Why I Returned The Sony a6700 (After One Wedding Shoot) 

Auto Power OFF Temp was set to "HIGH" in case you missed it in the description.

Have 2x A6700 and never had these issues… love them and would recommend them based on my experiences with my 2x A6700.

i have the sony a6700 and never had this issue. i always film in 4k 60fps 4:2:2 10bit 200m. i have used it in warm temperatures, like 26c and recorded long videos throughout the day and it works perfectly fine

Thanks dude. Your honesty and fairness just earned you a dedicated subscriber. I don’t trust any of the hype that is created on RU-vid every time a new camera is released and wait for someone like you to give the viewers what they really deserve. Kudos to you.

Thats crazy....I have the Sony a6700 and was shooting 60fps at 10.2.2 bit rate 4k out in 27 degrees and dont have this issue. I wonder if Sony has a quality control issue.

I ran this camera in 4K 24fps 4:2:2 10bit for over an hour straight in Florida heat and have had no issues just saying. Just update the firmware.

I've had this camera for about a week and do agree about the overheating issues. Fortunately this isn't too bad for me as I only would use this to shoot B-roll and would only do 4K in 3-5 minute bursts. For most social media (Instagram/TikTok) I'm ok with filming in 1080p. I appreciate your honesty about this and not giving into the hype. I'm waiting for the upcoming Sony A7CII or A7CR to see what my next "main camera" will be or if I just hang on to my A7IV which has been my steady main camera for the past 2 years.

Thank you for sharing your real world experiences! More people need to be aware of what these cameras are and are not. I've been a photographer for 35 years and dabble in personal/paid videography projects using a pair of Blackmagic pocket 4K cameras. Since hybrid cameras such as the a6700 are stills cameras first that shoot video second their ability to dissipate heat due to design is a real problem. Although they are getting much better in this regard and camera companies continue to add video centric features to them. With that said, I really see the allure to use them as dedicated video cameras. They are light weight, compact, and have some amazing features such as eye auto focus etc. That's huge for weddings I'm sure. There seems to be a weird void in the camera space. You can purchase a hybrid which are relatively affordable or jump into a cinema camera like the Canon C70 that has good autofocus but they sit at $5500 for just the body. Maybe the camera companies do not want to cannibalize their cinema lines? If I was in your position I'm not sure what I would use for filming. ( definitely no my bpcc4k 🙂) I don't know if my Fuji X-T5 would overheat or not as I use that for photography only. Maybe I would run the canon C70. Anyway, I hope you find a camera that won't over heat on you. Let us know how things unfold. Cheers, Greg

I do fashion video, recording 10-15 seconds every couple of minutes. On a 26 degrees C day I used it for 3.5 hours before overheating, turned it off for 5 minutes and it was ready to go again. 4K 60. Eye autofocus, STD stabilisation. It’s bizarre that there’s such a massive discrepancy in overheating times.

idk what reviews you watched, but overheating was a warning in a lot of them. my problem with the 6700 is that when I put a tamron lens on it it stopped working.

Thank you soooooo much for an honest review! I shoot weddings as well and I have hesitated to invest in Sony due to the overheating issue on various models.

Man, I see a lot of very different experiences with the a6700 about this overheating. Some have been able to record for multiple hours in 24fps, some for less than an hour, I've seen a review of someone that had much better results after letting the camera cool down for 15min (so not fully cooled down) instead of starting from a fully cooled down state... some I saw recording 4k60p for half an hour without issue and now this, short clips in a cool environment... I did notice with mine that the camera also heats up, just from going through the settings, watching some clips,... basically from it just being on. So I'm not sure if we should include the time the camera is just turned on instead of just of the clips it has recorded... In any case, very devided experiences it seems...

I witte this without any rude intensions or wanting to insult people. But something i have seen already so many times as a photographer and sometimes starts to bother me, is that a lot of video content creators are constantly nagging about the video possibilities of this camera. It's like a lot of more video orientated content creators still don't get it and don't realise. That the A6000 series is originally designed as a more photography orientated camera. Off course you can make great videos with these cameras and everybody is free to give his or her opinion. But please become also a little bit more realistic about the fact that you shouldn't expect the same from this camera as a FX-30 or ZV-E1 those are cameras especially designed for video content creators.

