topic Re: R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working

Gnunez — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 15:41:42 GMT

Hi, all! I bought a brand new R5 back in 2021.
This past weekend the electric view finder was simply black. Oddly enough it was working a few days earlier and it was just sitting on my desk.

The sensor works, as the screen turns off when I bring the camera to my face. However, the viewfinder remains black.

I have gone into the settings to confirm I don’t have the viewfinder disabled.

I have also reset the entire camera settings and it still fails to show anything.

Sad to see such an expensive piece of equipment fail given my 6d mark i is ancient and still going strong.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Re: R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working

shadowsports — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 21:55:16 GMT

Greetings ,

If you have any accessories attached to the camera besides the lens, please remove those. Do you have more than one lens you can test the body with? Are your lenses Canon or third party?

For testing, please remove both memory cards.

If you have a second battery you can test with, please rotate those and test with a freshly charged battery.

With the camera's power on, change the shooting mode to M manual. See if there's an image displaying in the EVF. Now try changing the shooting mode to Av Tv or Fv. Again, look for an image in the EVF.

Perform a full settings reset both main and custom one last time and retest. If nothing displays in your EVF your body will require service.

Re: R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working

Gnunez — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 19:38:45 GMT

Thank you for the detailed troubleshooting steps.

- no accessories

- Attempted with 3 different canon lenses ( no 3rd party )

For testing I :

- removed batteries, charged all 3.

- removed both memory cards

- swapped batteries out

Gave it a shot going through each shooting mode, while powered on, and the EVF never worked.

The sensor detects my face, but unfortunately EVF is always dark.

repeated after resting all the settings ( main, custom, etc ) and nothing.

Looks like I'll have to get Canon to take a look at it.

Thank you for the help though!

Re: R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working

shadowsports — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 21:57:38 GMT

Greetings,

You're welcome and I'm sorry you're having to deal with it. Start by registering the camera in your MyCanon Acct. From there you will see your support and repair options.

MyCanon

Re: R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working

Foundsounds — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 06:57:01 GMT

In a similar boat. Bought mine early 2020. Have not put that many hours on it and randomly my evf went white screen. Opposite of yours. When I look into it it’s like looking into a flashlight. Very disappointing to say the least.

Re: R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working

Foundsounds — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 06:59:19 GMT

Curious as to what the cost was to replace the EVF assuming you sent it in for repair.

Re: R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working

Gnunez — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 21:55:34 GMT

Bummer to hear, @foundsounds. I did cave on the cost, and sent it in for repair. I looked through my receipts, since it was almost 2 years ago, and it was $500 dollars.

Steep, but all things considered, I couldn’t get accustomed to using the screen only; I tried for a few weeks and it’s just not optimal all the time. I would suggest trying the screen only option, to see if you can live with it but it was hard for me.

For what it’s worth, it was a full new “EVF” module replacement.

Re: R5 Electric Viewfinder Not working

Foundsounds — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 18:24:39 GMT

I appreciate your reply. I also prefer the evf over the screen only. Looks like im going to have to spend the money.