Obsidian Heat Concern?

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

Curious, has anyone considered if the color might influence some heat issues in the hot summer sun? Just dawned on me after thinking about it last night. Here in TX, I can tell a huge difference when shooting with my Canon L (white) lenses over the black ones within a short few minutes in the sun. Wonder if this will potentially cause any issues on longer flights or perhaps wear/stress on circuits...

Just a random thought for discussion.

Andrew

alokbhargava · Jan 21, 2018

No doubt black color absorbs heat and black shell will be warmer compared to white shell, but I doubt it will make any significant effect on the electronics inside.

On the other side dark shells have better visibility in the clear sky.

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

alokbhargava said:
No doubt black color absorbs heat and black shell will be warmer compared to white shell, but I doubt it will make any significant effect on the electronics inside.

On the other side dark shells have better visibility in the clear sky.

Yea.. That’s why I have black props, landing gear and gimbal guard. Helps a bit...

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

I also wondered if the heat might break down the plastic strength over time as well..

Jayfdee · Jan 21, 2018

Sunshine, and hot weather? It is freezing here in UK, so would be a nice problem to worry about.
Happy flying.

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

Jayfdee said:
Sunshine, and hot weather? It is freezing here in UK, so would be a nice problem to worry about.
Happy flying.

Haha.. Regularly gets over 100F (37.8C) here in Dallas/Fort Worth from June - Aug.... Argh!

Jayfdee · Jan 21, 2018

AndrewCCM said:
Haha.. Regularly gets over 100F (37.8C) here in Dallas/Fort Worth from June - Aug.... Argh!

Yes I have visited Dallas in July, we Brits struggle with this temp, thanks for quoting celsius, we dont do Fahrenheit anymore.

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

Jayfdee said:
Yes I have visited Dallas in July, we Brits struggle with this temp, thanks for quoting celsius, we dont do Fahrenheit anymore.

Haha.. Yes I know this.. My son’s soccer (football) club (Liverpool) is full of coaches from the UK. His coach was actually a longtime player for the Reds back in the day. Jimmy Melia. I don’t know how he still does it and in the heat no less. Take care!

alokbhargava · Jan 21, 2018

AndrewCCM said:
I also wondered if the heat might break down the plastic strength over time as well..

We don’t have enough data to support or dispute your concern.

PhantomWetSuits · Jan 21, 2018

For a sitting car that is black its about 3 to 5 degrees warmer than that all white car, when you are talking about the drone being black you are looking at about 1 to 2 degrees at most. Even with the Phantom Rain Wet Suits which are 2mm of Neoprene in all black it is the same. Its an insignificant amount of heat in respect to what the drone tolerances are. When we filmed the Totality in Tennessee at 98 degrees we flew all day without any problems , I think the hottest the motors got were 110 degrees which for those motors is insignificant in numbers also. Cold is a much bigger factor for the Drone than heat. If your battery is loose in the upper right hand corner than cold air can sneak in and cause a major drain on the battery and flying time. The Phantom Wet Suits increase the flying time in the cold by sealing the battery air tight, this increases the heat by a few degrees but again insignificant when it comes to tolerances of the battery.

exit 4 · Jan 21, 2018

I don't think the plastic of the Obsidian will retain as much as you may fear. Even in black I believe the plastic will limit the transfer of heat internally.

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

PhantomWetSuits said:
For a sitting car that is black its about 3 to 5 degrees warmer than that all white car, when you are talking about the drone being black you are looking at about 1 to 2 degrees at most. Even with the Phantom Rain Wet Suits which are 2mm of Neoprene in all black it is the same. Its an insignificant amount of heat in respect to what the drone tolerances are. When we filmed the Totality in Tennessee at 98 degrees we flew all day without any problems , I think the hottest the motors got were 110 degrees which for those motors is insignificant in numbers also. Cold is a much bigger factor for the Drone than heat. If your battery is loose in the upper right hand corner than cold air can sneak in and cause a major drain on the battery and flying time. The Phantom Wet Suits increase the flying time in the cold by sealing the battery air tight, this increases the heat by a few degrees but again insignificant when it comes to tolerances of the battery.

I don’t know that I agree with this. I have been shooting pro sports for years and I can tell you that my white Canon lenses are SIGNIFICANTLY cooler to the touch than the black ones out in the summer sun for any length of time. Certainly much more than 3-5 degrees. Anyway, I hope you guys are right. I guess we’ll know more after a few people down south fly this summer... I suspect you’re right that it won’t make any significant difference. I just don’t agree about 1-2 degrees difference.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Andrew
Crystal Clear Media

JarrodF · Jan 21, 2018

Yeah, obviously we don't have specific overheating examples with the new Obsidian P4Ps yet. But from a fellow North Texan here in Ft. Worth I can say there's a reason all of my family's vehicles are white. I've had a navy blue version of the car I'm driving now and it was much, much hotter in the sun. No 3-5 degrees. Oh well, I'm perfectly happy with my white P4P so it doesn't really effect me.

PhantomWetSuits · Jan 21, 2018

Maybe your forgetting that the drone has vents and airflow from the very act of flying where as the camera lens does not. A black car gets about 3 to 5 degrees hotter that is all there is to it. If it was really true than every winter jacket would be made black to squeeze out every last degree of heat but that is however not the case.

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

Must only be Navy blue cars that get hotter. LOL

I guess there is a point to be made about a moving car, etc... with airflow. By no means is a sitting car in 100+ summer heat the same temp inside of a white vs. black. I have owned entirely too many black and (silver) vehicles over the past 40+ years here in Dallas to not be objective. I now own 3 silver cars. I’m boring, I know.

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

Wonder why you don’t see any black passenger planes... J/k....

AndrewCCM · Jan 21, 2018

There is this.. https://www.autotrader.com/car-vide...ck-cars-really-hotter-in-the-sun-video-242940

John Locke · Jan 22, 2018

If you left the drone sitting in the sun you might have something to be concerned about. But with the props pushing air down across the body shell, within a minute the shell temp will match the ambient temperature. Nothing to worry about while flying, but just make sure you don't leave it sitting in the sun, otherwise it will feel like your black camera lenses when left in the sun. I assume you'll have a backpack that can easily shade the drone when not in flight, so you shouldn't have an issue. As for the long term integrity of the plastic, I don't think it can be any worse than the white Phantom 4s that have been known to crack from stress. Although less prevalent than P3 shells, P4 shells will crack with no abuse. So if you see any cracks in your P4PO, don't blame it on the color, that's a built in DJI feature, regardless of color.

AndrewCCM · Jan 22, 2018

I actually ended up with the white one. This topic was more out of curiosity as I had considered the Obsidian prior to even thinking about heat. Glad to have another opinion. A friend of mine just painted his P3 black/gunmetal. Looks great...