DPReview: Canon EOS R5 and R6 overheating claims tested: cameras work as promised – but that’s not enough

I did some video testing yesterday. Shot in a barn (which was moderately hot, about 24 degrees celcius I guess) with a bunch of kitties; I was there for about an hour and shot about short 40 clips, the majority in 120 fps, a bunch in 24 fps HQ and some rest material - after it heated up - in 60 fps. And yes, I have the strong impression that's true about the cumulative time shooting 120 fps. None of my takes were longer than 15 seconds (which still is quite long for editing purposes as you'll read below).

To be honest, I could imaging this being a let down for a bit more serious video or hybrid production. Often you'll spend much more time on location and need to shoot a few more clips than that.

That said, what I did learn is that if I need 120 fps, it's better to shoot much shorter clips. Some were about 15 seconds of filming, but you'll end up with 75 seconds of footage in your 24 fps timeline, of which you'll probably only need a few seconds. Also, shooting in 120 fps and HQ will result in very big files; I ended up with 120gb for this project, and Final Cut needs a bit of proxy'ing for proper editing. Output does surely look great.

This was the first time ever I shot in c-log and probably will need to learn a lot more, but not unhappy for a first time. Also, shooting out of hand and getting decent footage was rather easy with this camera.

To me, it's primarily a stills camera and I expect to use video moderately, but I do hope there will be some improvements in this regard, in particular if things change and video becomes a bit more serious for me. Perhaps a firmware but I'd be happy to turn in the camera for a recall if that's what's needed. Until that time I don't mind hanging on to it at all for my photography; it's a brilliant camera for that.

I think the marketing approach could've been much better. They should've promoted it primarily as an amazing stills camera (which it is), with some very good video features that have a compromise at the highest settings.

ps almost forgot; the result!

Those last kittens in your shots look exactly like are our cats when they were young :)
 

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I have the R5 in hand. My order was delivered last week Thursday. I can tell you that the line skipped 4K is not something you’ll want to shoot once you’ve seen the image quality upgrade from shooting the 4K HQ. I can also tell you that the camera does indeed overheat and that the cool down times can be unexpectedly long.

The real issue with the R5 is that it’s performance is unpredictable. Have you watched a video play back? Well, sorry, that will reduce your recording time. Did you leave it switch on between takes?... again, sorry, recording time is reduced. Did you take stills?... Well, you get the picture. I’m not accustomed to this sort of unreliable and unpredictable behavior from a Canon body. It’s unacceptable. And before you speak out to refute my claims, first go and shoot with an R5... that you purchased and then give your opinion. I find things are different when someone has some skin in the game. If you don’t have the camera in hand, you can’t speak from experience.

I tested the R5 against my Sigma fp... image quality, to my eyes is practically identical. The Sigma can shoot raw all day long, with a body that is almost half the size of the Canon... and it does not overheat... at all. Canon can do better. And we as customers must let them know we need a camera with repeatable performance. This camera is a constant roll of the dice every time you hit the shutter button.

This type of usability limitation is what I am worried about. Yikes. I'm fully expecting to return my R5 after testing if it will work for my use case.
 
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Aug 27, 2019
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And what exactly would I pay the extra $1500 for !? :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: Sure thing ain't for the battery life :D
FF
45MP
IBIS
Dual Card slots
12FPS
Better AF
Access to RF glass
World Peace - Your mileage may very

I have no idea if any of this matters to "You" but you said you could not do something on the R5 that your 90D can and that just seems to be NOT true.

Sorry
 
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IVS

Abbey Gatto
Nov 17, 2015
15
10
Yea, line skipped 4K24 would be fine and you wouldn't have to worry about overheating there, however, you're comparing a $939 camera to a $3900 camera now which is worrisome. However, you would get better AF, FF, 10-bit log? I don't know if that's worth it for you or not. Maybe an EOS R? They're pretty discounted now.
I'm recording 10 bit to an Atomos Ninja Inferno. I'm more into wildlife, nature related work so if I have some climb to do then I take the Andycine monitor for control only and deal with the internal 8 bit. The R5 I find way expensive for "my taste" but the R6 would have been a nice compromise, IBIS and All-I ( if firmware upgrade coming) vs the totally miserable battery life in comparison to the 90D. R doesn't have IBIS..so not much to gain there. I have already decided to stick to what I got and see how things are shaping once all this circus calms a bit :D.
 
