Hi,
I just got a new Action 3 and installed the newest firmware. Yesterday I went fishing and had the Action 3 mounted on my chest. I recorded in 4k 30fps and used the mode 'HDR Video'. It was only 15°C (59°F) and the camera overheated in like 30 minutes. I guess this was due to the 10 bit recording which is turned on when using HDR.
Is it possible to record HDR video without having 10 bit to delay overheating?

Cheers.

Firmware 1.30 has 10-bit color, you'll  need to get with DJI and request an DISABLE,  sorry DJI your New Firmware may be great but not in the consumers Eye showing troubles you caused

I read that the overheating issue could be caused by a slow micro sd card so I gave it a second try.

Setup
Sandisk Extreme V30 card
4k 30fps HDR 10 bit
Indoor at 20°C
100% battery
--> Ovearheating after 17 minutes (display wa always on)

My GoPro Hero 11 is currently running since 43 minutes and is still recording. I will test the action 3 with normal 4k video as well but so far it looks like my second action 3 is going back as well.
EDIT: GoPro turned off after 67 minutes but the display turned off after 30 secs of recording

Shocking result:
After testing my Osmo Action 3 in regular 4k 30fps video it stopped recording after 36:49 minutes. The display was set to 30seconds auto turn off so it was comparable to my hero 11 test.
Where is the never overheating Osmo Action 3 everyone is talking about? Do I have a falty unit? Should I replace the Action 3 a third time? This is getting frustrating

I know this won't make you happy but I did a test. I was running off an external power source (powerbank) - just because I don't like to waste my batteries for testing - so my DJI battery was removed.

Running latest FW: v01.03.10.30

4K / 16:9 / 30fps / HDR video (10 bit)
I just put the camera on a tripod next to a window so I turned stabilization off since it doesn't need it for tripod work, and I let it rip. Screen timeout after 3 seconds. After 50 minutes the camera was warm to the touch but it wasn't hot by any means. At this point I stopped the test for I didn't see a point continuing it since the camera was fine.

I have a SanDisk Extreme V30/A2/U3 64GB card.

wish I could offer my tests i do not film longer then 5 minutes

I still haven't testet it indoors since for me outdoor is only what count.
But we in Europe have some regulations that it will turn off faster than other countries like USA

Fishycomics Posted at 5-2 11:23
wish I could offer my tests i do not film longer then 5 minutes

Have you already tried the fix from this video?

I do not overheat, Maybe DJI needs to try it, not me, they claim their cameras are flawless

Hi, MANNHEIMER. Thank you for reaching out. With its compact and portable design, Action 3 inevitably dissipates heat when processing such a large amount of data in a short period of time, which is an irresistible physical law. The camera was designed with special attention to the heat dissipation issue. To ensure the normal performance of the camera, the internal heat is designed to be conducted to the lens cover, front and rear screens, and body itself through heat sinks and silicone grease. Additionally, strict tests have been made to ensure that the camera temperature is within a reasonable range during long-term recording.

Action 3 mainly focuses on sports scenarios such as skiing, diving, and cycling, where wind can assist the camera in heat dissipation when recording videos with a high resolution or frame rate, which, thereby, makes it possible to record longer videos. If you mainly use it to record your daily life or activities, we recommend you record at 1080p@30fps, as 1080p@30fps is currently the mainstream video format online, and it can also reduce your storage space and facilitate your editing afterwards. Thank you for your kind understanding.

DJI Gamora Posted at 5-3 01:52
Hi, MANNHEIMER. Thank you for reaching out. With its compact and portable design, Action 3 inevitably dissipates heat when processing such a large amount of data in a short period of time, which is an irresistible physical law. The camera was designed with special attention to the heat dissipation issue. To ensure the normal performance of the camera, the internal heat is designed to be conducted to the lens cover, front and rear screens, and body itself through heat sinks and silicone grease. Additionally, strict tests have been made to ensure that the camera temperature is within a reasonable range during long-term recording.

Action 3 mainly focuses on sports scenarios such as skiing, diving, and cycling, where wind can assist the camera in heat dissipation when recording videos with a high resolution or frame rate, which, thereby, makes it possible to record longer videos. If you mainly use it to record your daily life or activities, we recommend you record at 1080p@30fps, as 1080p@30fps is currently the mainstream video format online, and it can also reduce your storage space and facilitate your editing afterwards. Thank you for your kind understanding.

