Canon EOS R5 Mark II “jerky” AF frame issue confirmed by Canon

[CC88]

Same here. I'm not sure this is a "real" issue. Could it be better/smoother? Sure.

I wouldn't necessarily call this an issue. You're right. The AF points do move correctly, although perhaps not as smoothly as expected.

Initially, I was concerned that a very slow movement might affect shooting, but in my opinion, that's not the case.

 

[alFR]

FWIW I just compared my R5II and R6II - the spot AF point moves identically on both when manipulated with the multi-controller with the default info display on the screen. I don't have extensive customisations set up on either body, however.

 

[Trout Bum]

Do you mind sharing a list of issues you currently have or have had? Useful for others to check their cameras as well.

For starters, I'm assuming the “jerky” issue refers to the rectangle that shows up with the focus point. It seems to have a mind of its own, and moves around almost constantly. It was so distracting and annoying I turned off all focus aids and just move my spot with the joystick.
Eye focus on animals doesn’t seem to stay on target very well- no better than my 5 did.
But the other issues for me are the camera ignoring my card selection. With stills and video both set to record to the CF card I've several times found the files on the SD card, and the preference changed.
Yesterday I shot some video and discovered all 3 Custom settings had changed from what I'd set and registered.
That had also happened before with my Custom stills settings, but may have been resolved with last firmware update.
I may be forgetting something else, but those were/are the main ones.

 

[hstein27]

For starters, I'm assuming the “jerky” issue refers to the rectangle that shows up with the focus point. It seems to have a mind of its own, and moves around almost constantly. It was so distracting and annoying I turned off all focus aids and just move my spot with the joystick.
Eye focus on animals doesn’t seem to stay on target very well- no better than my 5 did.
But the other issues for me are the camera ignoring my card selection. With stills and video both set to record to the CF card I've several times found the files on the SD card, and the preference changed.
Yesterday I shot some video and discovered all 3 Custom settings had changed from what I'd set and registered.
That had also happened before with my Custom stills settings, but may have been resolved with last firmware update.
I may be forgetting something else, but those were/are the main ones.

I had that issue with the files being written to the SD card when I had selected the CFExpress. I seem to remember this happened a few times with the original R5 too. It may have to do with turning on the camera while the CFExpress card is not in the slot, but I am not sure. It could also be due to the magically disappearing custom settings bug you described, which seems to be happening to peoeple.

 

[koenkooi]

I had that issue with the files being written to the SD card when I had selected the CFExpress. I seem to remember this happened a few times with the original R5 too. It may have to do with turning on the camera while the CFExpress card is not in the slot, but I am not sure. It could also be due to the magically disappearing custom settings bug you described, which seems to be happening to peoeple.

Configure the CFe card as 'priority card' using the INFO button in the card menu and it will switch back to it after you insert it: https://cam.start.canon/en/C017/manual/html/UG-07_Set-up_0030.html

Enter the "[stills icon] record/play" submenu to be able to set card 1 as priority card.

 

[GMCPhotographics]

So reaing through these comments it's quite clear to see that this is really a non-issue and a lot of guff over not a lot. Is this really the only thing anyone can fault in this camera?

 

[alFR]

For starters, I'm assuming the “jerky” issue refers to the rectangle that shows up with the focus point. It seems to have a mind of its own, and moves around almost constantly. It was so distracting and annoying I turned off all focus aids and just move my spot with the joystick.

No, the issue the OP was about is jerkiness in the movement of the AF point when you move it around with the joystick.

 

[macrunning]

So glad I cancelled my R5m2 order and went with the R3.

 

[P-visie]

Yesterday I shot some video and discovered all 3 Custom settings had changed from what I'd set and registered.
That had also happened before with my Custom stills settings, but may have been resolved with last firmware update.

Custom settings are automatically updated when you have set ‘Auto update set.’ to Enabled. If you do not want this you should set it to Disabled.

See: https://cam.start.canon/en/C017/manual/html/UG-07_Set-up_0300.html

 

[john1970]

I never noticed the AF point moving around being not smooth, but honestly I was not paying that close of attention when using my R5 Mk2 the past week in Ireland. Over that week the camera had not issues as far as I could tell.

 

[ShowMeTheEagles]

Thanks for all the early adopters out there finding the various issues associated with a new model. I learned the hard way years ago as I was one to immediately buy or pre-order new gear. Not anymore. Considering the large investment, I wait at least 4-6 months after new product releases to see if there are issues and if they are resolved before I purchase.