It could be an issue with your camera... I have tested mine in a moderate environment, around 80ºF, and, after taking several tests, I was able to record for a minimum of of 16m30s in 4K 60fps in 10bit. In 4k120fps I got a minimum of 12m30s. Apparentely not all the cameras are behaving in the same way and I came across a video on youtube that claimed the new firmware improved the overheating issues in a camera that was behaving much like the one you got. Fo my use case, long recordings (over 2 hours), in less than ideal lighting, and in temperatures between 80 and 85ºF in 4k 24fps I never even got a high temperature warning sign and always recorded for over 2h30m. The reasons why I didn't go with the FX30 were price, no viewfinder and no mechanical shutter....

even as a photography tool this thing is severely limited. The lifespan is 100K shutters, while the sony a77ii reaches 200K like the a7 Late series. The viewfinder is small, very small, and very low resolution. The A77II's viewfinder is larger and people even say it's a lot brighter. The shutter curtains are physically limited to 1/4000, the electronic shutter is extremely slow for a camera born in 2023 and the buffer is bad.

FINALLY. Someone with guts enough to tell it like it is. You gained a new subscriber. Thanks for you honesty.

"Thank" you for dousing my excitement about this camera but true thanks for saving my money! Many real youtubers who actually used the camera have reported the overheating issue. Yours is the third video I watched about this.

I’m boxing up today It didn’t overheat but uncomfortably warm/hot. Disappointed. I kept my A7IV but I know not to push that. Cinema from now on no matter what. That aside it’s fun outside of that. It’s hard to enjoy a trip if you’re always looking at the gas tank if that makes sense

Couldn't agree more. We really gotta learn to read between the lines of early reviewers. :( A7Cii was just announced and doesn't look much better...unfortunately.

He's right folks. I was highly disappointed in the overheating. It's the biggest issue with this camera. Everything else is GREAT for those of us who don't do this professionally. The overheating is a deal-breaker.

I'm using it every day for short news for WrocławTV and didn't have any issues with overheating....but I turn the camera off between shots - maybe that's the problem? PS. It also may be the bluetooth, WIFI and GPS causing the problem. Just put it on airplane mode and You're good to go

A6700 i have a this camra good working expireanse for filming story

… at first you have to tell the community: Overheat Setting was standard or high? Which type of 60fps 4K were selected? Did you turn the display at the side? I made a test at 27°C and the highest 4k type, 10bit, 4:2:2 and 60fps, no wind, overheat setting was high, 23min until shut off. After short cool down new filming was possible.

Phew!! I bought the ZV-E1, and really had buyers remorse thinking that i do vlogs and dont need all this firepower and i will be fine with a apsc a6700, but now i think i will stick to my full frame ZV-E1 ❤

thanks for the info. I have overheating issues when taking video footage in humid parts of asia. this is making me rethink buying this

My budget is $2000 and I was really ready to pull the trigger on this a6700 because it’s the new latest Sony APS-C until I did a lot of reviews and most of the video are fair with spec and flaws! BUT. Your video made me go a different directs and be more wise with my next purchase! I’m hold off a bit. Any tips? I shoot sports, surf. I want something to go with 200-600mm Thank you.

Good stuff. I trust your reviews since this is your profession. Love my A7siii

Which video settings did you use? I use XAVC HS 4K with 100 mbit 4:2:2 10bit. No issues so far.

can't wait to buy iy used for a good price!!! all I do is photography and I'm sure a software update will fix this in the future.

I didn’t have a problem on the golf course in Florida the other day. I shot for like an hour in 10 min clips .. 24fps 4K highest bit rate and it was blazing hot. No issue. V60 card

I wish I had found this before purchase. All I saw was how great it is. My a6700 has been overheating non stop. It's my first camera outside of my phone. I needed a good camera for work. I have no idea what to do now. I don't know what camera to try. The a6700 was already stretching my budget with glass.

