Overheating
Also known as: thermal shutdown, camera overheat, thermal throttling
When an action camera gets too hot and stops recording or shuts down to protect itself, common with high resolutions, frame rates and little airflow.
Updated
What it means
Compact cameras pack a powerful processor, a sensor and a battery into a small sealed body. Encoding high-resolution video creates a lot of heat, and without a fan the only way out is through the case. When the internal temperature passes a safe limit, the camera warns you, stops recording or powers off.
Heat is worst when the camera sits still in the sun, records at maximum settings, streams over Wi-Fi, or runs from USB power while charging. Moving through air on a bike or in a car window cools it, which is why the same settings that fail on a tripod can work fine on a fast ride.
How it works in practice
Lower the settings that create the most heat: drop from the highest resolution to 4K, use a lower frame rate when you do not need slow motion, turn off Wi-Fi, GPS and the front screen, and set the rear screen to sleep quickly.
Keep the camera shaded between takes, take the battery out to cool briefly, and avoid running from external power and a battery at the same time in heat. For long static recordings like timelapses or a fixed camera on a sparring session, mount it in shade with airflow or record in shorter chunks.
What to watch out for
A shutdown often comes just as the action starts, after the camera has been recording idle for a while. Start recording closer to the moment, or use quick capture style recording so the camera is off between attempts.
Hot cameras also get noisier, since sensor heat adds grain, and batteries age faster when they are repeatedly charged or used hot. Do not put a hot camera straight into a cold bag or fridge to cool it, as condensation can form inside. Let it cool in the shade instead, ideally with the doors closed and the battery out for a few minutes.
How RawClip handles it
If a camera cut a long recording into pieces because of heat, upload every piece to RawClip in one order. The AI treats them as one session and picks the best moments for your highlight.