R5 MANUAL FOCUS ISSUE: Won't save focal distance after shutdown or sleep

[garymak1]

I have been trying to photograph hummingbirds.  R5, EF100-400mm L ƒ5.6 w/adapter ring. Usual settings around ƒ5.6, ISO 400, 1/2000; remote RF trigger.  Each time I adjust the settings, I resave it to "C1" custom settings (having learned that if the camera goes to sleep you lose any adjustments you made.)

As they are fast, darting creatures, the AF setitngs on the R5 have been useless. I have now resorted to manually focusing on a spot where they seem to hover over the feeder before plunging in.  

However, when the R5 goes to sleep, and then wakes up when I click the remote, the focus is gone!  It is so completely off you can only tell if a bird is there by some extra-color in the completely burred-beyond-recognition scene.  Worthless.  So, AF is worthless in this scenario.  Now MF seems to be worthless as well.  Any idea/thoughts/ suggestions?

There is nothing in the manual about this.  There's barely much explanation (even in the "advanced" manual on manual focus.)  There was only this zen-like line in the manual regarding "manual focus" and "power off": "The camera’s auto power off counter does not count time spent adjusting the focus with a lens’s electronic focusing ring." !!! If anyone can do a Vulcan mind meld with the author and understand what s/he means by this, that would be fantastic.  My IQ isn't high enough to figure that one out.

My guess is that in fact, you are not actually focusing the lens anymore, such as with earlier EF lenses or the older film-era FD lenses, but are just changing the focus setting of the camera electronics. That would explain why it loses the focus every time it wakes up, and also suggests that these settings can't be saved (which seems ridiculous.)  If it were really a mechanical setting, it would not be able to change the setting by itself...

Anybody else have this or similar issues?  Thoughts? Solutions welcome!!!  Thanks!

[FloridaDrafter]

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@garymak1 wrote:

"Yes.  That is exactly correct.  To the letter!  Thank you.  Thank you.  And nice images!"

Thank you, Gary.

"c) the Canon engineers just didn't even think about this and there is no function to preserve Manual Focus settings, thus proving once again Ansel Adam's famous dictum"

My wife and I were talking about this topic, and we believe this is probably the answer. Maybe to be fixed in a future firmware update. But you have to admit, it's not a feature that people are clamoring for. However, it makes you wonder why it works that way in a DSLR and not a MILC?

"Now you, FloridaDrafter, seem to be saying that your R5 does retain its focus, in the above situations,  so that would lead me to believe "d" above is the issue, and you have apparently obtained the secret sauce... I gratefully in advance ask then, what are your settings? "

I think you misread my comment. I have the R6, which I tested for loss of focus after switching off and it failed the test, i.e. lost manual focus after switching off, and the 5D mark IV and 7D mark II, also tested and passed as they retained manual focus position after switching off/on. Sorry you got your hopes up.

Original quote from me:

"Now, my DSLR's do retain manual focus on an object when switched off then back on, like if you are on a tripod, manually focus on a subject, then turn your DSLR off. When you turn it back on, that subject will still be in focus, just like you left it. With our R6, if you do that, focus is re-set to minimum focus distance and not where you left it. I know this because of this post and it's not something I would do or have ever needed to do, just to be clear."

[garymak1]

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@FloridaDrafter wrote:

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"c) the Canon engineers just didn't even think about this and there is no function to preserve Manual Focus settings, thus proving once again Ansel Adam's famous dictum"

My wife and I were talking about this topic, and we believe this is probably the answer. Maybe to be fixed in a future firmware update. But you have to admit, it's not a feature that people are clamoring for. However, it makes you wonder why it works that way in a DSLR and not a MILC?

Ugh! No! I was hoping for "d"!!!    

However, I respectfully take issue with calling this a "feature."  I don't think this should be called a "feature."  It is a "missing expected function."  

By way of humorous example: imagine you bought a brand new deluxe hi-tech car, and the salesmen goes over all the new features, you like them, you sign the papers and drive off.  Then you try to put the AM station on to listen to a game being broadcast only to find it doesn't have AM radio... Would you write to the company and say "I'd like to suggest a new feature in your next model car - AM radio."? Of course not.  You'd probably raise a fuss about it, and even if there was a good reason, still be uset that nobody thought to mention it, or include it in the manual.  It is assumed from almost 100 years of automobile manufacturing that if it has a radio, it will have "AM."   And it is assumed that if it doesn't, they'll point this out since it's fundamental to a car radio.  For nearly 100 years of cameras, you set the focus manually and there it stays until you change it yourself again (or switch out of manual mode if the case of AF.)  To suddenly eliminate that function, well, I think it's the same as buying a car and finding out later it doesn't have AM radio and nobody tells you about it and the manufacturer doesn't even mention it in the owners manual....

(*BTW, buy a Tesla and try to turn on the AM station on the radio...    )

"Now you, FloridaDrafter, seem to be saying that your R5 does retain its focus, in the above situations,  so that would lead me to believe "d" above is the issue, and you have apparently obtained the secret sauce... I gratefully in advance ask then, what are your settings? "

I think you misread my comment. I have the R6, which I tested for loss of focus after switching off and it failed the test, i.e. lost manual focus after switching off, and the 5D mark IV and 7D mark II, also tested and passed as they retained manual focus position after switching off/on. Sorry you got your hopes up.

Durn! Yes, I did misread and thought you had an R5.  Sigh. However, at least now it seems it's an "R" issue as that's more info.  So, neither the R5 or R6 funtions properly then.  That's useful info.  Thanks.

WELL, I will call Canon directly Tuesday and get a straight answer I hope.  I will report back here.  Thanks to all who tried to figure it out!!  If it is a bug, well, remember, you heard it here first! 

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