Preparing to shoot in 110 degrees Fahrenheit - what do I need to know?

[Tom Dowler]

So looks I'm going to be out in the Nevada desert for a doc project and it's going to be around 110 degrees most days.

We'll mostly be outside, but will (thankfully) have some shade.

We'll be on an Epic-W and a Scarlet-X.

What do I need to know about the dangers of overheating, how to prevent it, etc.

Other than just blasting the fans. Which actually shouldn't be too much of an issue since social distancing means everything is goign to be shot at distance from talent.

 

[Tom Dowler]

Related:

has anyone used the umbrella on an Easyrig? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...mf6tW16HUsJDD_PxzWS3Q5SrDIHTryCIaAnHWEALw_wcB

And was it an ungodly hindrance or did it help with shade?

 

[Björn Benckert]

Try to make shade. An assistant with a high big parasol is very good or even one of those white party tents. And check your batteries, lot of batteries shut down before the camera from high temps. I had the issue with the red XL batteries they simply cut power at a certain temperature which result in a broken clip that you need redundead to recover.

 

[Tom Dowler]

Try to make shade. An assistant with a high big parasol is very good or even one of those white party tents. And check your batteries, lot of batteries shut down before the camera from high temps. I had the issue with the red XL batteries they simply cut power at a certain temperature which result in a broken clip that you need redundead to recover.

Sadly no assistants because the pandemic. Me, the director, one person from client side.... gonna be fun.

 

[Tom Gleeson]

Tom,

I suspect at those temperatures your fans will be at 100% regardless. I would certainly do a blackshade at the maximum temperature recommended for the Epic-W and Scarlet-X. Maybe 45C ? Shade is important as black camera bodies can absorb an amazing amount of energy from the desert sun. I can remember years ago burning my fingers on a black film magazine that had been left in the desert sun for 10 minutes. I would also power down when not using the camera. I have used Red Cameras and many other cameras in these temperatures and you should be OK apart from the noise of the fans.

 

[Mike McEntire]

You should be fine. Shade and adjusting the shooting schedule to daybreak and late afternoon if possible is key. I was on a 3 day shoot where the low was 115 and high was 125 and my epic and several others made it through. The crew on the other hand was crumbling. I would suggest that everyone really looks after each other. Heat stroke comes on fast and is quite dangerous. I dipped my hat and neck covering in ice water between takes and that made a huge difference.
My AC also made a dry ice pipe for the camera on the 125 day but that's a different story...

 

[Tom Dowler]

Tom,

I suspect at those temperatures your fans will be at 100% regardless. I would certainly do a blackshade at the maximum temperature recommended for the Epic-W and Scarlet-X. Maybe 45C ? Shade is important as black camera bodies can absorb an amazing amount of energy from the desert sun. I can remember years ago burning my fingers on a black film magazine that had been left in the desert sun for 10 minutes. I would also power down when not using the camera. I have used Red Cameras and many other cameras in these temperatures and you should be OK apart from the noise of the fans.

Yeah, blackshading at full temp will be key.

I think we'll mostly be able to rig up shade and hopefully we'll be far enough from talents' mics so that fan noise won't be an issue.

 

[Luka Sanader]

Epic-W will be fine. do a black shade and set fans to max. i shot in hotter temperatures with this exact setup with no issues. i would try to make some shade just to keep camera of the direct sun. good luck and have fun