topic Re: Canon r5 timelapse movie issue in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

EOS R5 Time-lapse movies don't save, .dat file shows up on card

Dblackwater009 — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:18:50 GMT

Hi,

Currently I have issues shooting in timelapse movie mode.

It’s on and off, most recently it’s due to longer timelapse movies that I am trying to do. Previously I have been able to do 4 hour ones and now I am attempting same or longer but running into issues especially when running it over night.

Nothing saves the next morning, battery is at half and i check the files on the computer to find a .dat file which online resources tell me is the corrupted timelapse movie file.

I have updated firmware, used different batteries and currently try to shoot it on the CF card.

It doesnt show any error .

Here are my settings:

Timelapse Movie - Enable

Interval 00:00:45

No. If shots 0380

Movie Rec size 4K-U

Auto exposure each frame

screen auto off disabled

beep as image taken disabled

I turn off the screen when i start and i verify the process is going before I leave the camera.

Please assist me as its happened multiple times

Thank you

Re: Canon r5 timelapse movie issue

Waddizzle — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:23:21 GMT

“ Previously I have been able to do 4 hour ones …”

if it works at all, then it should work for any time duration. What are your power management settings? It should be okay to disable Image Preview after each photo capture.

Don’t change other power settings. The camera knows how to go to sleep and wake itself up to capture the images.

Re: Canon r5 timelapse movie issue

Dblackwater009 — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:29:18 GMT

Not sure exactly what you mean by power management, but I use a single battery mostly, I have used the packs with 2 battery’s slotted in but ran into the same issue as well. Do you think it may be a memory issue? I have plenty of space though

Re: EOS R5 Time-lapse movies don't save, .dat file shows up on card

stevet1 — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:42:30 GMT

Dblackwater009,

Do you have the VLC video player?

It's a free video player program.

Apparently, VLC can play .dat files.

From Google:

VLC Media Player and .DAT Files

Compatibility with .DAT Files

VLC Media Player can read .DAT files, especially those containing video content. It supports a wide range of file formats, making it a versatile choice for playing various media types.

How to Play .DAT Files in VLC

Download VLC: If you haven't already, download and install VLC Media Player from the official website.
Open the File:
- Launch VLC.
- Go to Media > Open File.
- Browse to your .DAT file and select it.
- Click Open to start playback.

You can also use VLC to convert your .dat file to mp4, or whatever file type your camera uses, or use an online converter service.

Steve Thomas