5D Mark IV Freezing up

[iris]

I received a brand new 5D MarkIV from my husband for Christmas...I've enjoyed using the full frame camera and lenses I've collected over the years that rightfullly should be on a full frame camera...

Several days ago while shooting and an event, the Camera FROZE..I mean suddenly the AF for the lens was dead and dark..the LD screen on the back was lit up and frozen with the camera setting sitting there..I tried to simply turn it all off an the on of switch had no effect.. After tryik several other buttons it became evident that EVERYTHing was frozen..So I treated it like a FROZEn computer screen, taking out the battery and sd card and waiting for a few moments, REinserted and all was well.  I totally forgot about it and treated it as a "One-off"    However, I was wrong..today it happened again..Very disturbing to have this kind of issue with such an expensive piece of equipment.

I have looke on YOu Tube and at various websites for answers..Apparently others have this problem...Any Answers that you Canon Pros know of??

What would you do?  Should I let Canon Fix It?  Should I insist on a new Camera?  YOu pros out there would you just ask to have your mony back?  NOt sure than can even happen?

[micens]

Freeze not every time, but often. I try many type of CF memory card, but problem persisting, no matter which card I use.

I take pictures using Live View more but using and VF. When camera freezing up not responding to LV button, nor I could take any picture, pressing the shutter button does nothing. Black lcd screen, top screen is fine. Turning the camera on/off does not help. The only solution is to remove and reinstall the battery. 

I use my phone to shoot video of the lockup symptoms and send to Canon, but thay say noting more 😞

[JasReif]

Hello, beginning of 2018 I bought a Canon 5D Mark IV camera. Previousely I had worked for years with the 5D Mark II and looked forward to using the new camera. Just after the one year warranty had ran out, the problems started to occur. Out of a sudde, in the middle of a shooting, the release button stopped working. The camera was ON, but I could neither half-press the button to focus nor press the button through to take a picture. At first, multiple restarts, changing of batteries, switching to video mode and back solved the problem. After a few weeks none of these worked anymore.
I handed the camera first in to be repaired by "Fixation" in London, an authorised service centre for Canon Cameras.
First, they replaced the MAIN BOARD on April 26th 2019. During the second shooting after the repair, the problem occured again. Since the repair warranty was still active, I handed the camera back in. On June 11th, Fixation replaced the DIAL ASSY. During the first shooting after, the problem occured again. I handed the camera back in on Sept 3rd. The report said: "NO problem found after two days of testing". I got the camera back and during the first shooting the problem occured again and persited.

I am helpess now. The repairs have cost a lot and I begin to loose interest in photographing with my Canon camera. I have been satisfied with Canon during all years of photographing. But this now leaves me puzzled. I do not see the point in arranging another repair, since the camera has been tested endlessly by now.
Any ideas how to solve this problem??

[jmadsenphoto]

What lens were you using?

[wq9nsc]

What exact setups are both shooters using when this problem occurs (RAW, JPG, or both recording, which card, dual card, etc)?  

Memory cards can create lots of issues because the hardware/operating software doesn't always handle unexpected failures gracefully and a lockup can occur.  Try a single known good card (either CF or SD but avoid micro cards plus adapter which inserts another potential failure variable).  Get the card from B&H or a trusted local retailer, a lot of the stuff sold online including from the elephant sized etailer is counterfeit with memory (cards, USB sticks, etc.) being one of the most commonly counterfeited items available. 

With a known good card also stress test the system by having it shoot RAW plus JPG in a sustained burst in high speed "drive" mode which loads the processors and battery system to their maximum.  

Unfortunately Canon may have some glitch in the firmware not yet identified that creates a lockup under specific timing conditions and documenting as well as possible exactly what transpired in the few minutes prior to the lockup can speed the repair resolution for your camera and others.  Canon service is generally rather exceptional so document the attempted repairs and problems so that once a resolution is identified your camera can be properly fixed.  Use your phone or another camera to shoot video of the lockup symptoms before you clear it via battery removal to document the problem.  It may help Canon to diagnose the issue, properly documents that it occurred (thus a time stamp for this video is useful), and it removes any doubt they may have about the customer is somehow imagining the problem.

Rodger

[iris]

Kudos, after several weeks of testing my camera and doing a firmware update, they returned it having been unable to reproduce the issue. But, I have not had a repeat of the problem. I learned quite a bit about batteries . The camera has a battery heading in one of the menus that tells you how efficiently your battery is charging..Sometimes a battery that showed as full or nearly so may not have really taken the charge well..
At least two of the batteries I had been using were showing nearly full on the LCD screen but when I went into the battery menu it showed they were in a category that made them questionable for reliability...so I tossed them . Now I register my new battery in the camera at that site and I check every so often after recharging to make sure it is reliably charged..I also mark each battery and rotate the four that I have...I am always aware now of not only the SD card I used on any given shoot but also which battery I used. With all that said I have no idea if that 2as the problem or if the issue has something to do with the combination usage of the attached shoe flash and it's power setting 9n combination with the 24_70 lens or simply POLTERGISTS!!

[jmadsenphoto]

We’re you using a Tamron or Sigma lens? And what flash were you using?

[iris]

All my lenses are Canon....the shoe flash is Canon  Speedlite 430EXii....I had the flash on both times that  my issue with the camera going dead occurred....I may have had the Canon Speedlite set to its highest power...I do pay more attention to that now...usually I've always left the setting at its highest point an adjusted brightness level more by adjusting and changing the angle of the flash  rather than the power setting...

As I said I have no idea why I've had no issues since the camera went to Canon labs.  The ony thing they said they  did was  download the latest firmware....I did throw out some suspect batteries....

One peculiar thing does happen fromm time to  time.....the other day with flash attached...and shooting AP....I  pressed the set button which I had moved a custom button function....instead of the button function showing DOF (which was a mistake on my part as DOF only shows on your back screen when you are in "live view"...which  I  was not) but anyway  when I pushed the SET button where I was expecting incorrectly to see DOF through the view finder, I hearda  electical crackling noises....the camera definitely did not like what I had just done!!   When I did it again...same result "loud electrical Crackling".....Could our issues with the camera suddenly shutting down have something to do with a combination of custom button functions and battery or circuit overload....I"m no engineer....that's for Canon to figure out...I'm just grateful that my issues sseem to be over...

[Cgraham]

Hi, I’m curious has it continued to happen? My Mark IV froze up yesterday like turns into a dead toy camera where nothing was actively functioning. I had to take out battery and cf card didn’t work then changed the battery. I noticed the battery wasn’t my canon one. I have three. I’m sure I’ve used the off brand before without issue. It’s pretty concerning that it’s doing this. I’m going to get another canon battery. I replaced cf cards. Other than that idk what to do. Did they offer to replace the camera body even though they could not duplicate the issue??

[JasReif]

Hi there,

my camera seems to work now, after the mainboard got replaced twice and the processor once, the dial assy once and some other things at the beginning stages. I handed it to the repairs 5 times over the course of 6 month (on repair warranty).

My camera kept freezing, even without any lens, with a canon lenses, with fully charged canon batteries or cheaper ones. I don't think it had anything to do with the freezing issue. At the beginning stages I managed to get the camera work again by changing batteries, by switching the camera on and off multiple times, by changing the memory card and by switching from video to image mode back and forth. But after a short amount of time the problem recurred until the camera stayed frozen and I had to hand it back to the repairs.

[jmadsenphoto]

So far my issue has only happened with my tamron lens. Are you using any third party gear with it? Lenses or speedlites?