Avid early adopter here on most every gadget I lust for. I don't see a reason to wait because of the possibility of opening day kinks. With the rapid succession of firmware updates and parts being manufactured in multiple factories, maybe even different manufacturers, it's just as likely for the first batch of a product to be buggy or defective as one made a year down the road. This is especially true of cars.

Then there is just bad design that's hidden for a year or two. Apple's butterfly keyboard is an example of this. It took a year or so after release before they started to get flaky -- certain keys stopped working or became intermittent. In the course of its multi-year run Apple had to extend the warranty on the keyboard and tried and failed at a fix. It was a problematic design from the start but it took Apple 4 years to admit failure. But as lousy as the keyboard was (I had two replaced under warranty) wait it out for a fix wasn't realistic. I needed a fast laptop.

My R52 shipped out a day after launch. I have not noticed anything that would raise my eyebrows. So it's not clear to me if the issues in this thread are limited to a specific production lot or I'm just not using my camera in the way needed to trigger the problem. Either way it will get sorted out one way or another. Until then I'm just as excited to use the camera as the day it arrived.

 

[Trout Bum]

Custom settings are automatically updated when you have set ‘Auto update set.’ to Enabled. If you do not want this you should set it to Disabled.

See: https://cam.start.canon/en/C017/manual/html/UG-07_Set-up_0300.html

Stills and video were both set to disabled.

 

[Trout Bum]

Configure the CFe card as 'priority card' using the INFO button in the card menu and it will switch back to it after you insert it: https://cam.start.canon/en/C017/manual/html/UG-07_Set-up_0030.html

Enter the "[stills icon] record/play" submenu to be able to set card 1 as priority card.

CFE card was set to priority for both stills and video- more than once.

 

[Trout Bum]

So reaing through these comments it's quite clear to see that this is really a non-issue and a lot of guff over not a lot. Is this really the only thing anyone can fault in this camera?

I don’t know that these are BIG issues, but I see no fault in mentioning whatever “minor” bugs exist, in the hope of seeing them fixed in a firmware upgrade. I'm still thoroughly enjoying my R5 MkII…

 

[mkamelg]

Okay, the R5 Mark II landed in my room today and I can share my own observations after the first few hours of contact with this camera model.

1. I have the latest firmware version installed, i.e. 1.0.1. I don't know if it was factory-installed, because after I first turned it on I noticed that someone from the store where I bought it online had clearly been messing around with the camera menu. Fortunately, it didn't take any pictures and the camera had zero mileage, but... a slight bad taste remained.

In any case, when moving the selected AF frame using the joystick, there is a visible significant delay in the movement of the selected AF frame. A significant delay in the movement of the selected AF frame appears only when the display of the electronic level with the histogram is turned on. It decreases slightly when you turn off the electronic level and leave the histogram. It disappears altogether when you don't use the electronic level and histogram - then the movement of the selected AF frame, let's say, is smooth (in my case it looks the same as in my R6 Mark II where I don't complain about this movement of the selected AF frame).

In order for the movement of the selected AF frame to be smooth with the electronic level and histogram turned on, you need to change the setting „Display frame rate set.” from „Power saving” to „Smooth” (9 tab under „Assist shooting”).

2. There is no production date visible on the R5 Mark II box, unlike the box from e.g. the R6 Mark II.

3. The inner filling of the box is cardboard, made of cardboard, which reminds me of the packaging in which eggs are sold in larger quantities. Everything inside (the camera and accessories) is packed in non-woven bags (at least that's how I visually associate this material).

4. The LP-E6P battery has a lot of new graphic elements on it, in addition to the standard Canon print and the front and rear stickers known from the LP-E6NH battery - it now also has additional embossing of various inscriptions and symbols on the housing (there are some embossings on each side of the housing). This is probably supposed to function as some additional form of protection against counterfeiting.

5. If you're looking for protection for the rear and top LCD displays, the JJC GSP-EOSR5 screen protector may be suitable for this purpose. For the rear LCD display, the protection is in the form of an optical glass, for the top LCD display in the form of a film (I found two such films in the box). The rear LCD display with the optical glass installed can be closed without any problem.

6. If you want to use geotagging of photos and you are using Apple hardware (iPhone or iPad), you must have at least iOS and iPadOS versions 16.7/17.6 installed on them. Support for R5 Mark II appeared in Canon Camera Connect app version 3.2.11 (current version is 3.2.30).

If I have and use an iPhone 7 Plus with iOS 15.8.3, where Canon Camera Connect app is version 3.1.20.52 (build 1386), I am unable to pair R5 Mark II with this app. The app detects this camera model, but I get a message that this camera is not supported.

