The next firmware for the Canon EOS R5 is still on schedule for November

usern4cr

R5
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Sep 2, 2018
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First, I do thank Canon for yet another firmware update! Second, here are my hopes for it:

They mention "Bug fixes" are included - I hope they remember to fix the broken R5 intervalometer when you use back-button-only focus (yes, it's broken, and it will force you to *not* use back-button-only focus so that you can get the intervalometer to work).

I wish they would include "motion trap" sensing option in their video recording - where it won't record the video if there is no appreciable motion, and then continue recording when there is motion, such as a hummingbird coming into view at a feeder, so that you can auto-trap animals or moving objects with high speed video while not filling up the video with tons of no-motion footage which has to be discarded.

I wish they would include using a single filename with frame index numbers appended to it when using an intervalometer or bracketed multiple photos for 1 shutter press. That would help organize the entire intervalometer/bracket sequence without using tons of unique filenames.

When you search through a long list for a function to custom assign to a button, could you please *ALPHABETIZE* the list of functions? There are so many functions that are not alphabetized that it is a PITA to scan through them over and over when assigning buttons.

Oh, and how about removing the 30 minute max limit on video?
 
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Keeping a running list of bugs here...

I think that there are some firmware-fixable issues with how it handles CFexpress cards, and fixing this might actually do some good for some other things, like perhaps heat (why is it that I need to remove both cards before my external recorder will run without heat limits?)
 
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5.5K CRAW light will not be able to write to an SD card.
Not even compresses Magic Lantern RAW can do that but it should help mitigate overheating.
There was also talk of MRAW which would be cropped 4K but 4:3, not 16:9.
Are you sure that a 5:1 compression from cinema raw lite wouldn't write to a USH-II SD card?
The R5 manual has 8K IPB @ 470Mbps bit rate and the SD card can be used for this @10bit (V90)
Even with 5:1 compression, 8K raw (2600Mbps) probably won't record to internal SD card but should externally.
5.5K raw with 5:1 compression should be okay for v90/USH-II SD cards.
Note that the compression will require reasonable processing power/heat so overheating may still be an issue
The only talk of MRAW for stills has been in this forum.... unless you can provide a source. cRAW stills looks to be similar but not quite as good as full raw files.
Can cinema lite compression be used for all video modes?
 
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Keeping a running list of bugs here...

I think that there are some firmware-fixable issues with how it handles CFexpress cards, and fixing this might actually do some good for some other things, like perhaps heat (why is it that I need to remove both cards before my external recorder will run without heat limits?)

I am seeing the freezing issue intermittently also. At a wedding I saw 3 "freezes" in a 5 minute window. It's usually not that bad, but still painful and could lead to missing a critical shot. I have a platinum CPS membership and sent the R5 in for service. Tests were run, no problems found, so the camera was returned with no fix. Is this a common issue? I would like to see it fixed ASAP, any ideas on what the cause is?
 
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They mention "Bug fixes" are included - I hope they remember to fix the broken R5 intervalometer when you use back-button-only focus (yes, it's broken, and it will force you to *not* use back-button-only focus so that you can get the intervalometer to work).

I wish they would include "motion trap" sensing option in their video recording - where it won't record the video if there is no appreciable motion, and then continue recording when there is motion, such as a hummingbird coming into view at a feeder, so that you can auto-trap animals or moving objects with high speed video while not filling up the video with tons of no-motion footage which has to be discarded.

When you search through a long list for a function to custom assign to a button, could you please *ALPHABETIZE* the list of functions? There are so many functions that are not alphabetized that it is a PITA to scan through them over and over when assigning buttons.