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Besisika

How can you stand out, if you do like evrybdy else
Mar 25, 2014
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I didnt know doing video and photography is the exact same thing. You want more stable shots and better angles for longer than a second, you want to carry less stuff when it comes to video. I can do a wedding with 3 camera bodies on my body. Juggling 2 cameras during continuous filming is a lot of shakiness and starting and stopping. I do both photography and videography so I know how things really feel.
.
I do photography since 1989 and videography since 2002. The artistic mindset is the same; the more you want to pay attention to detail and work toward excellence, the better result you have. I always have two bodies doing videos, A-cam and B-cam. A-cam on a tripod, B-cam on a gimbal, monopod or handheld. I do video and sound at the same time whether I shoot concerts, wedding or documentary. Everything starts in your own mind extended to the attitude. What I can't do is shooting video and photo during the same event, my mind has trouble switching.
The R5 should help a lot more for videos, given the wireless (remote triggering), the IBIS, tilt screen and weight.
My opinion, people should share their ways and techniques on how to use the gear, instead of whining a month long.
 
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On the one hand, I thought the claims were overblown about the overheating, especially if it is working as advertised, but if it truly takes multiple hours to cool down after a filming sequence that could be really frustrating and difficult to work with. Even if it bricks your camera for 20 minutes that could be really frustrating in a live environment
 
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dtaylor

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This cannot be repeated enough, you are never without an option.

I just love how confident people are that the camera could never...never, ever, infinity+1 in big bold type...overheat shooting stills or regular 4k. Despite the fact that stills can trigger thermal protection in 80-90F weather, and despite two user reports that they did encounter thermal issues while shooting stills. I see posts like that and just grin.

We'll see...
 
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jam05

R5, C70
Mar 12, 2019
916
584
You're kind of picking and choosing who you want to believe. There are plenty of reviews done on the EOS R5 in a production/work environment, and how difficult it is to deal with the cooldown.

Even the guy that did your video says you'd probably need multiple bodies to properly do a wedding.

No one is disputing the quality of the footage.
Or simply use a USB powered CPU cooling fan. It's about 3" and can be powered by a power bank. Voila. What people have been using for decades to cool electronics. FANS!!
 
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IVS

Abbey Gatto
Nov 17, 2015
15
10
FF
45MP
IBIS
Dual Card slots
12FPS
Better AF
Access to RF glass
World Peace

I have no idea if any of this matters to "You" but you said you could not do something on the R5 that your 90D can and that just seems to be NOT true.

Sorry
Oh,.. hold your horses for now you are talking about $3000+ over my 90D .... :ROFLMAO: .
You say 45MP,.. the 32.5 of the 90D on a crop frame is actually over the 45 on full frame.
IBIS,..yeah.. that indeed sounds neat !
Dual card slot ?... nah,..I shoot external most of the time.
12fps vs 11 from the 90D,..
I use Zeiss 21mm among my lenses,..don't even have autofocus option :ROFLMAO:
RF glasses,.. the bokeh on the EF 85 is nicer,..rounder.
World Peace will never happen because we are the way we are :(
PS: Battery life is terrible on the R5 and R6,..for a 5-6 nights trip I would have to rent a mule just for the juice.
So, no.... at this point I don't see it justified to spend 1.5K over the 90D,..let alone 3K+.
 
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Deleted member 384473

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I'm recording 10 bit to an Atomos Ninja Inferno. I'm more into wildlife, nature related work so if I have some climb to do then I take the Andycine monitor for control only and deal with the internal 8 bit. The R5 I find way expensive for "my taste" but the R6 would have been a nice compromise, IBIS and All-I ( if firmware upgrade coming) vs the totally miserable battery life in comparison to the 90D. R doesn't have IBIS..so not much to gain there. I have already decided to stick to what I got and see how things are shaping once all this circus calms a bit :D.
Oh okay, I wouldn't trust the R6 at this moment. Definitely wouldn't be able to record indefinitely like you do now. Thats a great idea! Those pre-orders are definitely gonna take a while to come in so you have time!
 
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I just love how confident people are that the camera could never...never, ever, infinity+1 in big bold type...overheat shooting stills or regular 4k. Despite the fact that stills can trigger thermal protection in 80-90F weather, and despite two user reports that they did encounter thermal issues while shooting stills. I see posts like that and just grin.

We'll see...
I love how you like to keep pushing your agenda. Other than to stir :poop: why are you still here?

