topic Re: R5 M II Cold Weather Problems in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

EOS R5 Mark II shuts down in below-freezing temperatures

zdanneels — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 13:48:21 GMT

I'm a cold weather photographer. I have taken both the EOS R5 and the EOS R5 M II on several trips in cold climates. The R5 has been out for hours in -10F and never missed a shot. On the other hand, the R5 M II has turned into a brick as soon as the temperature drops below freezing. Starts by flashing the low battery indicator and then shuts down. Insert a warm, fresh battery and within minutes I get the same result. Tried my older batteries from the R5 - same result. Are others experiencing the same issues? Thought I might wrap some lens warmers around the camera to see if it helps, but makes the camera hard to handle.

Re: R5 M II Cold Weather Problems

wq9nsc — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 21:57:27 GMT

Under warm conditions, run the battery down to around 25 percent indication in your R5 and then try that battery in the II to see what it does. Maybe the voltage sense in the II is out of spec so it believes that the battery is depleted when it has plenty of charge left. Cold weather does drop battery activity so capacity (and voltage under sustained load) will drop in both cameras but it is possible the II is being overly conservative with its estimate of remaining capacity and it shuts off to protect the battery.

Rodger

Re: R5 M II Cold Weather Problems

FloridaDrafter — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 06:50:36 GMT

I live in northeast Florida, which isn't known for its cold weather, but we have had several stretches this winter where we have had "hard" freezes. I like to shoot at night, particularly on these really cold nights, because the sky is really clear. Anyway, although I didn't have a thermometer, the water in our dog bowls was frozen so I assume it was at least below freezing. I shot quite a few two hour sessions of deep sky with my R5 II and had no problems. Granted, not 5 below, but below freezing 🙂

I know this doesn't help, but it kind of supports Rodgers thoughts.

Newton