Oh, and how about removing the 30 minute max limit on video?
What is the use case for intervalometer and back button focus. I don't use BBF so I am curious... or is the issue that you need to turn off BBF before you can use the intervalometer rather than using it at the same time?
For motion trap, can you use Miops or Pluto etc triggers for this? I know you can for stills but not sure about video. If done in-camera then the processing will still be done full time (as if video is being recorded). You might reduce storage but not battery life
I would just like to reassign the Rate button... wouldn't mind scrolling through a long list for this as it would only be done once
30 minute max video.... easy to remove but they won't do it for their own reasons I guess. They want you to use their cinema cameras for long form video
 
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LSXPhotog

Automotive, Commercial, & Motorsports
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www.diossiphotography.com
?!
I have 2 R5 since release, and installed the latest firmware when it released. I tested them thoroughly on multiple occasions. Weath was medium.
4k50 ovearheated after maybe 20-40 minutes. (external works without a problem though)
8k overheated after maybe 15-30 minutes, not realy sure. I have no real use cases for this.
4k HQ works okay, external works fine, internal overheats after 20-40 minutes (my guess).

But 4k100 was REALY problematic. It overheated after maybe 10 minutes record time, in a 30 minute time frame. And it overheated after 4-5 minutes when recording straight. Was not operatable for so long, I packed it up for the shoot and used only the second body.
The REAL problem: the camera not only overheated, but crashed and LOST THE FILE (every time).

Weird that 4k120 worked so great for you. Was it pretty cold?

OK, so that answers my question, you were trying to find the overheating limitations and found them. You will never record 4-5 minutes of straight 4K120 in practice...at least I can't think of any practical purpose for that. I live in Florida so none of my local jobs have been in cold or even cool temperatures - all in the mid '90*s F (over 30*C). Indoor jobs haven't been a problem, but I've worked in Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky over the past 3 months with the R5 and didn't have an issue either. I shot a wedding in truly brutal heat earlier this month as well - no issues. I am shooting a lot of 4K120 clips alongside lots of photos and have never been locked out of that recording format. So I just don't find the idea that it overheats quickly in 4K120 to be justified. If used for shooting bursts of action as slow motion is intended, then it has shown to be a non issue for me.
 
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OK, so that answers my question, you were trying to find the overheating limitations and found them. You will never record 4-5 minutes of straight 4K120 in practice...at least I can't think of any practical purpose for that. I live in Florida so none of my local jobs have been in cold or even cool temperatures - all in the mid '90*s F (over 30*C). Indoor jobs haven't been a problem, but I've worked in Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky over the past 3 months with the R5 and didn't have an issue either. I shot a wedding in truly brutal heat earlier this month as well - no issues. I am shooting a lot of 4K120 clips alongside lots of photos and have never been locked out of that recording format. So I just don't find the idea that it overheats quickly in 4K120 to be justified. If used for shooting bursts of action as slow motion is intended, then it has shown to be a non issue for me.
Pretty much matches my experience with the exception I have been shooting a lot in the past month in much colder(10 to 15 C) weather and the thing really just keeps on going and going.

Biggest issue I have now is card space.
 
