Sony has responded to consumers suffering overheating issues when using their Xperia Z2 to shoot 4K video, telling users to “only shoot in small bursts”.
In a response which heavily echoes Steve Jobs’ infamous retort to iPhone 4 signal issues – “just avoid holding it that way” – MacDougal’s comments are hardly likely to instil much confidence in consumers.
“Overheating was a challenge that we had with 4K [shooting on the Z2],” Calum MacDougal, Sony’s Director of Xperia Marketing told TrustedReviews.
He added: “The advice we would give to consumers on shooting with 4K is to use it in smaller bursts. That, we believe, is the best way to manage the situation.”
An ongoing problem, the Z2 reaches troubling temperatures if used to shoot high quality video for anything but brief periods.
Introducing the new Xperia Z3, MacDougal revealed that the new handset is expected to suffer from similar problems.
The issues stem from the processing demands of high-quality video recording and compression, and the tightly sealed nature of the smartphone’s waterproof body which leaves nowhere for the heat to disperse.
“There is some element of heat that is generated when using the 4K recording because of the pressure it puts on the processor, and the product as a whole,” MacDougal said.
“There is some improvement in the Z3, but again our advice to consumers would be to shoot in small bursts to avoid issues with overheating.”
What exactly are ‘small bursts’? Well, according to Sony, clips of no more than two minutes.
“We would say that a minute or two at a time to take footage at that level rather than shooting for long periods of time at that quality.”
Read More: Sony Xperia Z3 Compact review