Nikon Z8 Overheating in Camera Mode

[ChadHolloway]

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.


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Presumably, SD card heating could be an issue, but the real concern lies in the transfer rate and cache performance, especially when shooting at higher frame rates like 20 FPS in raw compression. Using one of the High Efficiency Raw compression modes will significantly improve performance without significantly reducing image quality. Consider investing in a CFE-B card to get the most out of the Z8. Personally, for stills working at 20 FPS Lossless Compressed Raw, I had great results with the Delkin Power card, getting around 75-80 buffered images before any slowdown with the 128GB or 325GB G4 card in my Z9.

 

[EricBowles]

Its easy to create scenarios that cause the camera or card to operate at higher temperatures. If instead of testing, you are actually using the camera in a manner where it overheats, you probably need to consider a Z9 rather than a Z8.

High frame rates for extended periods can cause overheating. Backup mode can cause overheating - especially with a slow card. 8k video or 4k 120p video can cause overheating. And using a memory card that is slow or runs hot can cause overheating. None of this is news. And none of these scenarios are very common. So far, 90% of the cases I've seen reporting overheating involve using a slow memory card or test conditions that would normally require processor operation for extended periods.

 

[Amy]

I had this happen this week with Delkin card. I removed the SD card and still had the hot card warning. It was almost 100 degrees outside, but I was photographing an owl sitting still not not super fast shooting. The next morning was much cooler and I didn't have the issue. Not 100% temperature came into play, but ironic that it didn't happen the next morning with the owl again.

 

[Jim DeLuco]

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.

You didn't mention a specific error. Are you getting any errors or are you just concerned about the camera body heat? If Hot Card error, see replies above. I know the left bottom of the camera gets very hot sometimes.

 

[EricBowles]

I had this happen this week with Delkin card. I removed the SD card and still had the hot card warning. It was almost 100 degrees outside, but I was photographing an owl sitting still not not super fast shooting. The next morning was much cooler and I didn't have the issue. Not 100% temperature came into play, but ironic that it didn't happen the next morning with the owl again.

Which specific card? There are at least two versions of the Delkin Power and Delkin Black (regular for about 3 years and G4 was just released), and six or seven different sizes of each. Speed varies depending on exactly which you were using.

 

[Amy]

Which specific card? There are at least two versions of the Delkin Power and Delkin Black (regular for about 3 years and G4 was just released), and six or seven different sizes of each. Speed varies depending on exactly which you were using.

I am using Delkin Black 325 GB CF express Type B. I have a z9 and have used the same cards in that one and never had this issue.

 

[macwalter]

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.

I have a z8 and have gone out in hot humid south alabama weather with no overheating issues at all. I do follow Steve’s advice amd turn it off while walking then on to shoot, sometimes long bursts at 20fps with no issues so far. I have easily shot 2k images in an outing on half a battery by the way. Some bursts were easily 30-50 images. I wonder if this is a common problem.

 

[O]

No Issues ever over overheating on the Z9 with the Cobalt Pro Grade 320 g cards be it 20 fps or not in 30 - 48 C, i am not a massive spray shooter either, also i shoot 95% of the time in JPEG fine, often to both cards at the same time.
FWIW

Only an opinion

 

[bumeister]

I noticed last night that my Z8 got noticeably warm to the touch while I was taking pictures at a family gathering. No video, camera used only inside, no high bursts. Just... normal picture taking.

Cards are a ProGrade CFE type 2 and a Lexar SD v60, I had the camera configured to write RAW to the CFE and jpegs to the SD. I don't think I left the camera on for more than a 10-15 minutes at a time.

I did not get any temp warnings from the camera, but it concerns me that it got so warm to the touch after a couple of hours of indoor casual picture taking... what's going to happen when I take the Z8 hiking in the desert, as I've done with every other camera I have owned?

 

[DRwyoming]

I did not get any temp warnings from the camera, but it concerns me that it got so warm to the touch after a couple of hours of indoor casual picture taking... what's going to happen when I take the Z8 hiking in the desert, as I've done with every other camera I have owned?