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usern4cr

R5
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Sep 2, 2018
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What is the use case for intervalometer and back button focus. I don't use BBF so I am curious... or is the issue that you need to turn off BBF before you can use the intervalometer rather than using it at the same time?
For motion trap, can you use Miops or Pluto etc triggers for this? I know you can for stills but not sure about video. If done in-camera then the processing will still be done full time (as if video is being recorded). You might reduce storage but not battery life
I would just like to reassign the Rate button... wouldn't mind scrolling through a long list for this as it would only be done once
30 minute max video.... easy to remove but they won't do it for their own reasons I guess. They want you to use their cinema cameras for long form video
1* I like to use "back focus" (assign "focus" to some back button, and "start exposure only" to the exposure button) in general, instead of the normal "focus & start exposure" when pressing the exposure button. That, in itself, had nothing to do with the intervalometer.
2* (EDITED) I wanted to use an intervalometer (to reduce camera shake) to take a photo every second for say 10 shots, so I could move my panorama head ball-stop position right one step between photos so I could take 10 different photos quickly (to reduce subject motion) for a left-right panorama. It would take the first photo OK and do the timing correctly for the other 9 photos *except* it wouldn't trigger taking those photos! :eek: After a lot of frustration, I find there's a many-users-documented bug in the software where the intervalometer will take the first photo but won't trigger the remaining photos unless you assign the exposure button to "focus and start exposure". Go try it and see for yourself! So I have to make this unwanted change just to get the intervalometer to work, and when I'm done with the panorama I have to remember to undo the unwanted change so I could get back to normal (single photo) use with my desired back button focus! - Gee, who knew a temporary work-around for a firmware bug could be so weird? :rolleyes:
3* If I wanted the intervalometer to take 3 photos with different exposures for every timed shot (eg. 3 photos at each of the 10 intervalometer-timed shots) then it wouldn't work right. That's because the firmware doesn't let you take 3 photos for a single press of the exposure button unless you do some weird stuff: which is to set it to continuous shooting mode, and to 3 exposure levels, and then press *and hold* the exposure button until all 3 photos are taken :eek:. What a *goofy* way to do this! That in itself is worthy of an *additional firmware change* to allow a single button press (ignoring the hold time) to start a 3 different exposure photo sequence to be done. Then you'd be able to use the intervalometer and have every timed shot take 3 different exposure photos.:)
4* After the intervalometer is done, it turns the intervalometer mode off. So if I want to do another intervalometer sequence I have to go to the trouble to turn intervalometer mode back on before taking another one :eek:. There is no way I could find to stop the firmware from always turning off the intervalometer mode at the end of taking its timed sequence. That in itself is worth an option in a firmware update! So if I want to do a multi-row panorama, using the intervalometer for each row, I'd have to re-enable it for every row! :rolleyes:. The work-around for a multi-row panorama (for me) was to give up on using the intervalometer and instead use a wired remote (to avoid camera shake) so I could individually start an exposure for every photo position in the row. That would also let me be able to take 3 different exposure photos per panorama position by pressing *and holding* the remote button until all 3 shots were done. Geez! :rolleyes:

What is a Miops or Pluto trigger? I'm guessing some separate motion sensor going to the wired remote trigger input? Yes, that'd work for a single shot, but not for a video sequence. Could the remote trigger stay "active" with motion to trigger continuous shooting of stills? That'd work, but would take a zillion different filenames, but maybe one can't be too choosy! If that's the only way to get it working, maybe that'd be OK.

Yes, it'd be nice to assign anything to the rate button - I forgot about that - thanks!
 
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A few choices of reduced RAW file sizes like... 24mp, 12mp, and 6mp would be nice for us shooters who like the capture features, but find the file size a massive over-kill and a production snail-maker.. I just got it delivered yesterday and was really shocked that Canon didn't provide any kind of reduced RAW file sizes.. Only 45mp..! That makes this camera useless for my agency weddings I get.. and or some of my publishers who do not want anything larger than 12-18mp...max..! Canon Techs, I do hope you are reading this.
 
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A few choices of reduced RAW file sizes like... 24mp, 12mp, and 6mp would be nice for us shooters who like the capture features, but find the file size a massive over-kill and a production snail-maker.. I just got it delivered yesterday and was really shocked that Canon didn't provide any kind of reduced RAW file sizes.. Only 45mp..! That makes this camera useless for my agency weddings I get.. and or some of my publishers who do not want anything larger than 12-18mp...max..! Canon Techs, I do hope you are reading this.
Look in the manual on page 135 to setup craw files instead of full sized raw files. Still .CR3 but about half the size. Are you sending raw files to publishers? You could also save as large HEIF files.
My 2013 macbook pro (i7/16gb/512GB SSD) still processes the full size shots okay but I need to offload each shoot to make space. Not blazing speed but enough to keep me going for a while to save up for a new one.
 
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What is a Miops or Pluto trigger? I'm guessing some separate motion sensor going to the wired remote trigger input? Yes, that'd work for a single shot, but not for a video sequence. Could the remote trigger stay "active" with motion to trigger continuous shooting of stills? That'd work, but would take a zillion different filenames, but maybe one can't be too choosy! If that's the only way to get it working, maybe that'd be OK.
Miops (I have one) and Pluto are multi-trigger boxes that can mount on the hotshoe or cabled. They can trigger by sound/light beam (laser)/lightning etc. You can program a delay (eg for water drops) as well as sensitivity. Pluto appears to have a vibration sensor and passive infrared sensor... the latter seems to address what you are looking for.
I use them for high speed stills with either remote flashes or remote shutter release.
I haven't tested them for video but if in movie mode, a shutter press will turn on video which would be okay but need a second press to turn off. I am not sure how the latter would be done. Something to play with.
There are other remote control like camranger which is probably the most expensive but they need another device (phone/tablet) to control them. If you are monitoring from 150m away in real time then you could wirelessly control the video/focus etc.
It seems that Canon also allows for infrared remotes to turn on/off video from the front.
I've seen quite sophisticated trigger traps for insects for instance but again only for stills.
 