Thanks for your answer but to be honest suggesting to record in 1080p is not what I can accept.
I was walking through the water while fishing and the camera overheated in less than 30 minutes. There was a little bit of wind and sometimes water hitting the camera and it still overheats. The day before the hero 11 was able to record 4hours straight doing the same thing but never touched the water.
When I had my first Action 3 in late 2022 I was able to record 5 hours straight without overheating. If there were no hardware changes which affect overheating I guess the newer firmware is not reliable enough.
What bothered me the most:
I had a fast V30 card which was prior used in the hero 11 for a whole day and after I switched to the action 3 the struggle begin. I cought a fish and stopped the video and the action 3 was showing the buffer icon for over a minute. The footage was lost and it was the only fish I cought during the day and a very important one for my planned video. The card worked perfect on the hero 11 atfer this fail. This is just unacceptable.

My camera overheet too after last update. I think DJI should provide us with a solution, and not to explain to us to reduce the quality of shooting.

Just ues the SD card file trick until DJI gets it through their  heads that they did something wrong.

MANNHEIMER Posted at 5-2 07:44
Shocking result:
After testing my Osmo Action 3 in regular 4k 30fps video it stopped recording after 36:49 minutes. The display was set to 30seconds auto turn off so it was comparable to my hero 11 test.
Where is the never overheating Osmo Action 3 everyone is talking about? Do I have a falty unit? Should I replace the Action 3 a third time? This is getting frustrating

Hi, there. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
We will check your case asap.

olymp Posted at 5-3 07:54
My camera overheet too after last update. I think DJI should provide us with a solution, and not to explain to us to reduce the quality of shooting.

Hi, there. We have forwarded this problem to our relevant team, once we confirmed the details, we will get back to you asap.

Hack and avoid the overheat limit, https://www.camforpro.com/blog/d ... berhitzung-stoppen/

Dear all, could you please check the below details as well?
1 Please check whether there is an Enhanced Image Quality or other power-consuming options enabled, if so, the power consumption will be increased in this case.
2 Please check whether the test environment is different, if the previous is with the wind, now can be placed in the room to test.
3 Please check whether the ambient temperature has changed.

Did some tests this week because I had several recordings stopping because the OA3 has gone to hot.

Setup: OA3 mounted on a small tripod on my desk. Room temperature 22°C, no air movement, stativ view (no movement, no changing screen contents -> easy living for the processor). Touch screens both OFF. 8 bit recording, no enhanced image quality. Just basic 4K recording.

Test 1: 4K/30 RS -> recording stopped "overheating" at 29'
Test 2: 4K/30 no stabilisation -> recording stopped "overheating" at 42'
Test 3: 4K/30 no stabilisation but camera mounted in PGYTECH aluminium camera frame -> recording stopped "overheating" at 69'
Test 4: 4K/30 RS with PGYTECH frame -> recording stopped "overheating" at 39'

Will test 4K/60 these days but I do not think it will last longer than 15-20 minutes until the camera "overheats".

I don't know why so many "influencers" on Youtube are telling the MYTH that the OA3 does not overheat while the GoPro 11 does. I CANNOT COMPREHEND WHY THEY TELL! Other than bad marketing I suppose.

Yes, if you mount the camera outside of a car or on a drone or on a moving bike you probably will have enough air cooling to push the overheating far away on the timescale. But I use this cameras IN my car, mounted on the windscreen next to the mirror. And even at 4K/30 I hardly reach 45 minutes. With 4K/60 under 30 minutes.

MYTH! It's a MYTH!

Interesting that the aluminium frame did make it last longer.

Good test you have done here.

SeehawerB Posted at 5-5 14:38
Did some tests this week because I had several recordings stopping because the OA3 has gone to hot.

Setup: OA3 mounted on a small tripod on my desk. Room temperature 22°C, no air movement, stativ view (no movement, no changing screen contents -> easy living for the processor). Touch screens both OFF. 8 bit recording, no enhanced image quality. Just basic 4K recording.

"I don't know why so many "influencers" on Youtube are telling the MYTH that the OA3 does not overheat..."

I am not an influencer but did you read my test above? I recorded at 4K/30fps in 10-bit HDR mode (only available in H.265) for 50 minutes and mine just got warm but in no way it was hot.

