Nikon Z8 Overheating in Camera Mode

[JackPinHSV]

Has anyone heard if Nikon will be addressing the overheating issue in camera shooting mode? I experienced this (yes it was hot outside), but only taking small bursts of like 5pfs maybe 10fps. And not for like 10 or 20 at a time.

 

[Cameron T]

What temperature were you in? In the sun? What card(s) were you using?

Also, to clarify, did it shut down? Or just get warm/hot?

 

[DRwyoming]

Has anyone heard if Nikon will be addressing the overheating issue in camera shooting mode? I experienced this (yes it was hot outside), but only taking small bursts of like 5pfs maybe 10fps. And not for like 10 or 20 at a time.

Heating issues are typically a function of the memory cards in use with some cards running much hotter than others. Here's an article that compares performance including heating during data transfer for some of the available CFE-B cards on the market: https://www.thessdreview.com/our-re...cf-express-type-b-512gb-memory-card-review/4/

This chart from the linked article shows how choice of card can have a very big impact on the card and camera heating up:

 

[JackPinHSV]

Heating issues are typically a function of the memory cards in use with some cards running much hotter than others. Here's an article that compares performance including heating during data transfer for some of the available CFE-B cards on the market: https://www.thessdreview.com/our-re...cf-express-type-b-512gb-memory-card-review/4/

This chart from the linked article shows how choice of card can have a very big impact on the card and camera heating up:
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Dave - Thank you for the quick reply! I would not have thought the card itself with similar write speeds would see such a difference if heat output.

 

[Cameron T]

Dave - Thank you for the quick reply! I would not have thought the card itself with similar write speeds would see such a difference if heat output.

Well, there's a difference between what they claim, and sustained write speeds. And then card builds.

First hand, I can also say angelbird cards run fairly cool (relatively, of course, they'll get hot under heavy load, but all the cards do after long enough as seen in the chart).

 

[JackPinHSV]

Well, there's a difference between what they claim, and sustained write speeds. And then card builds.

First hand, I can also say angelbird cards run fairly cool (relatively, of course, they'll get hot under heavy load, but all the cards do after long enough as seen in the chart).

I have heard Delkin is a go to card for a lot of folks. My SanDisc is on this survey and explains a lot.

 

[MrFotoFool]

Is the issue the same (or worse) with SD cards? That is all I used in my D850's (just sold for a Z8) and my Sony A74 and I don't want to buy expensive CF Express cards if I don't have to.

 

[Cameron T]

Is the issue the same (or worse) with SD cards? That is all I used in my D850's (just sold for a Z8) and my Sony A74 and I don't want to buy expensive CF Express cards if I don't have to.

Yes. SD cards are going to get pretty toasty because they just can't handle the throughput.

You can gimp your z8, or use a more modern technology. Honestly, I wish nikon would have dumped SD cards for the z8 too. 90 MB/s is approximately 2 raw files once the buffer fills, if you're shooting lossless compressed. That's...not a lot.

To put it more into perspective, you can shoot 20 fps, more than double the d850. You can shoot slower, and let the buffer stick around longer, but why not enable yourself to do the best you can?

 

[arbitrage]

I have heard Delkin is a go to card for a lot of folks. My SanDisc is on this survey and explains a lot.

So far the few other reports of this have all been using SanDisk and we know they are one of the hottest cards out there. So I think with a cooler card like Delkin or Angelbird you won't run into this issue.

 

[DRwyoming]

Is the issue the same (or worse) with SD cards? That is all I used in my D850's (just sold for a Z8) and my Sony A74 and I don't want to buy expensive CF Express cards if I don't have to.

Heating is likely an issue with SD cards but I'd think the bigger issue is transfer speeds and buffer performance if you plan to shoot at higher frame rate like 20 FPS in compressed raw mode. IOW, I doubt you'll be able to buffer very many frames before slow down when shooting 20 FPS Compressed Raw if you're relying on even the fastest SD cards. Shooting one of the High Efficiency Raw compression modes should help quite a bit (In the testing I've done I have yet to see a noticeable pixel peeping difference between HE* compression and Lossless Raw) and of course if you'll back off the frame rate that will help a ton.

All that said, to get the most out of what the Z8 can do it's worth investing in one or more CFE-B cards.

Also, I rarely shoot video but have had very good luck with the Delkin Power cards for stills work while shooting 20 FPS Lossless Compressed Raw. In my testing I regularly get around 75-80 buffered shots before the frame rate begins to slow with either the 128GB or 325GB G4 cards in my Z9.

 

[Warren D]

I've had Sony, Sandisk and Delkin Black CF-E B cards since my D6 and now Z9. I've used all three brands in the Z9 and whether in the camera or the card reader, the Sandisk always runs hot. In the card reader it gets so hot I can barely handle it. Sony gets hot but not bad and the Delkins get warm but that's about all. I've shot in 90F and never had the Z9 overheat (20fps bursts). I only use the Sandisk in emergencies. Pity as I have a couple of them still new in the package.

 

[philippe]

Deleted

 

[MartyD]

I had trouble with the SanDisk getting hot recording video in my Z6ii. I did contact SanDisk and they sent a replacement, it was a little better but I still only use the SanDisk CFE as a backup.