I appreciate you sharing thing, thank you.

That's a bummer. I haven't had any issues with mine while making short 120fps 4k clips outdoors on a hot day. The camera was shooting at 120fps but writing at 24fps for 5x slo-mo. Maybe that is the difference. Or maybe the lack of a crop at 60fps is what causes the heating issue. I guess it's a good thing I use 24fps on all my RU-vid videos! :) I'm using mine as a stills camera about 95% of the time. That's why I didn't opt for the FX30.

Did you try it at a 1080p setting as a test

Thank you! Very very useful indication.

So I have ran multiple overheating tests since I got my 6700. In temps 75 and below i have had no overheating in 4k24 and 4k60. 4k120 I got 20ish minutes. Outdoors here in Georgia(southeast USA) 90°f 70% humidity 4k24 got 37 minutes before overheating. 4k60 I got 28 minutes constant record. Have not tried 4k120 outdoors yet. I have preordered the Ulanzi cooling fan and going to test the cooling effect once it arrives.

Thanks for the video, im going to do some more testing on my new a6700 now!

I used it for streaming 4k 60 to test it overheated in 30 min with hdmi cable then I turned on again and it worked for over 3hours same settings in door.

Very interesting, I hear very different things. Some say it overheats easily, but some say they have no problem with it 🤔🤔

Thank you for this video! Im going to invest the FX30.

Ah that’s a shame! I’m hoping to buy this camera soon. Thank you for the video. Just a note that I’m sure you’ve taking into consideration… you can raise the temperature levels that the camera can handle. I believe that the camera has that setting quite low when you first buy it. (Don’t quote me on that but just something to consider) again thanks for the video!

I bought this two weeks ago from B&H, didn’t do heavy high resolution video recording yet because I don’t have v90 SD cards, but while i was downloading footages to my ipad through the app via wifi while inside of the house at night time but no AC on, i experienced overheating two times then it shut down. I upgraded the firmwares, and haven’t done new shootings yet, maybe i will return it too.

Thank you! I was hesitant but would rather pay 2x the price and get something reliable instead of embarrassing myself in the middle of paid shoot.

everyone knows if you are doing wedding shoot you should use a more serious camera like A7, A6 is for casual use, that's why it's cheaper

I am enjoying mine. I never thought it could be used as a video camera professionally. The fx30 uses the same sensor, has a bigger body and a fan for a reason. Canon introduced the R5C with a fan for a reason. This is the limitations of current technollogy and physical size. I tested mime twice at lower quality settings at 4k60 as I only have v60 cards (XAVCHS, 60p, 75M 420 10bit) and I stopped it at the half hour point as I would never exceed that time for what I do and it was quite warm. Therefore, I believe it will definitely overheat in less time at higher 4k 60 settings. It has met my expectations as a small hybrid camera. Does photos very well and allows short high quality video clips. Definitely not for professional video use.

finally. I was leaning to buy this camera most of reputable youtubers recommends this camera. now I decided to get FX30.

Does B&H charge a fee to return the camera? I'm worried now, I'm supposed to get it tomorrow, but if I'm constantly going to be worried about the camera overheating . i don't want it

I just picked one up a week ago. I was outside yesterday and eighty five degrees sunshine film for about an hour with the same thing, ten to twenty second clips never had an issue

I guess the RU-vidr that you are referring to is Gerald Undone because for him this is the best APS C camera ever produced

I get overheating in the winter avg 30F around 20 min of 4k60. Doing anything also makes the camera feel warm. It gets up to over 100f for weeks on end in the summer so im going to have to return this too. So disappointed it's such a good size for travel photos and videos

I was actually surprised when shooting the first time at 4k120, i just read and saw the glowing reviews, and nobody spoke about temperature. I got about 4 mins of footage before it shut down with the overheating warning. To me this is not a huge problem, i mainly shoot b-roll in slow motion and i focus mainly on music videos, so takes don't usually last more than 3/4 minutes, but if that was a shot for a client and not for a friend, without knowing about that problem it would have been a huge issue. Knowing this, i can work around the limitation, but i can perfectly understand why to someone who does extended videos it would be a total deal-breaker. I am hoping on a software update to mitigate the problem though, even if it's something that could come in a month, a year or maybe even never.

