clean-HDMI/td-p/309931

The key for him was to have updated firmware (he referenced v1.2).  But that was nearly a year ago, so if you have a camera you just purchased, then it probably has that firmware or newer (check to make certain).  If yours is older, then update it and try again.

One more thing.  I saw another reference that said that the power saving settings could only be disabled when the camera was being powered via USB C.  So maybe that is the key.  I know that when we use it as a web cam it is running off USB C power.  Be aware, though, that not all USB chargers will power the camera.  It has to meet the PD (power delivery) specification.

The last straw that I can offer for you to grasp is Eco Mode.  In the G5X manual it says that setting Eco Mode to ON bypasses Auto Off / Display Off settings.  The link you provided relates to the G3X, and it mentions the same thing.  The G7X manual doesn't say that.  On the chance that the G7X functions in the same way, you might try setting Eco Mode to ON and see if it helps.