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

[Baron_Karza]

"After extensive testing of both cameras, our conclusions with regards internal recording are:

• Both the EOS R5 and R6 appear capable of working as promised
• Lack of dependability makes them a poor choice for much professional video work"

 

[cornieleous]

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.

I don't think I'm picking and choosing any more than anyone else, and I wasn't using that link to say 'see the camera is fine for all wedding photographers' just that someone understood the limits and worked within them. The real problem here is the subjectivity of what is "ok" for the R5 and what the camera is designed for. Its weather sealed, strong IBIS, tiny body, powerful AF and processing, high MP- all things that will equal heat and there has to be a compromise somewhere. Canon marketing was quite sloppy but to me it is still ridiculous to expect any product to do more than a manufacturer says it can do on the spec. sheet. Not what we wish it to do, but with what it was designed for and can do. Canon told us what it can do fairly clearly, and it does it. I think perhaps people disagree that they told us enough. Perhaps they needed even more language to define the overheating situation like "previous heating from environment or use may cause further limitations of HQ video modes"?

I didn't post that video link and say because one guy made a wedding video with the 8K successfully that it was fine as a dedicated wedding or video workhorse for pro video use, we know it has limits. I simply was trying to show an example of someone who proved it can be used with knowledge of those limits where many of the reviews and negative comments are concluding it is a useless camera because of the limits and could never be used professionally. I am pretty sure he also said low res modes and stills were still available, so to me he hit the described limits, and still had a camera.

I agree that reports of the camera heating up just idling or taking stills before video has begun are concerning and if those remove the HQ video features it may be a problem, but I also have not experienced that with mine. Heating it in the sun does eventually get it hot enough to limit those HQ features, but we're talking about a long soak in the sun. I did a fairly thorough overheat test at 85°F in direct sun for what I think was reasonable use: 30 mins of 4K60, then a bunch of lower res use and stills for 60 mins, then more 4K60. When my unit did shut down, I could still use it for low res and stills. 20-30 mins in AC and I could get more 4K60. So at what point is the camera good enough to not be a failure? I think Canon can and should investigate and make this better if possible, absolutely. They should also adjust their future marketing and be more careful there. I just don't see the controversy or harsh judgement adds up if this is essentially the mirrorless 5D5.

 

[Nathan Phillips]

I used my R5 for a wedding (2nd Shooter - video). I can say this... weather was great and averaged at a cool 70-75F degrees with rain and wind throughout the day, but.... the camera performed not so good honestly when it came to 4K120 and 60.

I shot mostly in 1080 24/60 I did have a few moments of shooting 4K120. Each time I switched, it only showed about 1-2 minutes of record time. This was the same for 4K60 with maybe an extra minute added on. This was not very often and very frustrating to switch to 4K120 or 4K60 to only find it’s already overheated. The camera was also not on all the time. Max on time frames would be around 10 minutes. Here and there.

I also had a private shoot yesterday with very similar weather minus the rain. This the was worst of all... shot photos for 20 minutes. Maybe 30 photos were taken since it was a lighting setup. So there was breaking points to adjust lighting etc. I was able to shoot 2 minutes of 4K120 of small clips. Nothing crazy and definitely not the amount I would normally shoot. It was specifically for a test to see performance. Footage looked amazing and the dynamic range did as well. I then went back to photo for about an hour and tried 4K120... overheated... then tried 4K60... overheated...

So to put it as clear as possible. This camera is phenomenal, but so limiting. That is a workflow issue and needs to be addressed. Shooting photos and then facing the temps built up from that and hindering the video features... it’s just not practical or okay imo.

 

[Colorado]

I did a fairly thorough overheat test at 85C in direct sun...

85C? Wow you get the gold star award for going above and beyond with your testing. I mean any water you brought with you to stay hydrated would have boiled if it had gottten much hotter.

 

[koenkooi]

I used my R5 for a wedding (2nd Shooter - video). I can say this... weather was great and averaged at a cool 70-75F degrees with rain and wind throughout the day, but.... the camera performed not so good honestly when it came to 4K120 and 60.

I shot mostly in 1080 24/60 I did have a few moments of shooting 4K120. Each time I switched, it only showed about 1-2 minutes of record time. This was the same for 4K60 with maybe an extra minute added on. [..]

I'm curious why you dropped down to 1080p instead the non-HQ 4k.

 

[usern4cr]

For those of you getting the R5 and wanting an Arca-Swiss baseplate, I just wanted to mention that I just ordered a R5 baseplate & removable L bracket from ReallyRightStuff. Yes, it's expensive, but so is the R5 and all the great RF lenses. I've had the same custom base plate on my EM1_II for years and it fits the entire body bottom like a glove - so well that it makes it even better to grip than it already was. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting the best for their R5. They told me that they expect it to be delivered sometime around the end of August. And no - I'm not getting anything for saying this (but I wish I could have!)