What is the record we are going for without overheating? 1 hour? 2 hours? What would be an acceptable result? In 1080p/30fps/RS/H.265 on my bicycle I clocked 2 hours 36+ minutes recording in one go on a fully charged battery with screen off, LEDs off, voice control off, audio off (I mean the beeps). I'm sure you can't go that long in 4k.

Did you record in H.265 or H.264? I understand H.265 is more computationally intense and might generate more heat. So maybe try recording in H.264. What result do you get?

"But I use this cameras IN my car, mounted on the windscreen next to the mirror. And even at 4K/30 I hardly reach 45 minutes. With 4K/60 under 30 minutes."

In this artcile (October 2022) they mention the "Viofo A129 Pro" dash cam which can record 4k in a "stunning" 50Mbps bitrate!
https://dashboardcamerareviews.com/best-4k-dash-cams/

The OA3 records 110-130 Mbps in 4k which is DOUBLE the bitrate of that "stunning" dash cam. So right there the OA3 is already doing more work than a dash cam does. Is there a dash cam on the market that can record in 4k at 60fps in 110+ Mbps using H.265 for hours? I dunno. Maybe there is. Also, many dash cams use capacitors as opposed to batteries (so I've read). So what is the point trying to make a dash cam out of OA3 when it's clearly not meant to be one.

SeehawerB Posted at 5-5 14:38
Did some tests this week because I had several recordings stopping because the OA3 has gone to hot.

Setup: OA3 mounted on a small tripod on my desk. Room temperature 22°C, no air movement, stativ view (no movement, no changing screen contents -> easy living for the processor). Touch screens both OFF. 8 bit recording, no enhanced image quality. Just basic 4K recording.

This was introduced with a firmware update last year because of european regulations, If you do a search, you may find it in some threads here, nothing new (compare johansenfotos firtst reply here).

One explanation with a soultion was postetd in this post:
https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... =280529&pid=2997482
You may read that whole thread for more insight.
So: No myths, no cheating influencers but different cameras for different regions. If you really need an action cam for long stationary recording, for that it was not designed - you may try the fix that was offered by several users here. It seems to set the cam in a mode that ignores european overheating regulations.
I have not tested that though, simply because I never ran into overheating in my usecase, but don't do stationary recordings.

Thank you for the information. Will test if it works. I am not sure though, how high the temperature of the semiconductors inside the camera are going. The camera is quite warm when shutting of and there is a lot of thermal resistance between the chip dies and the housing of the camera. "Hacking" the overtemperature shutdown may damage the components inside the camera...?
Semiconductors may encounter silicon temperatures of up to 150°C while the ambient temperature of usual industrial components may not rise above 85°C (aka the air inside the camera housing). Depending of the thermal resistance chain from the inside to the ambient air of the camera that might be topped out by the hack file. May be it is only for developing purposes, for qualifying the device.

Have you tried a different battery? Maybe an external power bank (while taking out the original battery)? Maybe the battery is the culprit. Some people's cameras overheat while some don't (despite they're from the same region).

(Some phone batteries heat up and some even catch on fire but most don't - despite they are the same phones.)

Got 5 new batteries. Nothing to do with it.

I did another test. Just for you. This time I decided to record until my 64GB memory card runs out, or the external power bank dies (chances are low), or the camera overheats (chances are low as well based on previous tests).

I was using a tripod but I still enabled RockSteady just for the heck of it. Let the camera (possibly) do more work. 4K / 30fps / RS / H.265. Running the latest FW (v01.03.10.30). As you can see on the thermometer, inside room temp is 23 degrees (Celsius). I removed the battery from the Osmo and used an external power bank.

The camera stopped recording after 1 hour and 24 minutes due to my memory card got full. The camera was barely warm. Seriously. Was not even close to being hot neither the metal lens protector ring nor the front/back display or the camera body. Do you have the rubber protector on the lens cover? Possibly not much has to do with heat but as you can see I have it removed and never use it.

Have you tried running it off of a power bank and removing the Osmo battery? This article also mentions that for long shooting times, try using an external power source to reduce heat.
https://www.eventlive.pro/blog/k ... -during-live-stream

This is an older article that mentions that your camera can overheat if you have a slow memory card:
https://petapixel.com/2016/12/07 ... tips-photographers/

Putting the camera beside a window is not valid for static air measurements. Warm air rises in the room and especially at the heating radiators and cold air is falling down near the windows. So you get a forced convection.