I suspect writing jpegs to the relatively slow SD card is contributing a lot of the heating. I'd experiment with configuring the second slot for overflow and not writing simultaneous jpegs to the SD card prior to any hot desert trips.

 

[bumeister]

I suspect writing jpegs to the relatively slow SD card is contributing a lot of the heating. I'd experiment with configuring the second slot for overflow and not writing simultaneous jpegs to the SD card prior to any hot desert trips.

That was actually how I was planning to set it up, but thought I'd try simultaneous jpegs since my first real usage of the Z8 was an indoor family gathering. I'll leave the SD card out the next time I take the camera out and see if it gets warm.

Unrelated note, Simultaneous JPEGs goes into the band name file.

 

[Lisa.photos]

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:
View attachment 66025

thank you for this data. very helpful.

 

[Geoff_G]

I suspect writing jpegs to the relatively slow SD card is contributing a lot of the heating. I'd experiment with configuring the second slot for overflow and not writing simultaneous jpegs to the SD card prior to any hot desert trips.

I've had no issues outside in 90º weather and I have a Delkin Black with no SD card. The SD is certainly the slow guy while the camera is "itching" to offload data as quickly as possible so it seems likely it would be the one getting hot. It would be telling to pop both cards out momentarily to confirm which is heating up. If it's the SD card the easy, if not unpleasant answer, is to just not use the SD slot (or maybe just for overflow).

 

[EricBowles]

I noticed last night that my Z8 got noticeably warm to the touch while I was taking pictures at a family gathering. No video, camera used only inside, no high bursts. Just... normal picture taking.

Cards are a ProGrade CFE type 2 and a Lexar SD v60, I had the camera configured to write RAW to the CFE and jpegs to the SD. I don't think I left the camera on for more than a 10-15 minutes at a time.

I did not get any temp warnings from the camera, but it concerns me that it got so warm to the touch after a couple of hours of indoor casual picture taking... what's going to happen when I take the Z8 hiking in the desert, as I've done with every other camera I have owned?

Which ProGrade card and what size? It makes a huge difference. ProGrade Cobalt is good in all sizes, but Gold tends to overheat until you reach the 512 GB card or larger. My 128GB ProGrade Gold is very slow. Same for the SD card - which specific card. Lexar has at least a dozen different V60 cards.

Heat is a result of several factors:
Camera heat is a result of extended processing - frame rate, 8k video, 120p video, and backup mode are the most common reasons.
A slow card can cause extended processing which causes the camera to generate extra heat. Card heat is warming of the individual card - and is normally a result of extended write time to the card. This is a much bigger deal when in backup mode because even the best SD card will be slow compared to the CFExpress card as well as the shooting speed of the camera. The best UHS-II SD cards can only support 3 fps write speed - and slower cards can be slower than 1 fps.

The camera can be warm from camera operation or a warm or hot memory card - even if you don't get a warning. Partly this is because the body serves as a heat sink to remove heat from the processor and the card. And some cards simply run hotter than others. A warm or hot card is going to be warm to the touch. You probably can tell which card is warm by simply removing the card and touching it. Just be careful because they can be quite warm.

It's important to note whether you get a camera warning or a card warning. The camera will report either problem. It's okay if the camera is simply warm. Just know that there is a good reason why the camera is warm.

Ambient air temperature has very little impact on camera or card temperature. It's almost always a matter of some aspect of the camera and card working too hard for too long.

 

[bumeister]

The CFE card is a ProGrade Gold 128, SD card is a Lexar 128g 1667x UHS-II.

To a great extent I suppose this is the result of my own failure to perform due diligence... I have never had to pay *that* much attention to which card I used in my assorted cameras over the last 20 years, so I assumed since I am almost entirely a stills shooter (and a fairly slow-shooting one at that) there wouldn't be that much of a difference as long as I was getting "good enough" cards, which I thought these were. There are always trade offs with this sort of stuff, this is one I did not anticipate.

I never got a hot card warning, the camera just got warm to the touch which I am not used to. I will adjust my habits and settings, and plan to upgrade the cards at some point along the way.

Thanks for the info.

 

[EricBowles]

The CFE card is a ProGrade Gold 128, SD card is a Lexar 128g 1667x UHS-II.

