R5 with the RF 100-500mm shutting down while shooting baseball

[tazzmacd]

I was out yesterday on a hot day, 30C with high humidity, feeling like 34C.  I was shooting my 2nd game with this setup for a U22 Championship.  The first game there were no issues, shooting at F5.6, 1/1250 in the H+ drive mode.  During the second game, approx 3-4 hours into shooting, the camera started blinking the Drive Mode H+.  My frame capture rate went down to about 5 frames per second.  Then my auto focus stopped working all together. It showed F00 in the display.  

I turned off the camera, put two new fully charged batteries into the grip and it worked fine again for about 1/2 hour more then did the same thing.  

The grip was warm but didn't feel overly hot.  

Currently on Firmware 2.1.0

This is the first time I have experienced this, I used this camera in Kenya on a safari with no issues, have been out shooting multiple soccer games with no issues in hot weather.  This is the first time I have experienced this happening.  

Does anyone know the cause or reason why this might have happened?

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greeting,

This sounds like a combination of shooting conditions, heat and/or battery level.  

Shooting in H+ can have a cumulative effect on the body's heat (build up) during long shoots.

Things to consider.

Were you in direct sun light

Were you hand holding the camera

Were you saving to CF Express B or SD

Battery level at time of decreased frame rates / loss of communication.  

These are all contributing factors to heat build and decreased performance.  The temp and humidity could also play a role.  Although you shot in Africa and at multiple soccer games, it doesn't mean that environmental conditions weren't a factor on this day.

The F00 error is typically a loss of communication between the lens and the body.  Was the lens being supported full time, either by the  tripod foot or cradeled in your hand 100%.  Did you happen to notice the battery level when decreased performance occurred?  Battery draw in a grip is one at a time not simultaneously.  Heat build up is still the most likely cause.  If the lens has F00 on another body, it should be inspected by Canon.

I know the R5 allows its temperature threshold to be adjusted but even if set to high the body will eventually overheat under demanding shooting conditions or more extreme environmental factors. 

[wq9nsc]

Shooting baseball will often cause more heat issues than shooting soccer.  With baseball I find I have far less flexibility in choosing the best shooting location for different aspects of the game so the camera is often in full sun while with soccer I generally have more freedom of position to still get the shots I want so the camera is often partially or fully shaded by me.  If you shoot like me, you are probably more frequently shooting longer bursts in baseball compared to soccer because of the nature of the sport and this leads to more heating of the sensor, processors, buffer, and memory card since it is a much higher duty cycle with less cooling time.  One other significant difference is with the wide open layout of most soccer pitches, their is often a decent breeze which greatly increases the ability of the camera to reject heat to the environment.  Electronics don't care about the heat index because they don't sweat but high ambient temperature and heating from the sun with little airflow greatly increases the rate and level of internal heating.

I shoot with 1DX III bodies which don't have a heat issue but just holding the body (I generally shoot with two of them for most sports) leads me to notice that the temperature is generally much warmer shooting baseball than when shooting soccer.

To manage heat, if possible avoid direct sunlight on the camera as much as you can and you can try to shield it to some extent with your body between action sequences.  Sustained bursts create a lot of heating so you may have to be more disciplined in your shooting style in hot weather leaving less of a "safety buffer" at the start and end of action sequences.  That also pays off with less review time in post.  And although the impact is pretty marginal, reducing the display illumination level will have a minor impact on internal heat buildup but in a marginal situation it could be the difference between continuing to capture shots versus having a camera glitch.

Rodger

[Waddizzle]

“ I was out yesterday on a hot day, 30C with high humidity, feeling like 34C.  I was shooting my 2nd game with this setup for a U22 Championship.  The first game there were no issues, shooting at F5.6, 1/1250 in the H+ drive mode.  During the second game, approx 3-4 hours into shooting, the camera started blinking the Drive Mode H+.  My frame capture rate went down to about 5 frames per second. “

Sounds like the camera clearly overheated and shut itself down.  If you are going to shoot for several hours in H+ frame rates, then you should carry a spare body.  The high temperatures didn’t help, but they really don’t matter as much as how you were using the camera.

You should have seen multiple high temperature warnings well before the camera died.  The flashing H* display was another warning to you. Flashing and blinking icons in your display is how the camera asks for help.

I hope you didn’t damage it. 

[tazzmacd]

Thank you for the replies.  Looks like it was because of the heat and me being in the sun all day.  Was back out Sunday and tried to stay in the shade and keep the camera cooler.  I did notice yesterday that I got the high heat icon just as I finished the first game.  After some additional research, I did go in and turn down the Video from the default to a lower quality, that removed the heat icon.  The camera didn't shut down Sunday.