R5 STILLS NOT RELIABLE 20+ battery pulls one shoot

[ImageAndFilm]

I must say I'm very disappointed in my R5s reliability.
This week I put my second replacement R5 camera through the works on the set of a large TV show. In 2 days and 4,000 it froze between 20-30 times requiring a battery pull. One of two things happen. All the screens go black and no buttons or the power switch do anything. Even waiting a minute or two the camera remains locked. The second thing that also happens is the screen freezes with whatever image was last displaying during the freeze. All buttons and off button does nothing. The only way to stop it is to pull the battery.*

Regarding heating. During this shoot the camera was used for hours and hours. During those long sessions my camera displayed the overheating symbol / icon 4 times (ONLY TAKING STILLS, I turned off the camera to allow it to rest). I did notice that the freezing happened more as the camera was used more. But the freezing also happened within minutes of a cold start.*

Canon has long been the camera that is reliable above all else. Nothing worse then a camera dieing right in the middle of a A list actresses giving an emotional scene. Just to say excuse me my camera just froze.

I'm not sure if I can use this camera in professional situations. This is two separate R5s doing this. At least this replacement didn't brick cards like the old one corrupting files beyond repair.

IMPORTANT!
This freezing has happened to me in many different scenarios. Not just the scenario above.

It's happened while...
Shooting just stills (slow one shot, non burst)
Shooting only 1080 60p video with eye focusing
Framing up a shot
Shooting in a hybrid situation shooting lots of stills and video.

This is not acceptable!

Within the first month of using this camera I have personally experienced aprox 45 battery pulls from 8 major shoots. I have never had it happen just fiddling with the camera. It's always during normal use aka changing settings, lenses, ect. What a typical pro does while on shoot. I have yet to get it to produce during trying to "make it happen". I intend to record a video displaying what it looks like as requested by my dealer.

This has happened while using all these different settings / accessories interchanged with each other:

2 different Canon R5s
CFexpress Sandisk 256
SD SanDisk v90 256
Prograde 256
New battery
Old 5D batteries
RF 24-70
EF 70-200 w/ adapter
RAW stills
Raw + Jpeg
Recording to one card
Recording to two cards
Recording to computer
Recording to computer and cards

*UPDATED
I updated this post for further clarification and more specific details

[ImageAndFilm]

In regards to the overheating. I had it tethered and the viewfinder only. I believe the heating and camera getting hot is because the camera was being used consistently for 8+ hours. Video YouTubers have shown that using video with the screen on dramatically effects heat. So maybe under my use case it's possible to also see that heating issue.

[Mark35mmF2]

Hi there,

I think the tethered shooting may be a factor in this case, the HDMI and USB connections definitely use more board components and will build up more heat, something which DSLRs do not experience since they are not using live view consistently. I have heard of wedding photographers using the EOS R5 for such extended periods so under normal use I would expect the camera to be able to handle this without a tethered connection. If you have the time to test I might recommend some prolonged stills shooting without the tethered connection.

[ImageAndFilm]

This has happened in many use cases.
Tethered, non tethered, sd cards, CF cards, writing to both, writing to one, 1080 60p video, 4k 120 video, EF lenses, RF lenses, fast shooting, slow consistent shooting. Long use, cold start, old 5d batteries, brand new R5 batteries, old firmware, newest 1.1.1 firmware. RF 24-70 old firmware, new firmware.

This has happened on two R5 bodies. One body from day one batch, one from the Oct batch.

It's happening in all sorts of only video shoots. Only stills shoots. And during hybrid.

As I have googled there are a lot of people reporting the same thing with a rainbow of different lenses and configurations.

[Mark35mmF2]

Hi,

Since the same thing is happening its probably best at this point to have the camera examined further. The service technician would be able to put the camera through a similar test and monitor what's going on with it to see if they can identify the issue. Especially since it has happened in all kinds of cases with different lenses, batteries and cards I think you're right that the body is the likely source of the matter, but I couldn't really say exactly what the matter is.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/service-repair

[shadowsports]

I think one of the key factors to note here is that this is his second (copy) of the R5.