To a great extent I suppose this is the result of my own failure to perform due diligence... I have never had to pay *that* much attention to which card I used in my assorted cameras over the last 20 years, so I assumed since I am almost entirely a stills shooter (and a fairly slow-shooting one at that) there wouldn't be that much of a difference as long as I was getting "good enough" cards, which I thought these were. There are always trade offs with this sort of stuff, this is one I did not anticipate.

I never got a hot card warning, the camera just got warm to the touch which I am not used to. I will adjust my habits and settings, and plan to upgrade the cards at some point along the way.

Thanks for the info.

I have the same card. It runs warm, and that could be a problem. The big issue is using Backup mode. Between the slow and warm primary card and the SD card for backup, you have two factors that are causing the camera to run warmer than normal.

My approach was to get a faster primary CFExpress card, but I don't run Backup. You could simply test it without using Backup mode and see if that is enough.

It's very hard to work through all the options for CFExpress cards. Known brands like Sandisk tend to run slow or hot, Lexar has a good card line and a not so good line, and even ProGrade has good and not as good cards. The ProGrade Gold 512 GB card is much better, and the Cobalt cards are fine.

Let us know the proposed card if you go that route - we can give you feedback on our experience.

 

[John Navitsky]

my general take is running in backup mode on the z8 is counterindicated. remember you can always use the "copy" feature to make a copy of your files from the cfe card to the sd card periodically

 

[O]

The CFE card is a ProGrade Gold 128, SD card is a Lexar 128g 1667x UHS-II.

To a great extent I suppose this is the result of my own failure to perform due diligence... I have never had to pay *that* much attention to which card I used in my assorted cameras over the last 20 years, so I assumed since I am almost entirely a stills shooter (and a fairly slow-shooting one at that) there wouldn't be that much of a difference as long as I was getting "good enough" cards, which I thought these were. There are always trade offs with this sort of stuff, this is one I did not anticipate.

I never got a hot card warning, the camera just got warm to the touch which I am not used to. I will adjust my habits and settings, and plan to upgrade the cards at some point along the way.

Thanks for the info.

Its interesting to see the feed backs, all very helpful.

Is physics is a consideration.

In my mind the smaller a component is physically like a SD card the more challenged or limited it may be in dealing with heat dissipation when subjected to high performance demand in a constricted space, unless its surrounded by or attached to a heat sink as is often seen on a cir cute board.

Noticed having your hand on the grip for a while that the camera can feel warmer in that area that happens to contain the SD card.

The cost of going to mirror less hasn't been cheap or necessarily challenge free.

Only an opinion

 

[John_DE]

Seems most of the posts are for a hot card warning. So that is not preventing the camera from taking photographs. To me this seems to be a warning, but not a shutdown.

 

[ricardo00]

After 10 days in 95 degree weather in the Pantanal haven't gotten the warning with my Z8 and a Delkin black card shooting 20 fps bursts in lossless raw. Would try to keep my camera covered in the sun (also because of the dust):

https://flic.kr/p/2oTfcAo

 

[PhilM]

I'm a little late to this conversation, but I've been experiencing the yellow (not red) "card hot" and thermometer indicators too.

I shoot canine disc & agility events, so it's is standard procedure to shoot short bursts (1 sec to 1.5 sec) to capture "that moment" the participants want to see. My experience mirrors what many have described.

I've never had this happen with either of my Z9's.
I've been shooting stills only.
I use Delkin Black (325GB) and ProGrade Cobalt 325 & 650GB cards.
I shoot HE* files only - 2nd card (in Z9) is overflow only. Never had an SD card in the Z8.
I'm in TX, where it has been HOT. Ambient temps have been 90 ~ 105+F. The last several events were after dark due to extreme heat so there was no direct sunlight.
The camera has never shutdown from heat, but the body is getting hot. From the back, the lower left corner (below the PD connector) gets hella hot. This is diagonally opposite of the cards slots.

The weight, handling, & overall user experience (except for the cheap-O feel of the command dials) has been great. If I could only extinguish the heat.