Just for you (sic!) I did some more measurements.
Results:
- camera heats up even more with external supply and no battery inside
- the battery, if inside, is getting much too hot for a LiPo battery, not healthy at all
- the hack file seem to work properly but still I have doubts how high the temperature in and around the electronics do rise, might be bad and reducing the lifetime

I would emphasize to test in the middle of the room without moving air, so no breathing near the camera, no persons running around etc.. This will give results like mine:



I would love to further discuss this issue on a more elaborate level. As a developer of automotive electronics for around a quarter of the century I am very open for that.

The camera consumes 5 to 6 Watts when recording 4K60/RS. This heat has to go somewhere, overheating is to be expected because of the lack of metal cooling fins (f.i.).

Ouch man, thank you for pointing all this information out! I think I will have to return my camera because it doesn’t overheat next to the window, but it might if I place it 5 feet away from it, LOL. Anyhow, sorry your camera overheats but I am sure DJI will help you rectify the problem. Good luck!

Good it is an action camera that is ment for being outdoors recording action, enough cooling

MANNHEIMER Posted at 5-2 07:44
Shocking result:
After testing my Osmo Action 3 in regular 4k 30fps video it stopped recording after 36:49 minutes. The display was set to 30seconds auto turn off so it was comparable to my hero 11 test.
Where is the never overheating Osmo Action 3 everyone is talking about? Do I have a falty unit? Should I replace the Action 3 a third time? This is getting frustrating

Hi Dear,

I have almost the same problem as you. I bought it last week and made several test recordings.
Now Frankfurt only with 28-25 degrees outside, and in my car almost the same. I recorded with 1080p60fps with all normal settings, newest firmware, no HDR, no enhanced image, no D-cinelike.
So I can only record 26-30min and under 4k60 fps, only about 22min.
But I've seen on youtube that many tester and userb claimed that they have no such problem. all of them said that 4k 60fps can definitely lasts 60min.
So I'm really confused now. Shoud I call a retoure?

DJI Gamora Posted at 5-3 01:52
Hi, MANNHEIMER. Thank you for reaching out. With its compact and portable design, Action 3 inevitably dissipates heat when processing such a large amount of data in a short period of time, which is an irresistible physical law. The camera was designed with special attention to the heat dissipation issue. To ensure the normal performance of the camera, the internal heat is designed to be conducted to the lens cover, front and rear screens, and body itself through heat sinks and silicone grease. Additionally, strict tests have been made to ensure that the camera temperature is within a reasonable range during long-term recording.

Action 3 mainly focuses on sports scenarios such as skiing, diving, and cycling, where wind can assist the camera in heat dissipation when recording videos with a high resolution or frame rate, which, thereby, makes it possible to record longer videos. If you mainly use it to record your daily life or activities, we recommend you record at 1080p@30fps, as 1080p@30fps is currently the mainstream video format online, and it can also reduce your storage space and facilitate your editing afterwards. Thank you for your kind understanding.

Hallo Dear,

I understand what you mean, but it's really unacceptable. It seems it' our probblem by not using it in a proper way, it's not true. The true is that the action 3 has a overheating problem, and a downgrade using is not a solution! We need 4k60fps, DJI ad showed online homepage that it can record 4060fps over 06min, not in a lab, but in a real life!!!

SeehawerB Posted at 5-5 14:38
Did some tests this week because I had several recordings stopping because the OA3 has gone to hot.

Setup: OA3 mounted on a small tripod on my desk. Room temperature 22°C, no air movement, stativ view (no movement, no changing screen contents -> easy living for the processor). Touch screens both OFF. 8 bit recording, no enhanced image quality. Just basic 4K recording.

Hallo Dear,

This is the same problem I found in the last few days. I can only record with 4k60fps less than about 22 min, then it overheated, and stopped recording. for 1080p 60fps less than 32 min.
But almost all the influeners on the youtube didn't mention a single word about that, even one of them said he lived in Arizona with over 35-40 Celcius outside, and made the test by putting it on the table outside under the sunlight, and recorded 4k60fps over 60 min without any overheating problem.
I doubt that.
What's more, on the DJI official homepage, it shows: 4k60fps with stablization on, it will last about 91min.

djiuser_EOXiqd4nW3ko Posted at 5-21 02:08
Hi Dear,

I have almost the same problem as you. I bought it last week and made several test recordings.

