Does the Sony a6300 Overheat When Shooting in 4K?

The fact that the Sony a6300 is so small and lightweight and fits in your pocket only shows how far the technology has advanced. The camera features a brand new 24.2 Megapixel APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor, internal 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) 24/25/30p recording in the well-known Sony XAVC-S codec with a bit rate of 100Mb/s, and some insane AF performance in both stills and video.

Plus, the 4K onboard recording doesn’t utilise any pixel binning, which is known to cause moire/aliasing and all sorts of nasty artefacts in the recorded images. However, many shooters still wonder whether it overheats under certain conditions, particularly when recording in 4K. Here’s just a random test of the camera conducted by The Photo/Video Show in a typical real-life situation.

Apparently, the Sony a6300 not only requires a lot of power to record in 4K for extensive periods of time but after roughly 20 minutes of performance, you may run across the temperature icon that appears on the screen. Even though that in this particular test the camera managed to reach the 29:59 min. recording limit other shooters report that it overheats and shuts down roughly after 20 minutes of continuous recording in 4K.

According to camera’s manual, the duration of time available for movie recording varies with the temperature, the recording format, or condition of the camera before you start recording. To avoid a similar situation try moving the LCD away from the body while recording or turning off the screen if possible. Eventually, this approach should help to move some of the heat away from the body itself, thus providing longer recording time.

Ultimately, if the camera stops recording due to the temperature factor, leave it for several minutes with the power turned off and start recording again after the temperature inside the camera drops sufficiently.

Even though the overheating issue might be a bummer for many shooters, the Sony a6300 still looks a great deal for the price as it delivers excellent overall video quality and comes with loads of other great features. So, be aware of its limitations, find workarounds and don’t get frustrated by the drawbacks. Just understand them to utilize better your camera.

[source: The Photo/Video Show]

B&H Order Links:

Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only)

Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Lens

Amazon US Order Links:

Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only)

Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Lens

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4 Comments

  1. chace March 29, 2016
    • James Owl May 19, 2017
      • chace May 20, 2017
  2. chace March 30, 2016

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