Hasselblad 50c heat issue

[GHPhoto]

Hello Forum,

I'd like to open a discussion with any fellow Hassy H5D-50c wi-fi owner/users and their experience with the camera and sensor when powered on for extended periods.
I have an open dialogue with the local distributor here in Australia with regard to the following issue but I'd really appreciate any other real world experiences.

When the camera is tethered to a MacPro and powered by battery, the back is always at least 5°C higher than the ambient temperature. Also, the ambient temperatures in the studio have ranged from 13°C to 22°C. The back temperature is being measured using an infrared thermometer.
When the back is used for live view and shooting then temperature of the back will rise to 34°C when Phocus then freezes and a restart is required. No over-heating warning from either the camera or the software.
I've had to have a small fan trained on the camera at all times for fear of constant Phocus crashes and interrupting work flow.
The camera is only shooting a matter of a few frames every half hour and the live view being on for about ten minutes prior to those frames.

The wifi on the back is switch off and the camera is sourcing its power from the camera battery, not the computer.

I'm in the process of obtaining the crash log from the back and Phocus' log and sending them to Hasselblad.

I have spoken to only one other 50c owner regarding the heat issue and he has not had any issues at all. It is a real issue especially since the job I've been working on with this camera is the first large scale job since purchasing the camera.

Apart from the heat, the camera is great!

Look forward to hearing from others.
Regards,
Grant

 

[modator]

Hi, Grant,

I have the H5D-50c WiFi too, I have no issue at all with this wonderfull camera.
In wich way do You measure the temperature ? maybe I'm missing some option but I didn't find any Temp display....
My version if in live view & connected to firewire 800 to a mac-pro (power troug firewire) did not overheat, the temperature of the back is like body temp (37º)

Could You tell me the serial nr of the back ? because the first copy of 50c (not wifi) had a the heat problem, the serial was around 200, then H service replace it with a new one without issue....

Best regards, Domenico.

 

[GHPhoto]

Hi, Grant,

I have the H5D-50c WiFi too, I have no issue at all with this wonderfull camera.
In wich way do You measure the temperature ? maybe I'm missing some option but I didn't find any Temp display....
My version if in live view & connected to firewire 800 to a mac-pro (power troug firewire) did not overheat, the temperature of the back is like body temp (37º)

Could You tell me the serial nr of the back ? because the first copy of 50c (not wifi) had a the heat problem, the serial was around 200, then H service replace it with a new one without issue....

Best regards, Domenico.

Hi Domenico,

Thanks for replying!

My serial number ends in 626. It was a non wifi upgraded to wifi, not that I think that matters.
I'm measuring the temperature with a laser pointer type infrared thermometer at several points around the body of the sensor casing. The temperature rises alarmingly when live is on for an extended period and at times will freeze Phocus. I've had to manage and nurse the camera through this long job I'm currently on.
Interestingly though, even when the back is at these elevated temperatures I have not experienced any degradation of image quality.

The temperature will also rise quite quickly after the camera has been idle then a burst of ten or fifteen frames are captured.

Another thing to note is there is no temperature warning through Phocus or on the back before Phocus freezes. I've been asked by Hasselblad to provide crash logs from the back and Phocus but I'm not going to push the camera to that point whilst I need it to complete this job.
I can't imagine the back has been made to sustain such temperature fluctuations. Luckily I've been experiencing this issue on a studio job where the ambient temperatures have been cool to moderate and controllable.

Hasselblad are willing to help yet can't doing anything until they see intelligence from the crash reports. It's a little un-nerving to have to push the sensor to it's extremes just so it will generate a crash log. When I get the chance to to do the experiment I'll let you know the results if you are interested.

Regards,
Grant

 

[modator]

Hi Grant,
I'm in the same condition, also my 50c back was upgraded and is nr. 377, so Your version is more younger !!
In this week I make a live view test of around 20 minutes with the camera connected and powered by firewire 800,
I taped a very thin K probe (calibrated) connected to an Agilent U1272A multimeter, the external temperature was read by the multimeter and by an external thermometer, around 24,7º degree, the 50c wifi back (with wifi OFF) externally on the metal bottom is at 33,8º degree celsius, only 9,1º*Celsius more than the room temperature,
assuming the dissipation of metal etc. it's possible to admit that the temperature on the component inside the camera is little more (maybe around 37 degree...) I think the main heat production is made by the processor board, not by the CMOS that stay very cool that's why no image degradation for exposure of 30minutes long !!




I think if You are facing lockups problem on Phocus it's possible it's not the camera itself but a combination of things / cable / hardware / software.
At the moment I'm using Phocus v2.9.1 with a Mac-Pro S.O. El Capitan v 10.11 the interface is a Sonnet Allegro FW800, the cable is the Hasselblad one.

About the critical temperature warning I think is triggered at more high levels (around 60º or more...) as written on the Hasselblad Manual: (page 22)

" TEMPERATURE WARNING
Many rapidly taken captures make heavy demands on the processor in the sensor unit which in turn produces heat. This, particularly in combination with high ambient temperature, can result in noise in the image files. To prevent this, the sen- sor unit displays a warning icon when the temperature rises.
At ca. 60° C a warning dialogue appears notifying that the sensor unit is temporarily shutting down to allow the unit to cool. "

Best regards, Domenico.