A replacement will not solve your problem because it is software related. It must be because the same camera recorded over an hour before the update.
I have finished with the Action 3 and bought the Hero 11. While using an external power source it never overheats even in 4k 60fps on records up to 3,5 hours.

djiuser_EOXiqd4nW3ko Posted at 5-21 02:18
Hallo Dear,

I understand what you mean, but it's really unacceptable. It seems it' our probblem by not using it in a proper way, it's not true. The true is that the action 3 has a overheating problem, and a downgrade using is not a solution! We need 4k60fps, DJI ad showed online homepage that it can record 4060fps over 06min, not in a lab, but in a real life!!!

Hi, djiuser_EOXiqd4nW3ko. Just like mobile phones, Action 3 can generate heat especially if you are using it to record higher resolution and in higher temperature environments. If you think that the heat brings generated by your device is not normal, please feel free to send it in for a diagnosis. You may submit an online repair request through this link: {https://repair.dji.com/repair/index}. If you need assistance with creating a ticket, you may contact DJI support at (https://www.dji.com/support).

DJ DJ Posted at 5-5 19:19
This was introduced with a firmware update last year because of european regulations, If you do a search, you may find it in some threads here, nothing new (compare johansenfotos firtst reply here).

One explanation with a soultion was postetd in this post:

Hello,

I was out testing my new Osmo Action 3 yesterday. Everything working as intended until I decided to shoot some clouds using the Timelapse mode in 4k. I've used the Cloud preset - camera shut off due to overheating after barely 3 min. I set it up again, and it lasted the full 10 min. giving me a cool looking vid. I need to note here that the sun was mostly hidden behind clouds this second time around.
Searched for the overheating issue online and found the fix.
So I immediately formatted the SD card, uploaded the file to the root directory, put it back in the camera, put in a fresh 100% battery, and decided to test at home.
Video stopped recording due to overheating after 55 min, with battery left at around 15%.
Settings I used are as follows:
4k 60fps Rocksteady+ and Enhanced Image Quality set to on. Both displays were off during recording.
My SD card is also listed as recommended by DJI on their official website - SanDisk Extreme Pro V30 A2 UHS-I Speed Grade 3 (only difference is that it's 256GB, not the 32 one).
As you might have already guessed - I am in the EU and bought the camera here. I have the latest firmware update from Apr, 2023 (v01.03.10.30) because they did not give me a choice to install an older one (bought it 2 weeks ago), and at the time of recording room temperature was 21 degrees Celsius.
So the fix doesn't seem to be working for me, and on threads DJI are suggesting lowering the resolution, fps, turning off the enhanced image quality, etc. - something I am not willing to do because I want to shoot in 4k 60fps!
My old Osmo Action shoots in that mode all the time - yes, it overheats but only the screen turns off, recording continues and I don't lose any footage. EU regulations or not, having the option to choose whether or not to continue recording regardless is a must.

And it would not be that big of an issue, after all, I don't think I would ever need to record 50 whole min. of footage, but upon overheating outside in the sun after only 3 min (it was cool before that as it was turned off for 10 min before attempting the Timelapse), I am worried if it will do that every single time in similar conditions...
Any idea how I can get a fix for this?

Have it in shadow while shooting and not in direct sunlight.
Screen off after a few seconds, no stabilization

MANNHEIMER Posted at 5-3 02:26
Thanks for your answer but to be honest suggesting to record in 1080p is not what I can accept.
I was walking through the water while fishing and the camera overheated in less than 30 minutes. There was a little bit of wind and sometimes water hitting the camera and it still overheats. The day before the hero 11 was able to record 4hours straight doing the same thing but never touched the water.
When I had my first Action 3 in late 2022 I was able to record 5 hours straight without overheating. If there were no hardware changes which affect overheating I guess the newer firmware is not reliable enough.

I never had overheating issues yet. Fishing. Yes it run, 4k 50f or hdr 10bit 25f and it runs until i switch battery 1hour+ ca. i can film 400gb without problems. on 265 hevc. Works.
Now it's been winter. And think, i will have overheating on really hot days. But am ok with that. Just need to be aware.
Had problems with voice control, did shot down, when i talk. Like, did he say, shot down ? lol so.