EOS 5D Mark IV Goes Dead During Shooting

[goalerjones]

Just got a new 5DM4 and this is the 2nd time I've taken it out to shoot. Tonight, during night time photography the camera just died while focusing, and turned itself off after clicking the shutter while using LV or traditional mode. Battery life was at 75%, CF/SD cards weren't full. I turned the camera off, then back on again each time (I believe it happened 4 times in all).

I had been shooting with no problems in daylight just an hour before. I had this happen also with my 5DM3 a few times, but never this much.

Using Bower LP-E6 battery

Sandisk Extreme Pro 32gb 95 mb/s SDHC1 card (has grey, not yellow tab)

Sandisk 32gb Extreme mPro 32gb 160 mb/s UDMA 7 CF card

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

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@goalerjones wrote:

Just got a new 5DM4 and this is the 2nd time I've taken it out to shoot. Tonight, during night time photography the camera just died while focusing, and turned itself off after clicking the shutter while using LV or traditional mode. Battery life was at 75%, CF/SD cards weren't full. I turned the camera off, then back on again each time (I believe it happened 4 times in all).

I had been shooting with no problems in daylight just an hour before. I had this happen also with my 5DM3 a few times, but never this much.

Using Bower LP-E6 battery

Sandisk Extreme Pro 32gb 95 mb/s SDHC1 card (has grey, not yellow tab)

Sandisk 32gb Extreme mPro 32gb 160 mb/s UDMA 7 CF card

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One, I strongly advise that you use a genuine Canon battery. It is always a good idea to carry a spare.

Two, genuine Canon gear sold by authorized Canon dealers always include genuine Canon batteries.  Get a refund.

Three, any flashing icon in the camera displays is a warning off an error condition.  Pay attention to them.

Extended use of Live View mode, or Movie mode, can cause the image sensor to overheat, which can automatically power down the camera as it protects itself.  When this occurs, there are FLASHING icons that should appear on the rear screen warning of rising temperature as the camera nears a shutdown state.

Once the camera shuts down due to overheating, you are stuck with no option other than to wait for whatever length of time it takes for the camera sensor to cool down.  As I said, there should be flashing icons that warn of rising temperature, and another icon that warns of imminent shutdown.

[goalerjones]

The Bower battery was just one I had on hand, the camera did come with a Canon battery. As for the overheating, I'm not sure I used it long enough for overheating to be an issue. Maybe 3 pictures maximum before it shut down. It did seem to be directly related to low light shooting.

[Waddizzle]

It does not matter how shots you took. The only thing that matters is how long were you in Live View mode. How long was the sensor turned on, transmitting video to the rear screen. Heat builds up whenever it is on.

[wq9nsc]

Great point by Waddizzle!  Live view is a feature most current DSLR cameras provide but not necessarily something they are optimized to provide.  Live view mode presents most of the same system stressors as shooting video which isn't the primary design driver of a DSLR.  A DSLR is designed to provide good protection against external moisture and contaminants in its normal working environment instead of good heat rejection to the outside and this results in enough cooling for most situations but won't deal well with extended Live view or video sessions without building up excessive heat with a sensor, LNA, and A to D converter that are continuously active.  Current 1 series bodies have a heat pipe design which dumps heat from one part of the body to another but this should be viewed as better heat management but is still constrained by the need to seal the body properly.

When the weather is good I have been bringing my Canon XF-400 camcorder so that one of the junior varsity players can video the varsity soccer matches but unlike a DSLR, the camcorder is designed to keep the sensor and internal electronics cool during continuous operation and has open vents with forced air cooling that brings in moisture and dust as it rejects internal heat to the environment.  I have rain covers for my 1DX and 1DX II DSLR bodies and lenses but I don't mind shooting in a mist with those bare bodies when equipped with weather sealed L series lenses however the camcorder can't take those conditions.  It is designed for good cooling but not great environmental robustness.  

You are probably going to have to jump in and out of Live View mode to keep the camera happy and also keep sensor noise in check.  With electronics, these safety shut down scenarios occur before immediate damage is done however frequently taking the electronics into the "yellow zone" WILL reduce the service life.  If a safety system is often intervening then that is a sign that the operating conditions need to be modified.

Rodger

[goalerjones]

I contacted Canon and they had me basically reset the camera by restoring all the default settings, then remove the battery and storage cards for 20 minutes, then start it up again. Haven't had the time to really give it a run thru but so far so good. I thank you for the heads up on the LV info. Makes sense when there's no real heat dissipation setup to speak of. Perhaps that was the issue when it happened with my 5DM3 also.

As for using LV, I shoot a lot of night time images and on the 5DM3 had a real problem with autofocus under those conditions. However, when using LV it was able to achieve autofocus. When I saw the low-light perfomance of the 5DM4 I decided to upgrade.