The Fujifilm X-T4 is an incredible camera for cinematographers, but it does suffer from some overheating issues when shooting video, especially 4K video. In this short article, I’ll share two methods for solving common X-T4 overheating issues.
I recently shot a complete Feature films on Fuji X-T4 And very excited about the results. But I did experience some shortcomings with the camera, including its tendency to overheat under certain conditions.
To its credit, the Fujifilm X-T4 generally didn’t overheat indoors unless I was shooting several very long shots in a row without editing.
Still, indoor conditions remain a top concern for other shooters. Especially those shooting feature-length documentaries or event content, as the camera will eventually overheat if run in 4K mode for long enough (even in a cool room).
For our feature film production, we primarily encountered overheating issues in outdoor locations because we were shooting in the heat of the Los Angeles summer.
Initially, we would cool the camera down in an air-conditioned van, replace the batteries, and then be very careful not to overwork it once it was up and running.
But thankfully, this isn’t the only solution. I quickly discovered that there are two solutions that can help alleviate the X-T4’s overheating issues:
1.Fuji X-T4 overheating protection: automatic shutdown
By default, when your Fuji X-T4 starts to overheat, it will first give you a high temperature warning. The camera LCD will display: “The camera is approaching standard temperature limits”
If you continue to run the camera, you will eventually receive this message when the camera closes: “High temperature limit reached, closing”
One way to prevent this problem is to change “Auto shut-off temperature” Set the settings in the Fuji X-T4 camera menu to HIGH. By default, it is set to “Standard,” which will shut down the camera at a lower temperature threshold.
You can access this content by navigating to the following location in the Fuji X-T4 menu: Settings > Settings > Power Management.
When set to High, the camera now displays this message when it starts to overheat: “The camera is close to the temperature limit. Do not hold the camera for a long time”
Fujifilm recommends that you place the camera on a tripod so that you don’t have to hold it with your bare hands. I would definitely recommend doing this as well, as the camera body can get very hot and become very difficult to operate.
That said, even with high temperature mode, eventually the camera will still overheat and shut down. But you do get quite a bit of extra runtime out of it, so it’s worth changing your settings.
2. External battery power (V-type interface/power bank)
The Fuji X-T4 can be powered by an external battery using the USB-C input. This is the best way to avoid overheating problems, as it stops the camera from relying on the internal battery (which is what causes overheating).
When shooting with an external battery, you can run the camera in 4K mode for hours on end without any issues. On a recent commercial production, I used a Core SWX V-mount battery (with USB output) to power the camera and it ran flawlessly all day long.
However, you still need to be careful about overheating, as the temperature of the shooting environment, camera settings, and recording time can still cause the X-T4 to shut down.
But regardless, an external battery source is the most effective way to mitigate the problem. As for specific batteries, you could use V-shaped/gold-shaped batteries or even a small power bank which would be more cost-effective.
Another benefit of shooting with an external power source is that you don’t have to stop shooting every 40 minutes to replace the built-in Fujifilm battery, which is one of the few other drawbacks of the Fujifilm X-T4.
Personally, I don’t always shoot with external batteries because it can be too cumbersome for certain types of on-the-go shooting. But just to be safe I always carry one with me and rely heavily on them in any longer format situations.
Hope this helps Fujifilm X-T4 filmmakers. If you have any other tips, feel free to leave them in the comments below!
Be sure to check out my free Fuji F-Log color grading LUT here.
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