Sony a7iii body cooler

thingiverse

<h3>What:</h3> <ul><li>Body cooling fans for your Sony a7iii!</li> <li>Fan assembly replaces the stock eyepiece and is powered by USB (or battery source).</li> </ul> <h3>Why?</h3> <ul><li>The area behind the LCD screen gets quite warm during video recording. The goal is to force air across this area to keep the camera body cooler.</li> <li>On my very first 4K shoot with the camera it overheated. While I have not had a problem since then (see “conventional methods” below) I can imagine a time where I will need to use the camera in more extreme conditions and will appreciate some additional peace of mind.</li></ul> <h3>Are there better ways to avoid overheating?</h3> <ul><li>Conventional methods such as keeping equipment out of direct sun, keeping the battery and SD card doors open, keeping LCD screen fully tilted and pulled out, using a LCD hood to keep screen brightness down, using a dummy battery, avoiding running on USB power so the battery doesn’t charge between takes, rotating batteries between takes/at breaks, turning the overheat shutdown setting to high, etc. will likely have more impact than these fans!</li> <li>Operating your camera in extreme conditions, ignoring overheat warnings, etc, may lead to equipment failure/damage, even when using these fans and all conventional methods listed above! Use at your own risk.</li></ul> <h3>Does it vibrate the camera?</h3> <ul><li>Not that I have noticed. I imagine it could impact super long exposure still shots.</li> <li>Use between takes if this is a concern.</li></ul> <h3>How loud is it?</h3> <ul><li>Not very loud but you will definitely hear the fans while using the in-camera microphone.</li> <li>Use an external/wireless microphone or between takes if this is a concern.</li></ul> <h3>The good:</h3> <ul><li>Fun project.</li> <li>Blows air across hot part of the camera body.</li></ul> <h3>The bad:</h3> <ul><li>The design could use polishing/tweaking for sure. The final tinkercad project is <a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/things/3jkqDvYqGFX"> located here</a> but I was plagued by phantom shapes throughout the process so it may not be that useful or easy to tweak. For a glimpse into madness tinkercad projects <a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/things/h0eQdToY3Xh">1</a>, <a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/things/hExAHW90w8W">2</a>, and <a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/things/jF3ZhwGfDbJ">3</a>.</li> <li>Tight fit and nuts/bolts may cause scratches.</li> <li>LCD screen must be fully open for the fans to fit.</li> <li>Does not draw enough power to run directly off my USB phone battery pack for more than 15 seconds at a time (I may try wiring in series to see if that is enough draw). If you look at the comments, AGSHOOTS85 uses a rechargeable 9V battery and the fans wired in series.</li></ul> <h3>Materials list:</h3> <ul><li>1x USB cable - I used an old one from the junk drawer and cut the micro-USB end off</li> <li>1x USB power source - I used a phone power/battery pack but this shuts off after about 15 seconds due to the low current draw. When plugged into a wall charger the devices runs constantly. OR 1x 9V battery and terminals.</li> <li>2x <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0792BW2VH/">5V 30MM Raspberry Pi fans wired in parallel</a> - comes with 16mm hardware kit that is too long. Or wired in series for stronger fan operation/9V battery operation.</li> <li>8x <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B072HXMDTV/">black M3 12MM screws & nuts</a> - flat or button heads would be ideal, but the socket heads in this kit work, it's what I had</li></ul>