First one did it

Second one is doing it as well.

I'm done holding back on this now.  

I read this thread right after @ImageandFilm posted it.  I didn't want to be the first to reply. Call it brand loyalty.  I wasn't sure what kind of replies he would get. Here are my thoughts.  

After watching and waiting through the R and RP, I had high hopes that the R5 would be my next camera.  Then I started reading stories like his.  Real world experiences and use cases.  I thought to myself that could be me.  After shooting with Canon for 40+ years, I and others have become accustomed to a certain level of reliability and  performance.  When reviews of the R5 began to surface, my heart sank.  Yes, these are new cameras but my feeling is that we are going backwards here from a reliability standpoint and in some ways a functionaly perspective.  Maybe for some this is an unrealistic expectation, and if so, the R5 and 6 are for you.  By all means buy one.   

I can drive my Subaru on a hot day over a hundred miles an hour, on a full tank of gas, until it runs out.  No pit stops are required.  I don't have to stop or slow down.  When I step on the gas it says "let's go to the track".  

Performance wise, my 6D2 is the same.  Put in a battery and card, and it runs and runs, and runs.  Hot day, no problem.  Lots of pictures, video, repeat.  That's the only type of camera I would own. 

I don't really care what the logic or reasoning is.  Design, cripple-hammer, etc.  The recovery time on the R5 is atrocious (even with multiple FW updates) and so is it's battery life.  Bottom line, the R5 and 6 cannot meet my needs.  Conspiracy theory.  They could have given my 6D2 4k 60, but they didn't because why would someone buy a 5D4 then.  For me this doesn't matter since the 6D2 meets my needs.     

If I was a professional, I couldn't imagine having to tell somebody... the end of the speech and the toast ya we missed that.  My camera wouldn't turn on.  Life cannot be put on hold and sometimes you only have one chance to get the shot.  There is no way I could justify $4,300 for something that I might not be able to turn on because it was above 73 degrees and I had taken 200 or 300 pictures, and shot a few minutes of HQ video.  Stick the R5 in a freezer and cool it off...  nope you still have the recovery time.  If this is for protection, no thanks, I'll pass.  Oh wait, you can jam a screw into the battery door sensor and do a pull.  Recovery time defeated.  Not my idea of reliable or something I would ever do anyway.       

For me, it's not even the money, it's just the principle.  I want to hold my camera, and take it with me everywhere.  I don't want to attach a display to it, or some type of external storage device. As a studio camera its probably terrific.  But this certainly isn't how I envision using my camera outdoors.  Having to carry a pocket full of batteries and cards is one thing. Having something that I can't turn on reliably is another.

Canon, I'm sorry.  I am brand loyal to you.  But the R5 and R6, No.  I purchased a new bike this year instead which greatly exceeded the cost of the R5.  It didn't come with any performance limitations or reliability issues.  

It looks like I'm waiting for 4th gen before I'll consider mirrorless.  Myself and many others here are not walking away from our bodys and EF glass just yet.

So once again...  34 ~ 38MP, 4k 120 and something that doesn't burn up in my hands and I'm on board.  I would also like onboard GPS, but battery life is still a premium on anything with EVF so I'm putting that into the "nice to have category".

Whether you love it or hate it is up to you.  I'm sure when it works, it takes beautiful pictures, but the uncertainty of "will it turn on when I really need it" is a deal breaker for me.  Life throws us these types of challenges and you don't always get a second chance to capture the shot.    

I am in no way trying to influence someones decision to buy or own a R5 or R6.  They just don't work for me.     

[ImageAndFilm]

Updated Orginal post to contain more useful information and clarity 

[Waddizzle]

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@ImageAndFilm wrote:

Updated Orginal post to contain more useful information and clarity 

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Please do not do that.  It is very confusing.  It breaks the continuity of the discussions.