My Canon R5C Freezes all the Time - Have to Remove Battery

[MrSerious_Pants]

I purchased my Canon R5C brand new and have kept it up to date with all the latest firmware releases. Right now it is running firmware 1.0.5.1.  I only use Canon LP-E6NH batteries. I also only use Canon RF L lenses or Canon EF L lenses with this camera. Ever since I have owned the R5C, there are times when it will not turn on and I have to physically remove the battery and reinsert it to get the camera to power on. This happens in both Photo and Video modes and has occurred with every firmware release. I'm tired of having to take the battery out and reset this camera. I feel the R5C was rushed to market and there are some serious issues with this camera, this power issue being one of them. I've been a Canon user for 20 years and this is the first camera I've been disappointed with. 

[shadowsports]

Good Evening,

I read your post and have a few questions.

What brand and model (specifically) of memory cards are you using?

Does the issue happen with every lens you attach or just one? 

Can you reproduce the behavior consistently or with no lens attached?

Are you using any 3rd party accessories? Gimbals, wireless mics, adapters of any kind?

If the cards are top tier brand, and meet the compatibility requirements, I would do the following.

Reset the camera to factory defaults and retest.  

If that doesn't help, I'd open a support  case with Canon and send it in for inspection.  My R5 C has been one of the best cameras I've ever owned.  I'd buy one again in a heartbeat.  Its been solid and reliable.  The firmware updates continue to make it better.  

Don't live with an underperforming device.  Canon will help.  Don't let this negatively influence your perception of the camera.  Get it to Canon. 👍

[MrSerious_Pants]

I have been a Canon user for a very long time, so I was surprised to see so many issues. Thanks for the quick response!

This issue occurs with every lens. The issue has seemingly started to get worse over the past 3 days. But it is still sporadic enough that it's hard to recreate in a controlled environment. That's one of the super frustrating things with it. It seems to only want to act up when I need the camera the most. 

I have 3 different cards, all approved for use with the R5C. I have not compared the cards, so I will switch them out and see if the incident is isolated to one card. I use the Delkin Black 500GB CFexpress, an Angelbird AV Pro 2TB CFexpress, and a PNY X-Pro U3 256GB SD card. 

I do have 2 third-party accessories that I use often. One is a Portkeys Leye LCD Viewfinder, which is attached via the horrendous Micro HDMI port on the R5C. I absolutely despise this port and I think it's possibly the worst thing about the R5C, aside from the tripod mount using only one threaded hole. I also have a Kolari EF to RF Drop-In filter mount which I use often with my EF lenses. I do own a Canon-branded EF-RF dummy mount, so I will try and compare the two mounts and see if the Kolari is causing the issue. 

I just got back from a job shooting at an NFL football game and the camera froze almost 1/2 the time. When I turn off the camera to change lenses, and then fire it back up, 1/2 the time it would freeze and I'd have to turn it off again, take the battery out, then push the battery back in. 

[Stephen]

Have you contacted Cinema support directly about these issues so they can troubleshoot them with you one-on-one? If not, that would be the best thing to do. The Cinema team is available 24x7 at 855-CINE-EOS (1-855-246-3367).

[Waddizzle]

What are your wireless settings?  Disable all of them or enable Airplane Mode.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Stephen's suggestion to contact Cinema Support is a great start, as was my suggestion to reset the camera, which would in turn also address Waddizzle's recommendations of disabling Wi-Fi, bluetooth, etc.  

However, you have enough 3rd party gear attached that it too is suspect as far as I'm concerned.  Your cards sound like they are fine, as long as they were purchased from a reputable source.  I'm using ProGrade, Anglebird and SanDisk myself.

You need to strip the camera down (completely) body only with one freshly formatted card and full settings reset, both main and custom settings.  If you have custom button mappings, etc, save this off to an SD card and remove during troubleshooting.  Plan on testing with at least 2 OEM batteries.  

Camera stripped, one card, no lens, no accessories, OEM battery.  Full reset (main and custom).  

Make a spreadsheet, take notes, however you want to do it.  Keep track of the testing methodology.

Power on photo mode = result

Power on Cinema mode = result

Add, second card, format card, perform same test

Document results.

Add a lens, perform same tests

Document results

You get the idea.

You will likely identify the problem, item, hardware, settings, etc.  

If you can't figure it out, you'll have detailed test results to present with the body to Canon.

The most important thing.  >> Make only one change at a time between tests.  Document the results.

Is there some work involved, yes, but what you have now is not useable for work or personal use.  

We look forward to hearing back from you.  

[SteveFR]

I ran into a similar freezing / soft brick when using third party batteries. Stopped using them, haven't had the freeze since. Have you had your batteries inspected for possible counterfeit? A counterfeit Canon LP-E6NH could definitely cause this.  Found a video on the subject of third party batteries and freezing, even after switching back to Canon batts. Good luck!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En1J_kJ9Fhs