5Diii unresponsive after long exposures

[JPAZ]

I have noticed an intermittant issue with my 5Diii after long exposures. Here's the scenario:

30+ minute exposure for "star trails" using in camera noise reduction yields an image but the shutter than becomes unresponsive until I remove the battery and wait a few seconds. This happens well after all procesing is finished. The red light is off. There is an image on the LCD. I've had it happen with a Neewer intervalometer using "Bulb" setting but to eliminate the non-OEM as the culprit, It has also happened using a Canon RS-80N3 remote release. It does not happen using either release for shorter exposures (say 5 or 10 minutes) that I can tell. When the camera freezes, unplugging the remote release does not fix the issue (I know, I do trun the camera power off first before unplugging). Turning the power switch off by itself does not fix the issue. Removing the battery does. What is perplexing is this is intermittant. I cannot relate it to the exposure time or the number of shots.

My theory is that it is an overheating issue but why then does turning the camera off for a while not resolve the problem?

Wondering if anyone has ever seen this. I have not done long exposures until the past few months so I don't know if it has always been an issue or not.

Thanks.

 

[kaihp]

I have noticed an intermittant issue with my 5Diii after long exposures. Here's the scenario:

30+ minute exposure for "star trails" using in camera noise reduction yields an image but the shutter than becomes unresponsive until I remove the battery and wait a few seconds.

Just checking, but you are aware that using in-camera noise reduction makes the camera to take another (darkfield) picture? pg 146-147 of the user manual.

 

[Loswr]

Agreed, sounds like long exposure noise reduction (LENR), set to Auto which means the camera applies it if it 'thinks' there's long exposure noise in the image.

That's one of two in-camera settings that affects the RAW file (the other being HTP, but that only affects the metadata, whereas LENR affects the RAW image data). In actuality, subtracting a single dark frame (which is what LENR does), actually adds random noise (which is why Canon recommends against using it at higher ISOs). The only thing the in-camera LENR really does is remove hot/stuck pixels, and most RAW converters do that automatically anyway. If your goal is to reduce random noise in a long exposure, there are methods to do so (subtracting a master average dark frame, averaging images, astrophotography forums will have ample suggestions).

Bottom line, I'd just disable LENR.

 

[KeithBreazeal]

Did you set mirror lock-up to on? I went through this once and stopped doing it. I use live view only now.

 

[privatebydesign]

I love it when people have 'issues' like this and they come out with 'theories' for the 'problem'!

RTFM.........

 

[JPAZ]

Interesting.

Doesn't the red light remain on during the NR? I waited (about the same amount of time as the exposure) for it to go off each time so I don't think I was being fooled by ongoing processing thinking the camera was "stuck."

Will look into alternate ways to do noise reduction. My thought process was that NR in post might actually remove "real" objects if I let it but an in-camera dark frame would do better. FWIW, my long exposures were at ISO 100.

I'll do some more research on this and try again later this season.

 

[Don Haines]

Disable LENR.... your camera is trying to take a "dark frame" for noise cancellation, and it will try to take one of the same exposure length as the original image. Just set the camera for a 5 second exposure..... the image will take 5 seconds and then for the next 5 seconds the camera will be "locked" as it takes the dark frame.... try a 10 second exposure and it will be "locked" for ten seconds.... take a 30 minute exposure and the camera will be "locked" for 30 minutes....