In addition to my iPhone 7 Plus, I also have an iPad mini 5, on which I have the iPadOS operating system version 18.0.1 installed, so I could pair the R5 Mark II with the iPad mini 5, but the iPad mini 5 is "slightly" larger than even the largest iPhone and I don't really see myself walking around with it everywhere every day taking photos.

I think this is a very bad move (to put it mildly) on Canon's part. Because of this, I will probably have to invest an additional few thousand PLN on a new iPhone, or ignore it and do it as I did when I owned a 5DS, i.e. geotag photos manually on Flickr, where I have been publishing them since 2015.

7. If you have problems connecting the R5 Mark II to EOS Utility via wired or wireless, check that you have the latest version of EOS Utility installed, which is 3.18.41. In case anyone asks, this latest version of EOS Utility works without problems under macOS Sequoia.

 

[alFR]

A significant delay in the movement of the selected AF frame appears only when the display of the electronic level with the histogram is turned on. It decreases slightly when you turn off the electronic level and leave the histogram. It disappears altogether when you don't use the electronic level and histogram - then the movement of the selected AF frame, let's say, is smooth (in my case it looks the same as in my R6 Mark II where I don't complain about this movement of the selected AF frame).

Sounds like their display software needs optimising then, should hopefully be fixable in firmware.

[edit] can confirm the above on mine - it does it in both the rear screen and EVF. For me it’s still perfectly usable though, so not really a big issue until if/when it gets fixed.

 

[theskyIscrape]

I got my R5 m2 today and there is no jerkiness as seen in the video. I am not sure if it comes after a lot of usage so will keep an eye out.

 

[mkamelg]

If I have and use an iPhone 7 Plus with iOS 15.8.3, where Canon Camera Connect app is version 3.1.20.52 (build 1386), I am unable to pair R5 Mark II with this app. The app detects this camera model, but I get a message that this camera is not supported.

In addition to my iPhone 7 Plus, I also have an iPad mini 5, on which I have the iPadOS operating system version 18.0.1 installed, so I could pair the R5 Mark II with the iPad mini 5, but the iPad mini 5 is "slightly" larger than even the largest iPhone and I don't really see myself walking around with it everywhere every day taking photos.

I think this is a very bad move (to put it mildly) on Canon's part. Because of this, I will probably have to invest an additional few thousand PLN on a new iPhone, or ignore it and do it as I did when I owned a 5DS, i.e. geotag photos manually on Flickr, where I have been publishing them since 2015.

I bought myself an iPhone 13 (the cheapest model available off the shelf in my city), paired it with the R5 Mark II via Bluetooth, and that solved my problem. I solved my problem, and then another one appeared, related to sending GPS geotagging data from the Canon Camera Connect app to the R5 Mark II while the app was running in the background on the smartphone.

Solution to my another one problem.

The problem was solved thanks to Canon technical support in my country (Poland).

The Canon Camera Connect app must have full access to Photos on your smartphone. In order to have full access to Photos on your smartphone, you first need to configure the camera to become the source Wi-Fi network for your smartphone for a moment and then send one photo to your smartphone from the Canon Camera Connect app. Only then will you be able to make the appropriate settings in the right place. At least that's what I did and it worked.



You should also pay attention to the power saving setting. If "Screen off" is set to "Disable", connecting your smartphone to your camera to send GPS geotagging data from it will work properly. If "Screen off" is set to any time value, connecting your smartphone to your camera to send GPS geotagging data from it will not work properly.

100% sure power saving settings I've tried (the first one is the factory setting):

 

[Juppeck]

I will wait about 2 years to buy an R5II. All generally issues are known and if possible they are fixed. I actually use an R5 and i don't find a topic that's make me unhappy with that. If u r an early bird, you need to pay more and you have to wait until the vendor closes the beta test at the customer. I want to know exactly i pay for. And, my R5 do a very well job. The qualtity of my pictures are unchanged even the R5II was released.

 

[Viggo]

I will wait about 2 years to buy an R5II. All generally issues are known and if possible they are fixed. I actually use an R5 and i don't find a topic that's make me unhappy with that. If u r an early bird, you need to pay more and you have to wait until the vendor closes the beta test at the customer. I want to know exactly i pay for. And, my R5 do a very well job. The qualtity of my pictures are unchanged even the R5II was released.

Wise words ! After 20 years of always getting the latest and greatest I decided to wait as well.