Firmware: Canon releases new firmware for the Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS R6 to fix freezing bug

AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
CR Pro
Aug 16, 2012
12,298
22,369
Good post. I get a little tired of people who have been lucky enough not to have the problem who act like it is a) people imagining the problem, b) the user's fault or c) that people should just suck it up and accept it because it doesn't happen to them.

Since people seem to like strained car analogies, saying it is "just" some combination of buttons is a bit like saying that if your brakes fail when you turn on your windshield wipers, then you should "just" not use your windshield wipers.
I hope you are not driving towards me during the rain.
 
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Marcus550

EOS R5
Sep 15, 2021
8
3
Hi all, iv just came back from a local drifting practice, used version 1.5.1 and had 2 lock ups within 2 minutes, r5 just goes completely black and doesn't display anything so I have to take the battery out, was using car tracking mapped to the * button, never had anything like this in the past 2 dslr or Eos R, just went back to normal way of shooting with single point on bbf and no issues in 1400 plus photos iv just taken, shame really but thankfully im not a pro just amateur so worked round the problem, can see how people would be angry if they were pro drifting photographers
 
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tron

CR Pro
Nov 8, 2011
5,222
1,616
Hi all, iv just came back from a local drifting practice, used version 1.5.1 and had 2 lock ups within 2 minutes, r5 just goes completely black and doesn't display anything so I have to take the battery out, was using car tracking mapped to the * button, never had anything like this in the past 2 dslr or Eos R, just went back to normal way of shooting with single point on bbf and no issues in 1400 plus photos iv just taken, shame really but thankfully im not a pro just amateur so worked round the problem, can see how people would be angry if they were pro drifting photographers
Could you contact Canon and mention the specific sequence of action s that lead to the lock? You can also save your camera setup and send it to them.
 
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vjlex

EOS R5
Oct 15, 2011
514
430
Osaka, Japan
Maybe we need to suggest that they include a debug mode/diagnostic logging option in the next firmware. Fat chance, I'm sure. But I really am curious what the common factor is. There don't seem to be too many thorough descriptions of what settings and lens combinations might be causing it. When it happened with me, I was either using my EF 70-200mm or my EF 85mm. Both were used with the control ring adapter. I don't remember what my specific settings were however.
 
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Marcus550

EOS R5
Sep 15, 2021
8
3
yeah ill look at getting in touch, for me it was the same combo iv used for the last year nothings changed even down to the memory cards, tamron 70-200 f2.8 g2 and the control ring adaptor if anyones curious, had used 1.5.0 with my dog and some crossbikes with vehicle tracking and it never done it then but could of not done it due to the fact I didn't focus on the bikes for as long as a car drifting round a long bend fairly slowly
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
2,438
UK
unfocused said:

"I get a little tired of people who have been lucky enough not to have the problem who act like it is a) people imagining the problem, b) the user's fault or c) that people should just suck it up and accept it because it doesn't happen to them."

It's only meaningful in as much as it indicates that the issue is intermittent.

But it's unhelpful unless a full list of settings and customisations are published and sent to Canon, along with an indication of frequency based on total frames shot, and notes about serial numbers and firmware. How many of us do that? Probably none of us.

I agree that there is a small handful of individuals who get a kick out of bragging and deliberately rubbing salt in the wound of those experiencing these issues.

That's the internet for you...
 
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SHAMwow

EOS R5
CR Pro
Sep 7, 2020
187
257
Good gosh. Nobody is rubbing salt. The very few people have simply pointed out that there is something very specific going on with button combos and the software that causes a lockup for SOME users. I'm personally just tired of people acting like their R5 is a brick, Canon is some crap company, etc.

I've dealt with issues. I had to send my 5D IV in for freezing issues. This camera is beloved as being one of the most reliable cameras. I didn't say it prevented me from taking photos. I didn't say Canon's brand name was at stake. I simply got a lemon, and so did SOME other people. I sent it in, got it fixed, and moved on.

It's a problem, hopefully it will get fixed, the camera is a good camera, with a wonky issue that will hopefully get sorted.
 
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Jack Douglas

CR for the Humour
Apr 10, 2013
6,980
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I don't have the problem (yet) but always sympathize with those who do.

It is really nice to see people working together to help one another, just being friendly and considerate. I'd rather be happy and promote happy than to be irritating people. :) Overall CR folk have been very good/helpful to me and I wish I had more expertise to share in return.

