overheating your camera?

[schumionbike]

It is possible to overheat your camera by taking too many consecutive frames or had a series of consecutive long exposures?

 

[Josh66]

I'm sure it's possible, but I doubt you'll ever do it. I think you would be more likely to do damage with one very long exposure.

 

[Garbz]

Yes. While picking up a lens from a repair shop I saw a 300D with a dead sensor due to what was apparently only a single sub 30min exposure. I have taken a 45min exposure with me D200 without damage but the outside of the camera was hot to the touch. I would hate to think how warm the sensor itself got.

Never doing that again.

 

[Joves]

Like Garbs said yes. When I used to have my cookbook CCD camera for astrophotography, I used to cool it with nitrogen. Otherwise it would have only lasted for a couple of shots.

 

[Jaszek]

there goes my hope for 1 hr star trails lol

 

[schumionbike]

thanks guys, yeah I was taking a bunch long exposure yesterday and then I was like "hmm, wonder if this is such a good idea?" The exposure only lasted 15-20 seconds a piece and I took like 15-20 shots so I guess no big deal at all.

 

[AlexColeman]

Hmm, it is surprising that they never have put a sensor.

 

[TwoRails]

It is possible to overheat your camera by taking too many consecutive frames or had a series of consecutive long exposures?

I would imagine it's something that affects point-n-shoots more than DSLRs. For example, I was checking out a Fuji S9100 and in the manual it even stated you could overheat it, so give it a break once in a while from "hi performance" mode. DSLRs should be build more rugged with rapid fire in mind.

 

[Joves]

I would imagine it's something that affects point-n-shoots more than DSLRs. For example, I was checking out a Fuji S9100 and in the manual it even stated you could overheat it, so give it a break once in a while from "hi performance" mode. DSLRs should be build more rugged with rapid fire in mind.

Series of short exposures are no problem. Dslrs slow down after so many anyhow because they need to clear the buffer. But the sensors dont get hot from that.

thanks guys, yeah I was taking a bunch long exposure yesterday and then I was like "hmm, wonder if this is such a good idea?" The exposure only lasted 15-20 seconds a piece and I took like 15-20 shots so I guess no big deal at all.

It shouldnt cause a problem. It may also depend on how fast you are shooting those 15-20 shots. If the intervals one right after another of the same subject you might warm it a tad.

 

[Garbz]

If you're trying to overheat the sensor at 5 frames per second you're more likely to screw you shutter than you are overheat your camera.

 

[manfromh]

You could get a mechanical film camera for long exposures. No worry about overheating or batteries dying.

 

[Garbz]

You could get a mechanical film camera for long exposures. No worry about overheating or batteries dying.

Or noise! Without specialised gear (I am talking about digital cameras with heat control on their sensors, and 1mpx sensors with huge photosites) film completely annihilates digital for cheap hobby astrophotography.

 

[davebmck]

This is news to me. I have to wonder why camera manufacturers would allow exposures long enough to damage the sensor. There is certainly no warning in my manual.

 

[Garbz]

Well you can't do it in camera, not even in manual, not without a remote or something to force the camera shutter open. I wouldn't call an excessive (which is what it is in the name of startrails) exposure normal camera operation.

Plus I think the fact that the picture goes a horrid purple colour after about 15 minutes of exposure is an indication that you are using the camera way beyond it's intended purpose.

e.g. Me trying to capture the fluorescence of an old CRT TV which was turned off:

Needless to say the camera got worryingly hot after this 20min exposure.

 

[BrandonS]

if your trying to capture star trails for an extended period of time on a DSLR or a Point and Shoot, you can get away with it by taking multiple exposures and then stacking them together.

I have yet to find out how to do this. I know it works a lot better because certain programs can almost eliminate the noise completely based on the premise noise is random and stars aren't, so random points in each frame get tossed out.