Err20 on all three of my R5's

[OakandGold]

Hi all. I'm at my witts end with these cameras. Im a full time wedding photographer and I have 3 R5's. I am getting the err20 on ALL of them. And they all are only around a year old. They have nowhere near the amount of shutter clicks that should cause the shutters to fail. It seems almost as if they're getting stuck. Its weird. 

I only use canon RF lenses, only use canon batteries, do not use any sort of 3rd party anything on them. I have also updated all firmware on the cameras and lenses. Still, Im getting the errors. 

I have been a lifelong canon user. From rebels to all of the 5D ones and now the R5s. I absolutely love these cameras but I cannot trust these cameras at this point. I had to rent a camera at my last wedding. Which is ridiculous since I spent close to 12k on these. 

Any suggestions? I guess I will have to send them in but after spending this money on these and them ALL failing within the first year is absolutely unacceptable. 

[OakandGold]

We do travel to many states and locations. This is not environmental. Due to the nature of the weddings we do, most are indoors. But we have been everywhere from our hometown of atlanta to maryland and beyond. When they started acting up, it was not all at the same time. It was one, then a few months later the next, then the last one. For a while I could do the fix of turning it off and removing the batter. But eventually that stopped working too. And again, not all at the same time. 

IMO after more research between myself and some friends who have an r3 and a couple r6s i truly believe it’s a flaw with many of these cameras. A Google search turns up many such cases in newer R series cameras. 

This is so disappointing that canon makes cameras that cost almost 4000 where the shutter barely lasts a year with light to moderate use. 

[OakandGold]

I will try that. 

[OakandGold]

Yes the $499 came from setting up an online service request. 

[johnrmoyer]

One more wild guess. If all 3 cameras were purchased at the same time and have similar serial number, then maybe the same manufacturing defect in all 3. I read that one user had Err 20 and the camera would only shoot electronic shutter until Canon replaced the shutter under warranty.

[OakandGold]

They were all purchased within about 6 months from each other. This is what I think it is. However since they’re slightly over the year mark they’re not under manufacturer warranty anymore. I think that’s what’s so frustrating. 

[rs-eos]

Don't post the serial numbers here of course, but are they very similar to denote they may have been created on the same day?   Where did you purchase the cameras from? If not an authorized Canon reseller, that would raise red flags.

Potentially still an environmental issue if the cameras, before purchase, were incorrectly handled or perhaps stored in an incorrect environment.  Or an environment that got compromised.

[Waddizzle]

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@OakandGold wrote:

Yes the $499 came from setting up an online service request. 

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That sounds like a boiler plate estimate, to me.  

I have not had to send in anything for repair for several years.  In years past, Canon would not give you an estimate until they had the camera in their hands.  Estimates were free.

Perhaps that policy has changed due to the ever increasing number of cameras in the hands of customers.  I think they may have changed the practice of accepting mail-in gear for free estimates during COVID shutdowns and isolations.

[OakandGold]

This is a good point. It’s been years since I’ve had to send in anything as well and last time (2018ish) I didn’t get an estimate until it was in their hands. 

Now you can set it up online. They have a specific option you can choose for “err20” and it shows as $499. 

[shadowsports]

The $499 is indeed boiler plate.  Its the standard rate for a motherboard replacement.   

[OakandGold]

All 3 purchased from B&H, all brand new.