 

[John Navitsky]

i suspect you won’t see this problem in normal, stills use unless you have one of the worst cards. the old lexar also had this problem. unfortunately a lot of mfgs have updated their cards, but not differentiated the old vs new card. basically old, slower, cards are most likely to have this problem. for example i think lexar updated their card but i don’t think they changed the model#. while i do try to get cool running cards i suspect most new cards are probably going to treat you fine

 

[madone]

I was out last weekend in the sun at some 15U travel baseball games. It was in the 90s, hot, sunny, and humid NY day. I was mainly using camera mode, very short 20fps burst, nothing extended, shooting RAW, (NEF Compressed). 325GB Delkin Black CFE card.

All 3 days I was out there, I got "Hot Card" warnings to start then the first (of the 3 stages) the little thermometers would showed up. I never had a shut down due to heat, BUT I will say.. the camera did get hot. I do have my standby delay set I think (will need to check when I get home) at 5 min right now... I may adjust that down.

One thing I noticed is the corner of the camera by the AF select button.. felt pretty warm.. so it was not just the card getting hot.

Again, never got a shutdown.. just the warnings. I started to shut the camera off in between innings. I would open the card door sometimes as well, testing to see what would resolve things.

 

[BLev65]

I've never had heat warnings with my Z9, this cannot be said for the Z8. It's summer in MN and the ambient temperature has varied from the upper 60's to the 90's. While I bought my Z8 as a second camera and landscape body, I want to use it when on a canoe or kayak. During my first test with some wildlife, I could feel the Z8 heating up around the grip. On Tuesday (7/18) I spent about 3 hours in a canoe photographing loons. The shooting was a bit frenzied, so I was shooting at a fast frame rate. I forgot to put in a CFE card, so the pics were writing to a Lexar 64GB SD card. While I could feel the grip heating up, I never got the "hot card" warning. Once I filled the SD I realized that I was not using a CFE. I put a PerGear CFE into my camera and within 15 minutes of shooting I got the hot card warning. The camera never shut down, but I was pretty shocked. I pulled the card and replaced it with a 64GB XQD and never got the warning again.
Bottom line... all cards are not created equally, and the Z8 does not have the ability to shed heat as fast as the Z9.
I'm now left wondering what brand/type of CFE I should buy moving forward.

bruce

 

[EricBowles]

The Sandisk cards frequently are reported to overheat.

I just received a new Delkin Power G4 CFExpress. My card is a 1 TB card with sustained write speed of over 1400 MB/s. I ran some quick tests and had bursts of 1400 to 2000 frames. There was some minor heating of the card after about 8000 frames with minimal breaks. That's well outside anything I would be likely to experience.

This 1 TB card was just $349. The Delkin G4 Power cards have a break point on speed with 650 GB and larger emphasizing speed, and 512 GB and smaller emphasizing slower speed but lower price. Availability is limited right now.

 

[EricBowles]

I've had Sony, Sandisk and Delkin Black CF-E B cards since my D6 and now Z9. I've used all three brands in the Z9 and whether in the camera or the card reader, the Sandisk always runs hot. In the card reader it gets so hot I can barely handle it. Sony gets hot but not bad and the Delkins get warm but that's about all. I've shot in 90F and never had the Z9 overheat (20fps bursts). I only use the Sandisk in emergencies. Pity as I have a couple of them still new in the package.

I'd sell the Sandisk cards now while they are still current. For people who shoot at slower frame rates or on a more limited basis, it can be a good deal. They are also fine in Canon cameras.

 

[John Navitsky]

I'd sell the Sandisk cards now while they are still current. For people who shoot at slower frame rates or on a more limited basis, it can be a good deal. They are also fine in Canon cameras.

or use them as a place to store your menu settings

 

[Geoff_G]

I wonder if using HE* or HE instead of Raw affects the hot card warning. There is a big difference in the amount of data being written to the card so I would think this has an effect on card temp. IOW, maybe using HE* (or HE) will help ??

 

[John Navitsky]

maybe. but with a good card you can shoot many, many, many thousands of images during a day without problems, so i’d consider this a bandaid

 

[Geoff_G]

maybe. but with a good card you can shoot many, many, many thousands of images during a day without problems, so i’d consider this a bandaid

More of a work around. I Have Delkin Black and highly recommend them. I'm with Eric - sell the Sandisk and be done with it but that may not be an option for some at the moment.

 

[Cameron T]

Angelbird are relatively cheap, and fairly cool running. 512 gig SE can handle 8k60 video as well, until the card fills. I tested it. Does get warm, but not a hot card warning.

The first time they got warm for me was 5 minutes of continuous 20fps shooting (which was an intentional test to see how hot they'd get), and even then, I was able to hold the one card I was writing too comfortably. 170$.

 

[madone]

Delkin Black is not the answer to this. As mentioned that is what I was getting the Hot Card warning with for 3 days over the weekend. They run cooler than Lexar, but they still will throw the Hot Card warning up.

 

[John Navitsky]

if you're getting a hot card warning with a card known to run cool, i'd consider doing a FULL format on the computer, then doing a format in-camera