Wow. Yeah, I've been hearing a lot lately that this camera overheats. I'm not surprised that the big youtubers didn't mention this. Smaller youtubers recommend adding a fan, but it shouldn't have to be this way. I'm sticking with my Sony a6600 and not upgrading. What a bummer, I really liked the features of the Sony a6700.

Thank you for your honest review and presentation.

Maybe Sony wants us to look to another brand if we want a camera that doesn't overheat.

Thank you for doing this video

I gave up on sony a6 series after the a6300. Same back then. You tube reviewers loved it. I bought it. Overheated filming a wedding. Then all the overheating videos popped up in RU-vid, because people bought (like I did) based on the reviews. But I just bought an a6700. Because, I have a workhorse of a camera for work (fuji xh2), that's been amazing and is in my opinion the best apsc out there. And I shoot with an a7iv (not mine, client owned). And I just wanted a decent small travel camera. Sony a6 series are great for small projects but that's basically it, based on my experience. Not to say they are terrible. I love the pics and footage I get. But, they need to work on the overheating. From my experience, the a7iv didn't Overheat during my use. And I've only had one heat warning hit on the fuji xh2 (which was literally the hottest day of summer and it was in the sun the whole time). Just a warning though.

is it common to shoot 4k 60fps for shooting a wedding? Seems like overkill for slow moving subjects even on a dance floor?

Will this cameea overheat recording in 1080p?

Are returns a hassle with B&H? Thinking of returning mine, too.

Thanks for the review. This camera may not be consistent for some reason between different units. I have not been able to make mine overheat at least for sit down youtube videos and with the camera on for over 2 hours connected to USBC . Could it be something with the codec you use. I choose 24p 10 bit 4:2:2 XAVC H. Probably the HS compression can cause it to heat up more. But again have not used it for long takes in 60P. I would definetely get a Sony FX30, FX3 or A7Siii for that intended use.

Thanks for the very helpful video! I'm actually looking forward to getting into film/videomaking and thought, the a6700 would be the ideal camera to buy. So, in my case as a beginner I'd try and learn everything from the beginning, but sometimes I'd like to shoot in 4k60. But mostly I'd shoot in 4k24 or 4k30. What camera would you recommend when starting as a videographer? I'd like to buy sony and IBIS would be nice to have. Can you recommend a camera that is this pricerange or maybe even lower than the a6700? Great video, keep up the good and honest work!

Did you update the firmware? It is an update available now on Sony page.

I think this can match the old nikon d800 full frame when it comes to photography

Camera is completely unusable for livestreaming as well. Apparently, it's due to the HDMI port. I doubt the a7cII will be better unless it has a fan. Now I'm stuck with the a6600 for longer because there's really nothing else unless I go full frame.

i expect there is high amount of individual variance depending on how well heat sinks are installed/how hot the processor runs

Bro i was literally recording to my camera filming my own content in my basement with an AC on at 4k24 and after a while my camera overheated and went off. I was confused. I switched from recording to my SD card to to recording to my Ninja V and it kept going off. I kept it plugged in just to film clips after clips. I felt hugely disappointed when i checked youtube to find out people complaining about the hdmi plug in feature and it overheating. I was already preparing my honest review on my channel and this happens. So hugely disappointed since i really wanted to rock this camera and i canceled my fx30 order for this.

This is so useful. 💪💚

What sd card type did you use? Was it a v90 card?

I have the 6400 never had over heating issue. But then i don't shoot with the 6400 on 4 k at 60fps but only 24 and 30. I have also an a 6300 that use to switch off after 30 minutes but i cracked that. So if it gets too hot i ise yo switch off but i never really had issues. Very disappointed to hear ghaf the 6700 has this problem.