 

[bhf3737]

Perhaps someone should teach DPReview and a few posters here the difference between "testing" and "torture testing" a system. Dependability can only be defined and measured when testing a system not torture testing it. Better learn your lessons first then try again!

 

[Jordan23]

... 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.

That guy from Fred Miranda forum was using an old battery from his 90D, not the new one. Usually this info get lost when trying to make headlines.

Actually most people who got their R5 are reporting no heat issues from shooting stills only at all.

 

[Jstnelson]

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.

I've been curious of others' experience with battery life. I've done 3 portrait sessions with OCF on the R5 so far, setting up and moving strobes, testing shots, etc in between shots; camera on the most time. My longest session was about 2 hours and 430 shots and battery indicator was full at the end. I have the battery grip but don't receive my second battery from Adorama until tomorrow so have been using it with 1 battery inserted.

EVF is not on high refresh mode and I only use the EVF ~25% of the time; regularly shooting low to the ground. I would never have to worry about battery life even without my grip.

 

[landon]

For those of you getting the R5 and wanting an Arca-Swiss baseplate, I just wanted to mention that I just ordered a R5 baseplate & removable L bracket from ReallyRightStuff. Yes, it's expensive, but so is the R5 and all the great RF lenses. I've had the same custom base plate on my EM1_II for years and it fits the entire body bottom like a glove - so well that it makes it even better to grip than it already was. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting the best for their R5. They told me that they expect it to be delivered sometime around the end of August. And no - I'm not getting anything for saying this (but I wish I could have!)

You forgot to say you are sponsored by "Square space or Storyblocks or Skillshare"

 

[Nathan Phillips]

I'm curious why you dropped down to 1080p instead the non-HQ 4k.

I was a second shooter. The primary only wanted 1080. If it’s my wedding client and the price makes sense, then I do 4K.

 

[cornieleous]

85C? Wow you get the gold star award for going above and beyond with your testing. I mean any water you brought with you to stay hydrated would have boiled if it had gottten much hotter.

Typo! 85°F

 

[mpeeps]

I sure hope all the videographers out there not happy with new R5 limitations cancel their pre-orders so I can get mine sooner.

 

[BeenThere]

"After extensive testing of both cameras, our conclusions with regards internal recording are:

• Both the EOS R5 and R6 appear capable of working as promised
• Lack of dependability makes them a poor choice for much professional video work"

Exactly. If you are using the R5 as your primary video camera, then you are trying to shoot video on the cheap. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, but to shoot on the cheap you will likely have to work around some limitations. If you are earning a lot from video, then you know to step up to a dedicated camera that can shoot all day without any limitations. Yeah, the more you earn, the more you are willing to pay for dedicated equipment. If I am putting up a few Utube videos, I can live with a lot of limitations. So, poor choice for much pro video work and great choice for pro stills work. Get the right tools for the job at hand.

 

[mpeeps]

No Comment.

Article says all one needs to say about the horrible, unreliable, unpredictableness of these new overheating cameras...

....but they forgot to talk about the LIE Canon wrote that using an External Fan will help with the overheating issue.

I liked your first No Comment best. Should have stuck with that.

 

[Juangrande]

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.

In the past Canon avoided overheating issues by limiting what their stills bodies (that could also do a little bit of video) could do, but the internet complained that they were intentionally hobbling the cameras (still cameras) so they put in everything in this latest release and lo and behold there’s some issues with overheating that Canon had avoided before by not trying to cram a high end Cinema video camera into a stills camera. Sony only managed a solution by making a video camera in a stills body that you wouldn’t want to use for stills pictures. You can make a hybrid but until there’s a way to process data without the processing chip or cards heating up then there’s gonna be trade offs. If Video is important to your business why not buy a video camera or a Cine camera. Why rely on a weather sealed stills camera to do high end video production. Those hybrids are fine for grabbing some short clips here and there, in fact they’re brilliant at that, but as a production video workhorse, well use the right tool for the right job. This is not Canons fault it’s the fault of videographers not managing there expectations from a weather sealed compact stills camera that can also allow you to shoot a little video here and there but it’s not a dedicated video camera. Sorry to be so redundant, I know.
No one is disputing the quality of the footage.

 

[Kiton]

Maybe the Mods can divide these threads in to two sections:

A) for what the camera does and how to make the best use of the camera

B) for those that want to bitch about everything the camera does not do (it didn't make me an espresso this morning, man I pissed!!)


if you want to shoot reams of 8k, go buy the Red Monstro 8k VV

 

[Juangrande]

Exactly. If you are using the R5 as your primary video camera, then you are trying to shoot video on the cheap. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, but to shoot on the cheap you will likely have to work around some limitations. If you are earning a lot from video, then you know to step up to a dedicated camera that can shoot all day without any limitations. Yeah, the more you earn, the more you are willing to pay for dedicated equipment. If I am putting up a few Utube videos, I can live with a lot of limitations. So, poor choice for much pro video work and great choice for pro stills work. Get the right tools for the job at hand.

