EOS 5D Mark IV going into sleep mode when not on a tripod

[BobDammit]

Hi, guys.

I’m a Realtor who also has a photography company.  I’m usually using my Mark IV on a tripod.  Recently, when adjusting my ball head and camera for a portrait shot, the camera would go into sleep mode.  The display and camera would go blank, and any settings I just changed would not be saved when the camera came back on after readjusting the camera position to landscape.  This was kind of frustrating, but I would just save all of my portrait pictures on the tripod for the end of the real estate shoot and then take my wide angle, put it on my 6D, put the camera in a portrait position and finish the shoot.

Well now the Mark IV will go into this sleep mode when it’s not on the tripod at all.  If it’s level in the landscape position it’s just fine.  But as soon as I take it off of the tripod to do handheld shots it turns off.  Not all the way, just into sleep mode.  When it’s level again, it’ll come back on. 

I’ve got a maternity shoot on Saturday and right now I’m going to be forced to only use my 6D unless I use the tripod and Mark IV for the whole shoot and then use my 6D to get additional shots with a different lens like I normally would, but I don’t want to be restricted to a tripod for my main camera.

Has anyone experienced this at all?  I don’t know if there’s a setting that I can change.  I’m not sure if there’s some sort of level recalibration in the settings.  I hope I don’t have to send it in.  It’s not even a year old and it’s my main camera.

Any insist would be greatly appreciated!

[Stephen]

Hi Bob,

We saw your message about this being marked as spam - it could be related to your username. If this continues to happen, we might want to look at changing your username to something that won't be automatically filtered - just let one of us Moderators know, and we can help you out! 

Regarding your 5D Mark IV "going to sleep," try the following:

If this doesn't help, reach out to support at 1-800-OK-CANON (800-652-2666) weekdays from 8am to Midnight (ET) or Saturdays from 10am to 8pm (ET). 

[BobDammit]

Great.  Thanks for the tip.  I’ll try those settings and change my username just in case.

[Ray-uk]

Well, it has got nothing to do with the tripod but what you are implying is that if it held perfectly still in a vertical position then it is alright but if it you turn it horizontal then it turns off.

It sounds as though you have a poor connection in the camera somewhere, could even be dirty battery connections or a fault with the memory card door microswitch.

Just out of interest what happens if the camera is held still in vertical position but the other way up, e.g. if it works with the shutter button upwards what happens with the shutter button downwards.

[BobDammit]

When it’s on the tripod in landscape position everything works fine.  As soon as I remove it and it shifts a few degrees in any direction except completely horizontal it’ll go into sleep mode.  Once I level it back out (carefully holding it or putting it back on the tripod) it’ll turn back on.

[Stephen · Accepted solution]

My first thought was that it might be the proximity sensor, but this model doesn't have one, so that's a no-go. 

Like RayUK suggested, it could be a loose connection to the battery door, or memory card slot. Both doors have a micro-switch inside that turn power off to the camera. Your tripod covering the battery door that might account for why it's a stable connection on the tripod vs not. 

The battery door is designed to pop right off, so that you can use a battery grip. Make sure it's connected tightly. Also, make sure your battery is in good physical shape. 

If this is all good, and your auto-power-off settings are good, you can try to clear your settings to factory defaults (and your custom functions) just to make sure something wonky didn't get set by mistake. 

All else fails, our team will be happy to help. Again, they're at 1-800-OK-CANON (800-652-2666). Weekdays from 8am to Midnight (ET) and Saturdays from 10am to 8pm (ET). 

[BobDammit]

Ok. Sounds good. I’ll try all of those things.  I’m actually using a battery grip so I’ll remove that variable, as well.  I’ll you know how it goes.  Thanks!

[BobDammit]

So I have an extended battery grip on the camera.  I went to remove the grip to eliminate that from equation when I noticed that it wasn’t seated as tightly as it could.  Tightened it down good and, voila... no issues.  Thanks for the help!  I’m glad is was something as simple and embarrassing as that. 🙂

[sandman0023]

Thank you for your last reply Bob.  I was just having the same problem with my camera. I saw your thread and noticed my grip had loosened too. I tightened it and works fine again.