R5 Intervalometer DOESN'T TRIGGER with back-button focus

[jimre]

Serious BUG in my new R5. Unlike all my previous bodies (5DSR, 5D Mark IV, 7D Mark II) the built-in intervalometer DOES NOT TRIGGER the shutter, when the camera is set for Back-Button Focus. That is - Shutter Button Half-Press is set to "Metering Start". 

The back LED actually looks like it's taking pictures - but it's not. You see "TIMER" flashing every "N" seconds, but all it's really doing is metering once every N seconds. 

If I disable Back-Button Focus (set Shutter Button Half-Press to "Metering and AF Start") then the intervalometer works as expected. But like most serious photographers, I always have my Canon bodies configured for Back-Button Focus full time.  

I just wasted 2 hours thinking I was "shooting" a timelapse, but all it captured was the first image. Canon - PLEASE FIX THIS ASAP!

Thanks!

[Waddizzle]

No, this is NOT a bug.  The Interval Timer activates a virtual shutter button.  It has to work the same way in using the OVF or in LIve View mode.  It is only a problem if your lens is set to One Shot AF and the lens is set to AF.  I am not sure why you would want to the camera to refocus between shots, anyway.

I suggest that you go into the menus see if you can set One Shot AF Release Priorityr.  This is from the 7D Mark II, and he default is Focus.  Problem solved.  If the R5 does not have this setting, then blame the Canon cripple hammer.  It's no bug.

[Waddizzle]

"...this issue has *nothing* to do with putting your lens in MF. It fails exactly the same way, whether your lens is in AF or MF mode.

As I said, the workaround is to disable back-button focus. Otherwise the intervalometer just does "Metering" every N seconds, it never triggers the shutter. Whether you think it's a bug or not is irrelevant. The behavior is DIFFERENT from every other Canon body, and is simply broken on the R5."

No, it is not a bug.  This is simply how the camera work.  If you feel that you must disable BBF, then I suggest you do that.

[jimre]

No, just tested your suggestion. This fails exactly the same way regardless of whether One Shot AF Release Priority is set to Focus or Release. This is not the problem.

Further - I am NOT trying to re-focus between shots - as you're implying I'm trying to do. You seem to be missing the whole point of having BBF set in the first place. It's so you (or your intevalometer) can press the shutter button WITHOUT changing focus!

And per your comment on the other poster's thread - I also tested with the lens set to MF. Same exact failure as with the lens set to AF. 

This is a bug, whether you think so or not. This works on every other Canon body, and it's broken on the new R5. You seriously think it's intentional when using the built-in intervalomet that that camera only PRETENDS to take a picture every N seconds? 

[jimre]

And just for completeness, I also tested this with an EXTERNAL intervalometer. All same settings. External intervalometer works just fine with BBF enabled. 

It's only the BUILT-IN intervalometer that fails to trigger the shutter when BBF is enabled. If you dIsable BBF - then the built-in intervaolmeter works just fine.

I've shot hundreds of timelapses over the last 5 years on my previous Canon bodies (7D2, 5DSR, 5D4) using the built-in intervalometer with BBF enabled. No problems. So when I say my new R5 is broken in this regard, perhaps I have some credence.

Whoever at Canon wrote the intervalometer code on the new R5 - their code is simply pushing the wrong "virtual button".

[jimre]

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@jimre wrote:

Whoever at Canon wrote the intervalometer code on the new R5 - their code is simply pushing the wrong "virtual button".

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To expound on this - the intervalometer has ONE JOB:  trigger the camera shutter every N seconds. It's not doing it that ONE JOB. Therefore this is a bug.

On my R5, when the camera has BBF enabled (ie, you've removed AF from the shutter release button) - the built-in intervalometer switches to doing a SHUTTER HALF-PRESS every N seconds. It's not actually pushing the shutter release all the way.

As a workaround, you can disable BBF (by putting AF back on the shutter release button) - and it works as expected.

I can't think of any scenario where someone would intentionally want the intervalometer to HALF-PRESS the shutter button every N seconds, can you?

[jimre]

Update - submitted to Canon Support as a bug report, with detailed reproduction steps. Canon Support acknowledged receipt but no promise to fix.

[jimre]

UPDATE:  This issue is NOT fixed in R5 firmware ver 1.1.0. 

Just updated firmware & re-tested it. Still has the same problem - when using Back Button-only Focus (eg, AF Start is removed from shutter button) the built-in Intervalometer does NOT trigger the shutter. It merely does a SHUTTER BUTTON HALF-PRESS every N seconds.

[JRogers67]

Thanks for following up with them on this. I'm curious to see if you get anywhere with it as it effects me too.

[jimre]

Just updated R5 firmware to 1.1.1 and re-tested this bug. NO CHANGE - built-in intervalometer still fails to press the shutter button when camera is set to Back-Button-Only Focus.

Workarounds remain the same:

1) Put "AF Start" function back onto the Shutter-Half-Press button (eg, disable BBF)

2) Use an external intervalometer