Gerald Undone just shared a video with his recent findings about camera overheating results. Interestingly, the entire video was an accident, as Gerald initially intended to test the 4k30 UVC protocol in recent Sony cameras. UVC (USB Video device Class) is the protocol that turns mirrorless cameras into webcams. Specifically, he wished to test which Sony camera could handle the protocol for longer. While he did get an answer, what he found made him despise all overheating tests, not just those relating to Sony’s UVC protocol.

Our expectations of overheating tests

We all already know overheating tests can vary depending on the circumstances. Ambient temperature, airflow, recording settings, firmware – many factors can differ between the test and your usage. That said, you still expect the tests to vaguely reflect your own experience with the camera.

Camera overheating tests are less helpful than we think

What Gerald found shows that those expectations do not correlate with reality. Gerald tested the same camera, on the same settings, while replicating the testing scenario completely, and the results varied to insane degrees. One camera handled the test for 54 minutes before overheating, and on the next try, the same camera lasted eight and a half hours. The temperature in the room couldn’t have changed more than a degree and a half throughout the tests, and yet Gerald still hit a seven-and-a-half-hour gap in the overheating results.

Conclusion

If you read a camera review that mentions overheating, you should take it with a grain of salt. Maybe a bigger one than usual. This is not to say you should not believe reviewers who say their camera overheated. I bet it did. For this specific user, at that specific time, under those specific conditions. It is only if you see this behavior repeating over and over that it holds weight. Of course, some cameras just overheat more consistently than others. (For example, compare a Canon R5 to an R5C), but it takes more than one test or one camera to classify a camera as an Overheater.