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usern4cr

R5
CR Pro
Sep 2, 2018
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Kentucky, USA
Miops (I have one) and Pluto are multi-trigger boxes that can mount on the hotshoe or cabled. They can trigger by sound/light beam (laser)/lightning etc. You can program a delay (eg for water drops) as well as sensitivity. Pluto appears to have a vibration sensor and passive infrared sensor... the latter seems to address what you are looking for.
I use them for high speed stills with either remote flashes or remote shutter release.
I haven't tested them for video but if in movie mode, a shutter press will turn on video which would be okay but need a second press to turn off. I am not sure how the latter would be done. Something to play with.
There are other remote control like camranger which is probably the most expensive but they need another device (phone/tablet) to control them. If you are monitoring from 150m away in real time then you could wirelessly control the video/focus etc.
It seems that Canon also allows for infrared remotes to turn on/off video from the front.
I've seen quite sophisticated trigger traps for insects for instance but again only for stills.
Thanks, David-Sydney, for all the great info on this. Looks like I've got something to look into there! :)
 
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tron

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Nov 8, 2011
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I agree but for me personally it is very very hard to make up my mind since this is a hobby and I do not make any money with photography. Usually I buy all cameras below 3k USD mark with the exception of an used Sony a9 that I paid 3300 USD. So the 3k mark is a mental block for me I guess. I would have pre-ordered the R5 if Canon would have priced it at 3500 USD. I was even mentally prepared for that but closer to 4k mark put me off.
I understand. Same here! I just wanted to point out the price comparison.
 
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OK, so that answers my question, you were trying to find the overheating limitations and found them. You will never record 4-5 minutes of straight 4K120 in practice...at least I can't think of any practical purpose for that. I live in Florida so none of my local jobs have been in cold or even cool temperatures - all in the mid '90*s F (over 30*C). Indoor jobs haven't been a problem, but I've worked in Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky over the past 3 months with the R5 and didn't have an issue either. I shot a wedding in truly brutal heat earlier this month as well - no issues. I am shooting a lot of 4K120 clips alongside lots of photos and have never been locked out of that recording format. So I just don't find the idea that it overheats quickly in 4K120 to be justified. If used for shooting bursts of action as slow motion is intended, then it has shown to be a non issue for me.
Hm I am not sure how long exactly the clips on our last project where, but certainly not 4 minutes. And it still overheated... Dont know, maybe its just luck. It feels like the camera totaly overreacts once you get anywhere near that clip lenght... at least for our project we had to skip 4k100 entirely :(
 
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I am seeing the freezing issue intermittently also. At a wedding I saw 3 "freezes" in a 5 minute window. It's usually not that bad, but still painful and could lead to missing a critical shot. I have a platinum CPS membership and sent the R5 in for service. Tests were run, no problems found, so the camera was returned with no fix. Is this a common issue? I would like to see it fixed ASAP, any ideas on what the cause is?
Keeping a running list of bugs here...

I think that there are some firmware-fixable issues with how it handles CFexpress cards, and fixing this might actually do some good for some other things, like perhaps heat (why is it that I need to remove both cards before my external recorder will run without heat limits?)

Camnostic.com contributor
Portfolio: https://tig.myportfolio.com/

We've had a few people try to methodically narrow down the circumstances under which the freezes happen. This has been very unsuccessful, largely due to the fact the freezes are so infrequent. From reports, we do know that there are some factors that are not responsible for all freezes, as listed in the above link, as we have examples where cameras have frozen with different settings.

One thing that *appears* to be somewhat consistent is that people tend to see freezes more often when they first get the camera, and then less frequently as time passes. This may be anecdotal (everything here is anecdotal). :)
 
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