DSMC2 Gemini - Pre-mature Shutdown *HELP*

[Andrew Reese]

Hey guys,

I was recently in Hawaii (Kauai / Big Island) last week shooting a real-estate commercial with my DSMC2 Gemini and ran into some trouble when powering on the camera which resulted in basically blowing an entire day for our production. I have owned the camera for about 3-months and have less than 20 hours on it so its pretty much brand new. Camera has never been abused, has been well cared for, and always gets broken down and stored in my cinebag in a controlled environment. So far the camera has been totally rock-solid for me and I have had no issues to date until my trip. I was hoping someone could give me some feedback on what might have caused the issue (which now seems to corrected)...

Upon turning on the camera, everything would seem to be working fine until all the sudden (after about 30-seconds) it would immediately shut off (screen goes black) and camera turns off. The first time this happened I got no warning messages and no "shutting down" message, the screen just went completely black and the camera went dead. I re-booted the camera (got the improper shut-down message) and thought maybe something was up with my battery connection or one of my accessories (Accessory list below). Then about 30-seconds after the second re-boot I got the first error message saying "temperature threshold reached" and the exact same thing happened, camera wen't completely dead. At the time it was about 90 degrees out and extremely humid (I have shot in hot outside conditions prior with no issues) and my temperature monitor (T/E) was still showing in the green and the fans were not pressing hard to cool the camera so I am kind of doubting it was actually a temperature issue. Furthermore I black-shaded upon arrival and the camera was brought up to outside operating temperature long-before I turned it on (i.e. did not go from cool AC environment to outside heat or anything like that) as I had it sitting outside for about an hour before we started shooting. I powered the camera on a few more times (got the temperature warning 1-2 more times) and then after that I wen't through the same process maybe 5 more times but got no temperature warning just camera went dead. Unsure what to do, I took the camera back to the car and ran the AC in attempt to cool the camera (if it was a temperature issue) and still continued to get a pre-mature shutdown even after I got the camera pretty chilled. At that point I could see a fluctuation in my T/E towards the cold side so I definitely am pretty sure again that it was not a temperature threshold issue that was really causing the problem as even in a cold environment the camera was still going dead after about 30-seconds.

Long story short, after about 2 hours of playing I decided to call Abelcine Los Angeles (only people available to talk to at the time) and tried to see if they knew of anything. Upon telling them I had wooden camera accessories, they instructed me to remove all my accessories, re-attach them, and then do a "re-discover", followed by a "system restore". Low-and behold the camera worked after that and I have not had any issues since. This is really concerning as I still am unsure what caused the issue and now I am really started to lack confidence in my gear and it made me look really bad to my clients as they just didn't understand the situation. Can anyone shed some light on what might have been the issue??? I am hoping it was just an accessory connection issue but why would I get a temperature threshold warning those few times if it was an accessory issue? I am just trying to figure out what actually happened and if I should just send the camera to R3D now sooner or later before it happens again on my next gig.


ACCESSORY LIST:

(DSMC2 base expander, Titanium EF-mount, Wooden Camera tool-less gold-mount battery plate, Core SWX hypercore 98 slims (approved by R3d for use with DSCM2 cameras), wooden camera record trigger top handle, wooden camera pass through top plate (with upgraded sensor board), 480 Red mag, and 4.7" touch monitor)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Andrew

 

[william howell]

I think you're answer is imbedded in your question. The 3rd party parts (wooden camera) threw up the red flag for Abelcine, which is why they instructed you to take the actions you did. I've read on this forum about some early wooden camera DSMC2 parts causing problems such as this.

I'd be really apprehensive to try third party active DSMC2 parts (that interface with red's electronics).

 

[Tony Tang]

It sounds like the battery plate or base expander may have caused it. If you reach out to RED support, they can have you dump the log files from the camera to see if there’s any additional info there.

 

[John Fitzpatrick]

That wooden camera top plate has a watch battery powering it. I’ve heard nothing but horror stories because of it.

 

[Daniel Soderberg]

If it starts happening again, take a closer look at the WC battery plate...

 

[steve green]

I'd re-seat the WC top plate and double check (wiggle) the lemo connectors powering your 4.7" I have seen this shut a camera down.

 

[Andrew Reese]

Just to update.... The camera has been working rock solid since. I am tossing it upto the WC pass-thru top plate or WC AB battery plate. After performing a "re-discover" followed by a camera reset I have had no issues since. Not sure what brought out the issue but I will keep the solution in my quiver if it resurfaces. I really don't think it had anything to do with the brain. Loving the Gemini and the WC accessories aren't to shabby despite this little hiccup.

 

[David Wall]

@andrewreese I have kind of the same issue. When hitting Playback my camera suddenly shuts down and when starting up again it says "improper shut down...."

I´ve tried to remove and replace each hardware piece except for the Canon EF mount and then the Re-discover following up with a System restore directly after, also formatting my SSD 960 mini mag but still have the same issue.

I think this is caused by the Wooden Camera Pogo to Pogo cable I was using with my Movi Pro. It worked soooooo bad and I powered the camera on and off for 20 times in a row. Next day this issue with playback button occurred.

I will NEVER use electronics from Wooden Camera anymore. The thing is, Red want me to send my DSMC2 Gemini in for repair. I can still shoot with it but can not playback any clip. I don't want to send it in because I have tons of work to do :SSSSS

Any other idea to solve my problem guys?

 

[Andrew Reese]

David, try the system restore first, then a rediscover after (the opposite order you tried). This worked for me and I haven't had any issues since. Did you happen to have your camera in high humidity / wet environment at any point recently?

 

[Wes Van Heest]

I also agree that the top plate is more than likely the culprit. In any of the threads like this I have read, the top plate from wooden camera is a recurring issue. Unfortunate, because WC products are usually rock solid, as mentioned.

Good luck, and thank you for following up with your solution. Too often threads like this die out with only the problem stated, and when searched later, turn up no positive help for anyone else experiencing similar problems.