Hero 7 Black Over Heating :-(

[aenriquez]

@dannys5557, I appreciate the info. Additionally, ensure to have the latest firmware update (v1.8) installed in your HERO7 Black camera and that a recommended SD card is used to consistently achieve the best result. Using SD cards that aren't recommended can cause issues like freezing as the card isn't fast enough to write the content, the camera getting hot or battery consumption is higher than normal as the camera stays in an active mode trying to sync to the card.

Feel free to post back if anything else comes up. Stay stoked and have fun capturing moments with your GoPro!

[rockycreek1611]

Fishycomics I do use it in 4k60fps all the time, that's what I bought it for. Why would I spend almost 400 quid on a camera to film in 1080p? I might as well use a gopro hero 3 or 4 etc. So your comment is a bit idiotic if I may be so bold.
Some of my journeys are over an hour long but on a motorbike overheating wasn't a problem. In a car however.. that is a different story altogether. You can cook on it after 20min. which in my opinion is not great especially when you look at the cost of this thing. I had quite a few GoPros over the years, all of them with their own little snags but I think the time has come to look at the competitors and see what everyone else has on offer. Action cameras are no longer a niche product which is good news for the consumer.

[adeptwater21433]

I'm not really happy about having holes in my vacation footage thanks to this overheating. I've had it a month and paid for the camera warranty. I'd like a refund as well please. The camera is not as advertised. 4k60 only works for so long before the camera overheats. Who do I contact about a refund? I'd be happy with an action camera that works alternatively if you manage to fix the problem with the next iteration. A free upgrade to it would also be acceptable. All I really want is what I paid for.

[adeptwater21433]

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@higuma wrote:

@mariustanyaI'll be doing the test soon but I was wondreing if you can give me any kind of difinitive answer to the following...

Background...

Purchased 2x Hero7 Black to use in a car racing situation - mostly exterior placements but sometimes interior...

I have rigged up suction mounts - using vacumn pump type 15cm cups and have rigged external 5,000 mah batteries to the setup for capture of long recordings with Sandisk Extreme 128GB A2 cards...

In my intended "default" configuaration...

1st camera ( front ) will operate with GPS disabled, 2.7k 60p, Superview, Protune on, HyperSmooth enabled & internal mics set to Wind with a foam windslayer - this audio track will normally not be used but will serve as a "backup" - I am a little worried about heat with the "windslayer" but we will see if it contributes to excessive heat... This will serve as my Main veiw camera angle...

2nd camera ( rear ) will operate with GPS enabled, 1080/60, Superview, Protune on, HyperSmooth enabled & external unidiectional mic ( Nikon ME-1 ) through GoPro 3.5mm adapter with a dead cat - camera will be housed in a 3rd party Ulanza housing ( housing and mic adapter holder all in one ) with external mic negating the need for the foam windslayer... This will serve as my PIP veiw rear camera angle - GPS telemetry info for Race Render overlay - and default sound track in finished footage....

My concepts were that the higher resolution front camera could benifit from the GPS off ( less heat ? ) while the rear could handle it based on the lesser resolution load... Both cameras powered by the external batteries with no standard battery inside the cameras and triggered simutaniously using Smart remote ( no wifi app running )... Should be able to get a full race on the batteries and card combination but I am trying to be proactive about the heat given the recording times running long...

My MAIN question for you is this....

      Am I correct to assume that I will be able to manage heat better by ONLY using external battery power while NOT using an internal battery ? or does the inclusion of "full" batteries for back-up have no additional heat affect ?   My past experience with other cameras ( first time GoPro user BTW ) are that the batteries tend to be one of the biggest over-heating factors and that even when using external batteries it was better to remove the internal ones if the cameras allowed it... I realize from my reading that, in GoPro Cameras, the use of a external battery "bypasses" the internal battery and directly powers the camera but my reasoning for removing the standard batteries is that they may act as a "heat sink" and trap or absorb and store heat when the camera is in use for such a long time....

    Please comment if I need any corrections in my assumptions or you can offer any other tips for this application... 

Cheers in advance,

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I had it mine mounted underneath a jeep on the rear, very high airflow, plugged in, recording 4k 60p. It was only stable once I got to northern regions of British Columbia. Anywhere south of that I had to keep checking on it every 30 minutes or so with my iPad to see if it was still recording. I did not try removing the battery. It was plugged in and wifi was on. YMMV but I would go looking for another action camera if you want something reliable for your purposes.

[bull-07]

Reading through these messages, I really wish I would have read up on this earlier.

I have a Hero 7 black, purchased a month ago then exchanged few days ago, a hero 5 black and one of the early Hero Plus.

I use them for recording my kids baseball/softball games.  I didn't have an issue past few seasons with the hero 5 and hero plus with overheating, but **bleep**, this Hero 7 heats up fast.  I'm only recording at 1440/60 since I cut the video down and share with team.

I actually got 1 good game recorded after 3 games. The first camera would lock up when I used the app to record.  WiFi would shut off and it would flip out, then shut down after an hour. I returned that one. On the new 7 Black, It was only mounted for about 15 minutes, plugged in the external pack, (can provide 2.1a of power) and as soon as I hit record it would shut down.   Unplugged, hit record, then I babied it during inning switches to turn the recording off, then plug in the pack to hope to charge.  Plug it in, over heating error and it shuts down.  For an outdoor camera, it doesn't handle the sun very well.

Again the 5 didn't give me this much of a headache.  

I'm in Texas and today was 95 degrees, sun shining.  Not unusual and i've recorded in similar situations with the 5.

What brought me here was I had the same idea about recording without the built in battery and wondering if that is what's causing my thermal issue.  I'm going to try this for the next game, but I'll have the 5 and 7 recording just in case my idea blows up in my face.

I see the Gopro 8 is coming out soon and I may just limp along until it's out, return this and get the 8 hoping it has better thermal handling.

I was also wondering if this is a common issue on all vendors of camera's or just Gopro dropping the ball.   Anyone use any other vendor that handles direct sunlight any better?

[adeptwater21433]

It's GoPro dropping the ball. The Ozmo advertises better thermal handling as a snipe at GoPro. I was hoping an American company would be more reliable, but no.

I can't return mine to Best Buy since it got some cosmetic damage during my trip, but I will be demanding GoPro make me whole. I am getting a replacement unit and if it has these same issues I will keeps sending it back.

If they sell a camera saying it can do 4k60 it better be able to do it, and not just for short bursts of you do the Hokep Pokey dance exactly right. Otherwise it's false advertising.

[bull-07]

I just checked some reviews on Osmo. Seems they have thermal issues as well.

[danielr15]

Almost all cameras have heating issues with extended recording, especially in 4K.

As far as using an action camera as a dash cam, it might be better to get a dash cam.