As of late, I've been keeping the LCD screen pulled out just a bit to allow some air flow to the back of the body. Popping the card out & leaving the door open for about a minute will allow it to cool enough for the warning icons to go out - at least for a few bursts and it heats up enough for the warnings to come back. The card warning always precedes the thermometer icon indicating camera hot. Again, I've only seen yellow indications so far - no red warnings.

From a performance perspective, the Z8 has been fantastic - even at night w/ elevated ISO. I see no difference in the output as compared to the Z9. Here are a couple samples shot with Z70-200S @ 1/800, F2.8, ISO 16,000.

20230721 UpDog BiteClub#3, TnG-4329 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/128329716@N05/

20230721 UpDog BiteClub#3, SpacedOut-2498 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/128329716@N05/

20230721 UpDog BiteClub#3, SpacedOut-2521 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/128329716@N05/

20230721 UpDog BiteClub#3, SpacedOut-2762 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/128329716@N05/

 

[John Navitsky]

@PhilM interesting.

i shoot the same subject matter so i totally understand the shooting cadence and it surprises me you get hot card warnings with that cadence AND those cards (and no sd card). admittedly my z8 is more of a backup/candids body since i like using backup mode and the vertical grip for the primary body.

i wonder if a lot of this is the sun. do you still have the hot heat warning(s) set to default, or have you moved them to "high"?

it is weird you feel lots of heat on the opposite corner from the battery and card

 

[bumeister]

<<From the back, the lower left corner (below the PD connector) gets hella hot.>>

This is exactly where I noticed the warmth on my Z8 the other evening.

 

[PhilM]

@PhilM interesting.

i shoot the same subject matter so i totally understand the shooting cadence and it surprises me you get hot card warnings with that cadence AND those cards (and no sd card). admittedly my z8 is more of a backup/candids body since i like using backup mode and the vertical grip for the primary body.

i wonder if a lot of this is the sun. do you still have the hot heat warning(s) set to default, or have you moved them to "high"?

it is weird you feel lots of heat on the opposite corner from the battery and card

Hi John,

Now I see your avatar. Looks like dock diving.

I have not tried to tweak the alert threshold, but I do know the heat is real. The card(s) is almost too hot to hold when I pull it and the heat on the lower left is quite high - well over body temp for sure.

Regarding the sun... my last four events have been in the evening (starting at 8:00 PM), so there was zero direct sun on the gear. However, it was still H O T outside. I could easily just use a Z9, but I am surprised to admit that I can really tell a different after 4 ~ 5 hours on the field.

Additionally, the EN-EL15c batteries have been much less of an issue than I had anticipated. One spare in my pocket has been adequate.

I have both a disc event and a dock-diving event this weekend, so if I think about it when packing I'll try to take an IR thermometer and see just how hot the cards and body get when the alerts begin.

 

[EricBowles]

Hi John,

Now I see your avatar. Looks like dock diving.

I have not tried to tweak the alert threshold, but I do know the heat is real. The card(s) is almost too hot to hold when I pull it and the heat on the lower left is quite high - well over body temp for sure.

Regarding the sun... my last four events have been in the evening (starting at 8:00 PM), so there was zero direct sun on the gear. However, it was still H O T outside. I could easily just use a Z9, but I am surprised to admit that I can really tell a different after 4 ~ 5 hours on the field.

Additionally, the EN-EL15c batteries have been much less of an issue than I had anticipated. One spare in my pocket has been adequate.

I have both a disc event and a dock-diving event this weekend, so if I think about it when packing I'll try to take an IR thermometer and see just how hot the cards and body get when the alerts begin.

Interesting to hear comments about the temperature. I have a golf event in three weeks that is a high volume shoot - especially on the last day. Temperatures can be 90 degrees or more.

Have you tried a slightly slower frame rate - maybe 15 fps? If it's related to the processor, that might do it.

How about cold packs placed on the camera body? In some situations I have the ability to chill a cold pack and use that periodically to cool the body.

I've heard that a warm card is not a problem - just a warning to the photographer that it is warm to their touch. Ricci suggested just raising the warning level. But if it precedes a hot card warning, we probably want to take some action to mitigate the problem.