Yep the camera will overheat taking stills and the world will stop to morn the passing of another great camera... Or people will switch it off and wait for it to cool down... Just like when my 7D overheated.
 
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Oh,.. hold your horses for now you are talking about $3000+ over my 90D .... :ROFLMAO: .
You say 45MP,.. the 32.5 of the 90D on a crop frame is actually over the 45 on full frame.
IBIS,..yeah.. that indeed sounds neat !
Dual card slot ?... nah,..I shoot external most of the time.
12fps vs 11 from the 90D,..
I use Zeiss 21mm among my lenses,..don't even have autofocus option :ROFLMAO:
RF glasses,.. the bokeh on the EF 85 is nicer,..rounder.
World Peace will never happen because we are the way we are :(
PS: Battery life is terrible on the R5 and R6,..for a 5-6 nights trip I would have to rent a mule just for the juice.
So, no.... at this point I don't see it justified to spend 1.5K over the 90D,..let alone 3K+.
Cool
 
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jam05

R5, C70
Mar 12, 2019
916
584
Oh,.. hold your horses for now you are talking about $3000+ over my 90D .... :ROFLMAO: .
You say 45MP,.. the 32.5 of the 90D on a crop frame is actually over the 45 on full frame.
IBIS,..yeah.. that indeed sounds neat !
Dual card slot ?... nah,..I shoot external most of the time.
12fps vs 11 from the 90D,..
I use Zeiss 21mm among my lenses,..don't even have autofocus option :ROFLMAO:
RF glasses,.. the bokeh on the EF 85 is nicer,..rounder.
World Peace will never happen because we are the way we are :(
PS: Battery life is terrible on the R5 and R6,..for a 5-6 nights trip I would have to rent a mule just for the juice.
So, no.... at this point I don't see it justified to spend 1.5K over the 90D,..let alone 3K+.
Shoot with what's good for YOU. PS. Battery life is excellent on the R5. Depends on how you shoot. A Toyota Camary will work for many people. However saying that it's equivalent to a Lexus or an Avalon isn't acknowledging reality.
 
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IVS

Abbey Gatto
Nov 17, 2015
15
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Shoot with what's good for YOU. PS. Battery life is excellent on the R5. Depends on how you shoot. A Toyota Camary will work for many people. However saying that it's equivalent to a Lexus or an Avalon isn't acknowledging reality.
Well...I drive a 5 speed manual transmission Suzuki so don't know much about Toyota or Fancy Toyota but... I do realize that it's useless to have even a RED if no 2 hummingbirds will put up an epic 8 minutes fight in the front of your eyes... Same way,.. what's the use of having a Lexus if you can't use it but to and from work.
Here's something I shot last season with a T7i,..in HD. I got to rot for weeks for this short film. Often in temps above 97 degrees.
 
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jam05

R5, C70
Mar 12, 2019
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Shoot with what's good for YOU. PS. Battery life on the R5 being a mirrorless is far better than that of the 90D. Depends on how you shoot. A Toyota Camary will work for many people. However saying that it's equivalent to a Lexus or an Avalon isn't acknowledging reality. The proper tools for the job. The owner of a garage ask the well known mechanic to work on the new Mercedes-Benz with the shops tools consisting of a set of allen wrenches, screwdriver and discount store socket set. The mechanic refuses and wheels in his own tools, stating that his reputation is at stake.
 
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Those that know me, know that I'm a fairly happy EF shooter but quite irritated by Canon's current strategy including hybrid shooting, say video capabilities in the 5Div, and the introduction of an EF-M incompatible RF mount (we need a RF to EF-M speed-booster), and limited incentive to move from EF to RF outside of native adapters (that you have to buy).
My confusion partially stems form many of my friends and colleagues moving to Sony, mainly because many photographic assignments today can include some video (I am not talking about shooting a blockbuster). They initially shot by adapting their EF lens collection but eventually graduated to E-mount lenses. These people are not coming back. I know quite a few people that could tell a story like this

It nearly seems as if Canon and Sony reversed roles. I'm buzzled.
I'd be really interested what others think.
 
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I tested R5 and R6 just now and I find the camera body barely warm while the overheat sign shows .It is almost like a software limitation intended by Canon .I bet a firmware update will fix all the significant overheat issue hype over the internet .

well this surprised me too yesterday when I got the signal; I expected the camera to be very hot but it wasn't. Or they've made it in a way the heat stays completely inside
 
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