Thank you!

 

[mpeeps]

I don't think I'm picking and choosing any more than anyone else, and I wasn't using that link to say 'see the camera is fine for all wedding photographers' just that someone understood the limits and worked within them. The real problem here is the subjectivity of what is "ok" for the R5 and what the camera is designed for. Its weather sealed, strong IBIS, tiny body, powerful AF and processing, high MP- all things that will equal heat and there has to be a compromise somewhere. Canon marketing was quite sloppy but to me it is still ridiculous to expect any product to do more than a manufacturer says it can do on the spec. sheet. Not what we wish it to do, but with what it was designed for and can do. Canon told us what it can do fairly clearly, and it does it. I think perhaps people disagree that they told us enough. Perhaps they needed even more language to define the overheating situation like "previous heating from environment or use may cause further limitations of HQ video modes"?

I didn't post that video link and say because one guy made a wedding video with the 8K successfully that it was fine as a dedicated wedding or video workhorse for pro video use, we know it has limits. I simply was trying to show an example of someone who proved it can be used with knowledge of those limits where many of the reviews and negative comments are concluding it is a useless camera because of the limits and could never be used professionally. I am pretty sure he also said low res modes and stills were still available, so to me he hit the described limits, and still had a camera.

I agree that reports of the camera heating up just idling or taking stills before video has begun are concerning and if those remove the HQ video features it may be a problem, but I also have not experienced that with mine. Heating it in the sun does eventually get it hot enough to limit those HQ features, but we're talking about a long soak in the sun. I did a fairly thorough overheat test at 85°F in direct sun for what I think was reasonable use: 30 mins of 4K60, then a bunch of lower res use and stills for 60 mins, then more 4K60. When my unit did shut down, I could still use it for low res and stills. 20-30 mins in AC and I could get more 4K60. So at what point is the camera good enough to not be a failure? I think Canon can and should investigate and make this better if possible, absolutely. They should also adjust their future marketing and be more careful there. I just don't see the controversy or harsh judgement adds up if this is essentially the mirrorless 5D5.

You're being too reasonable.

 

[cornieleous]

I used my R5 for a wedding (2nd Shooter - video). I can say this... weather was great and averaged at a cool 70-75F degrees with rain and wind throughout the day, but.... the camera performed not so good honestly when it came to 4K120 and 60.

I shot mostly in 1080 24/60 I did have a few moments of shooting 4K120. Each time I switched, it only showed about 1-2 minutes of record time. This was the same for 4K60 with maybe an extra minute added on. This was not very often and very frustrating to switch to 4K120 or 4K60 to only find it’s already overheated. The camera was also not on all the time. Max on time frames would be around 10 minutes. Here and there.

I also had a private shoot yesterday with very similar weather minus the rain. This the was worst of all... shot photos for 20 minutes. Maybe 30 photos were taken since it was a lighting setup. So there was breaking points to adjust lighting etc. I was able to shoot 2 minutes of 4K120 of small clips. Nothing crazy and definitely not the amount I would normally shoot. It was specifically for a test to see performance. Footage looked amazing and the dynamic range did as well. I then went back to photo for about an hour and tried 4K120... overheated... then tried 4K60... overheated...

So to put it as clear as possible. This camera is phenomenal, but so limiting. That is a workflow issue and needs to be addressed. Shooting photos and then facing the temps built up from that and hindering the video features... it’s just not practical or okay imo.

Just asking as I am not a wedding or event shooter but is the 4K30P unacceptable quality? Besides the latest offerings by Panasonic and Sony, did you already have a better 4K60 and up solution? Also I wonder if any wedding shooters have tried external recording (seems like it may be cumbersome with speedlights and everything else to manage but I don't know from experience).

I truly hope those wanting FF HQ video modes for professional use can get a solution from Canon, or a combination of using external recorders, but realistically MILC bodies are just so tiny that there is always a compromise in a hybird design. It may take a generation for this level of hybrid to mature much as it did to get non overheating 4K30 in FF when Sony first did it. Until perfected, it seems to me there are plenty of people getting by with the last generation of tools just fine professionally, and there are plenty of options on the market, just maybe no one can do it in one tiny body yet.

Maybe we will be surprised by a dramatic improvement or fix from Canon, but I'm skeptical physics will allow that. For me I see this camera like 5D5, amazing stills and some basic video that was given too much horsepower for its size. I hope this model is not forever perceived for what it cannot do and given a chance to show what it does do well.