 

[GHPhoto]

Hi Grant,
I'm in the same condition, also my 50c back was upgraded and is nr. 377, so Your version is more younger !!
In this week I make a live view test of around 20 minutes with the camera connected and powered by firewire 800,
I taped a very thin K probe (calibrated) connected to an Agilent U1272A multimeter, the external temperature was read by the multimeter and by an external thermometer, around 24,7º degree, the 50c wifi back (with wifi OFF) externally on the metal bottom is at 33,8º degree celsius, only 9,1º*Celsius more than the room temperature,
assuming the dissipation of metal etc. it's possible to admit that the temperature on the component inside the camera is little more (maybe around 37 degree...) I think the main heat production is made by the processor board, not by the CMOS that stay very cool that's why no image degradation for exposure of 30minutes long !!




I think if You are facing lockups problem on Phocus it's possible it's not the camera itself but a combination of things / cable / hardware / software.
At the moment I'm using Phocus v2.9.1 with a Mac-Pro S.O. El Capitan v 10.11 the interface is a Sonnet Allegro FW800, the cable is the Hasselblad one.

About the critical temperature warning I think is triggered at more high levels (around 60º or more...) as written on the Hasselblad Manual: (page 22)

" TEMPERATURE WARNING
Many rapidly taken captures make heavy demands on the processor in the sensor unit which in turn produces heat. This, particularly in combination with high ambient temperature, can result in noise in the image files. To prevent this, the sen- sor unit displays a warning icon when the temperature rises.
At ca. 60° C a warning dialogue appears notifying that the sensor unit is temporarily shutting down to allow the unit to cool. "

Best regards, Domenico.

Domenico,
Thanks for your quick reply!
I take some comfort that you are also having a similar experience. I have been using Sinar up until I purchased the 50c. They have internal active cooling - not just a fan so I'm finding any extra heat coming from such delicate equipment to be unusual.

I have spoken to another local photographer who has this back and he has not experienced any problems or noticed elevated temperatures.
My local dealer here in Australia has been great but has stopped short of saying what I'm experiencing is "normal".

I'll keep the thread going with any further updates.

Al the best,
Grant

 

[modator]

Domenico,
Thanks for your quick reply!
I take some comfort that you are also having a similar experience. I have been using Sinar up until I purchased the 50c. They have internal active cooling - not just a fan so I'm finding any extra heat coming from such delicate equipment to be unusual.

I have spoken to another local photographer who has this back and he has not experienced any problems or noticed elevated temperatures.
My local dealer here in Australia has been great but has stopped short of saying what I'm experiencing is "normal".

I'll keep the thread going with any further updates.

Al the best,
Grant

Hi Grant,
I can confirm the opinion of Your dealer that this temperature rise of 10º to 15º is normal, this summer I've done many shot with external temperature of 40º*celsius and one day I forget it leaving the camera to the hot Sun for minutes (the body was so hot I can't hand hold it) but it worked like a charm without any issues and with no added noise to the final images (also when it was hot).

I'm very satisfied on the reliability of this camera !

Maybe the old Sinar back was with active cooling to fight the rise in temperature of the CCD sensor that when hotter is known it doesn't perform well.

Best regards, Domenico.

 

[GHPhoto]

Hi Grant,
I can confirm the opinion of Your dealer that this temperature rise of 10º to 15º is normal, this summer I've done many shot with external temperature of 40º*celsius and one day I forget it leaving the camera to the hot Sun for minutes (the body was so hot I can't hand hold it) but it worked like a charm without any issues and with no added noise to the final images (also when it was hot).

I'm very satisfied on the reliability of this camera !

Maybe the old Sinar back was with active cooling to fight the rise in temperature of the CCD sensor that when hotter is known it doesn't perform well.

Best regards, Domenico.

Domenico,

Hearing your experience is reassuring. Coming into summer here and not many studios are air-conditioned.
I'm also reassured that the dealer here is great and they jump at any request to help.
I've got a quiet week coming up and plan to give it a really workout without a client and crew staring over my shoulder.

All the best,
Grant

 

[bab]

Off topic but curious what major change does the C WiFi have over the previous H and did you guys upgrade your H5? The reason I ask is it seems a few changes with the newer body make the work flow easier. Not sure about the quality of the rear screen being that helpful. PS I know it's expensive to upgrade!

 

[bab]

Option to mout a iPad to camera in the field with a hood and use it to compose the image for tenichal composition and focus. That seems like a possibility and one that would help getting the image perfect in camera?

 

[GHPhoto]

Off topic but curious what major change does the C WiFi have over the previous H and did you guys upgrade your H5? The reason I ask is it seems a few changes with the newer body make the work flow easier. Not sure about the quality of the rear screen being that helpful. PS I know it's expensive to upgrade!

Hi,
The wifi was an upgrade to the H5d-50c that I purchased as a package. When the upgrade was performed back at Hasselblad both the sensor and the body was sent away. There is no cosmetic difference except for a cute wi-fi logo on the right hand side of the sensor.
The wifi works fantastically well - even when the sensor attached to my Cambo WRS. The live view is a treat. It's possible to have a live feed to a tethered computer and any mobile device that's in range and running Phocus mobile.
The only pain is that when you double tap on the live image to zoom into 100% to focus, the sensor adjusts the live image brightness to be very dark and in some cases unusable to focus with. The same happens to the zoomed live image on a tethered computer but there is an option to quickly adjust the brightness.

The whole camera is fantastic quite frankly.

Grant