As mainly a still shooter Its not an issue for me. I may give up my a7iv ,

Works fine for me, strictly vlogging. Not out here shooting weddings

Honestly I feel like most youtubers were saying, this works for me in shooting youtube videos, if you need to do production work look for another camera.

Hi! Ai am a wedding filmmaker. I have a Sony A6400 and never had overheating problem. Do you recommended to buy Sony FX 30 instead a Sony A6700? I realy need a small camera for gimbal. Great video. Thanks!

thank you for keeping it 100, whats a good secondary option? I had over heating issues with a6000. Should I got Full Frame what do you recommend for value ?

Apparently, the camera will not overheat as quickly if you set it to 4-2-0 10bit, but will overheat stupid fast if it’s set to 4-2-2 10bit. Of course if it overheats on the settings you NEED, then it’s unreliable trash.

I have the camera as well. Have not experienced these issues.

Thank you so much

Could you have saved the shoot if you filmed XAVC S (Maybe you were filming in AVC HS) or 420 10 Bit? There is not a lot of tests to measure this. But yeah 60FPS will over heat, same on R6, R7, ZV-E1, R5.

Love the a6700.... but not as a video camera. FX30 is the video option.

Sony Corporate has a new video game for their latest PlayStation: "Let the Suckers Sink: See How Fast & Quick Your Cam Will Overheat & Shutdown?" This game will make them tons more money than all of their camera sales put together. 😎😎😎

Why the camera is in front of you then ? Isn’t this why I returned it ?

The overheating apparently only affects some units, not all. Either way, the firmware update a few days ago completely fixed the issue. So if you’re returning the camera because of overheating or anticipating it because of these videos, you’ll probably regret it. But I’m glad because I’m on back order for it, and I might just get one sooner because of someone who canceled their order because of your video. 😂

Of course it will overheat at 4K 60; it has a small body without a fan. It is not intended for professional use, which involves heavy video support.

i use a kooler works fine. maybe you're just a flamer?

Bro i used it to film in the mountains 37° Celsius . No overheating problem,i used all the battery . Ps: I was shooting in 120 p 60 p taking photos of birds ans insects, in a super hot weather no overheating problem .

Was it firmware version ? 1.0

does is still overheat even if its just 1080p? i dont use 4k

Feels like you didn't do your research because i've watched tons of a6700 reviews on youtube and most of them mentioned the overheating. Also the a6700 more or less is a full frame body since the A7C exists

Glad you made this video to inform people from the perspective of a working professional and putting it through an actual job. You're right, most RU-vidrs have a conflict of interest and are going to say only positive things so they stay on the payroll. Question: The Sony A7c is 509g and the Sony a6700 is 493g. A negligible difference. You say you got this camera because it's lightweight, but the Sony A7c is only 16g heavier. Maybe it's heavier once you put lenses on? Check out the Sony G lenses, the 24mm, 40mm, 50mm. I have the 24 mm and it makes the camera so lightweight!

Wow! This is the 3rd review that I have seen in 2 days mentioning overheating. How could Sony have missed this?

Super camera 📷

This is why I will get the Ulanzi fan for any video work, until I get the fx30 anyways. Though for my use case I probably won't use 60/120fps often so I'll have to see if it will be needed

Future software updates could help.

Friend, tell me the name of the track that is playing in the video

What’s your take on the zve1 in this regard?

RU-vid is just one big advertising channel. It's been like this for years. Too bad that honestly is out the window to get a free test camera/ whatever.

Ive done 4k60 on mine outside in 78 degrees for a few 10 minute clips without overheating. Also tried 4k120 for a few 5 minute clips. Didn't overheat. Weird. But I didn't get this for videography, if I wanted that then I would've gotten a proper video camera

I have the same problem with the A7IV and yes I also have the high temp, LCD open and I get over heating a lot, not even in that hot of weather. Albeit I shoot 60p 4K 90% of the time.. Really frustrating..

would you go for the a7c2? has similar specs to the a7iv and is very compact. what are your thoughts?

dude just get an fx30, this is a great camera for photos