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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Epic fan issues

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Philip Aromando

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Was shooting an interview this past weekend with the Epic. About 18 minutes into the interview, as the camera was rolling, the fan self-activated and interrupted the take. I had the fan controls set to manual (and set to 25%, would have set it to an even lower number but that's the minimum setting parameter during shooting).

We stopped rolling and let the camera cool down but when we resumed shooting, the fan would reactivate every six to eight minutes. It was problematic because the interview was a long one and it was interrupting the flow between the interviewer and subject. Wasn't as relaxed as it should have been. The shoot was staged in a spacious hotel room and the room, even with the few lights we had to light the subject, was not particularly warm.

I've previously shot for long stretches of time with this particular Epic and not had the fan activate with such frequency. I'm wondering if there might be something wrong with the camera or if this is just one of those "bad fan" stories I've read about but have yet to experience firsthand.

Any advice or insights are welcome. Thanks in advance.
 
I've had the exact same issues when shooting takes longer than 5-6 minutes with Scarlet. It seems to be a precautionary measure since it happens when the internal temperature reaches 75 degrees celcius. It's frustrating to interrupt a take but at least the camera won't overheat. Keep an eye on the internal temperature and once it reaches 70-ish degrees, take a break to avoid interrupting your take.
 
25% is the minimum... Try 37%-40% (which many conclude is the break-even/continuous shooting point). I know, it sucks, but what can you do?
 
I never lower my fan settings below 50% while recording for this very reason. Regardless of the room temperature and especially during long takes. 75% while not recording.

It sucks if you get the camera too close to your boom mic, but for interviews that shouldn't be a problem.
 
I had serious problems with loud fans during a theater shooting. We settled to 40%, and only one of three REDs was kicking in at times. but 25%? No way, at least not there.
 
I've found my sweet spot for interviews to be around 45%. Sometimes if I have to I'll use the redmote and slowly turn up the fan speed if I notice the camera's temp getting too high. Make sure the audio guy gets room tone with the camera set at the same fan speed and you should be fine in post.
 
It's definitely the camera protecting itself from over heating. It's normal camera operation. Like others have recommended, 40% fan speed is a good compromise.
 
This is the biggest issue with epic/scarlet, it's definitely hosed me before and it's really awkward. Someone posted a top mounted fan add-on months ago, seemed pretty cool, was supposed to make the cam very quiet. Anyone know what I'm talking about?
 
We realized that the break even point was about 75 degrees so we were able to tell our subject we had to stop for a moment every time it was about to happen but during an interview continuous run time is essential. It's all about allowing a rapport to develop and having to stop so frequently breaks the mood.
 
I see - so at 40% the fan is not as loud as the hairdryer at 95% and you can shoot without it being too much of an issue. Good advice. Thanks. I have to get used to the idea that its not a perfectly "silent" camera.
 
I just listened to it at 40% and it's not too bad. Will have to take that approach from now on when shooting interviews. Thanks.
 
Rob Castiglione said:
Can the new heat sink and fan be installed in older Epics?
Click to expand...

Yes. Contact your Red Bomb Squad representative. It was a free upgrade with older Epic-Ms, but not sure what the policy is for Epic-Xs. Of course, yours may already have them. I think the upper cooling grill is squarer in profile than the original curved one, which may be a clue.
 
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