Jack
 
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Tens of thousands of people experiencing a pervasive problem, with a handful of them reporting it on the Internet, does not seem likely. I’m sure the problem is real for some people, and I’m pretty sure that it results from some combination of customized settings. But if even 10% of owners were experiencing the problems, that’s still thousands of people and we’ve heard from what, a few dozen at most?
I have the impression that there are more than a few dozen experiencing a a lot of freezes ie enough to be wanting to report the problem and get Canon to fix it. There are multiple forums I belong to and some are very vocal but many others chiming in to concur. A few dozen users wouldn't normally make Canon release a specific patch.

I have had 2 lockups over 21 months but I am not a high volume shooter. I use approved cards and don't use BBF. Not enough for me to report the problem and certainly not enough to try to isolate the specific scenario to consistently make it fail.
 
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Yeah I don't mean to come across condescending, but I do think these forums tend to highlight gear heads over photographers. And that brings a different perspective to the gear and its use. I just feel if it were widespread you'd see professionals ditching the cameras and the gear based on the potential for missed shots. But yeah, that's just my piece on it, I hope its fixed now.
Each forum has a different set of frequent commentators and many more passive readers. It is possible that to be both a gear head and a "good" (however you want to define it) photographer even if we don't all make a living from photography.
This forum seems to be the best balance for me but that doesn't mean that I don't read other forums or shake my head at others eg DPR comments.
 
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bbasiaga

Canon Shooter
Nov 15, 2011
721
971
USA
Not specifically. I checked, * is set to: Switch to registered AF and initiate AF is not mentioned.

Thanks. I need to spend more time in the menus but from a quick check there is no sub menu that allows a tick of "start AF".
for "Switch to Registered AF". It's not exactly fun investigating all the choices and permutations so early on I just chose some and left it at that but when I saw that I had to half press the shutter to initiate AF after hitting * that really disappointed me and so I need to change something. I had all this set on my 1DX2 without such an issue before.
Sorry if you have already got an answer on this...but I don't think you want to select 'switch to registerd AF". I think you want to select the eye AF icon, which is what I have done, for that button. THen it will start the AF in the eye detect mode when you push that button.

Brian
 
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Jack Douglas

CR for the Humour
Apr 10, 2013
6,980
2,602
Alberta, Canada
Sorry if you have already got an answer on this...but I don't think you want to select 'switch to registerd AF". I think you want to select the eye AF icon, which is what I have done, for that button. THen it will start the AF in the eye detect mode when you push that button.

Brian
Thanks Brian, you are right, it was the wrong choice for my use and with a little effort on my part I did actually finally clue in. I have eye-AF on AF-ON and a different mode on * that is now activating properly, so I'm very pleased.

Jack
 
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Made an account just to come here and say even after the firmware update it happened this sunday with my R5. It froze up while tracking a bird, then turned itself off and closed the shutter before turning itself back on.
It's happened only about 3-4 times since I got it in September.
I do use back-button focus, which from the other replies I see might be the reason for it happening.
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
2,438
UK
I have the impression that there are more than a few dozen experiencing a a lot of freezes ie enough to be wanting to report the problem and get Canon to fix it. There are multiple forums I belong to and some are very vocal but many others chiming in to concur. A few dozen users wouldn't normally make Canon release a specific patch.

I have had 2 lockups over 21 months but I am not a high volume shooter. I use approved cards and don't use BBF. Not enough for me to report the problem and certainly not enough to try to isolate the specific scenario to consistently make it fail.
We'll never know how many are affected by these freezes but it must be a significant number for Canon to have rushed out a firmware update specifically for it. I say "rushed" because they could have saved it until the scheduled update in March.

Let's assume (possibly wrongly) that the freezes are caused by a conflict when a certain combination of custom setting and/or menu setting are selected. I haven't done the maths but my R5 has 19 buttons, many of which can be mapped to dozens of different functions, so the number of possible permutations is absolutely vast. And then there are 4 customisable dials, and a near-infinite number of combinations of menu settings.

Tracking down freezes and other issues, even using the best available algorithms, is a huge task, and the more functions are built into a camera, the more often bugs are going to arise. This isn't meant as a plea for simpler cameras or less customisation options, but it's a fact of life, so being an early adopter is increasingly unappealing!
 
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I upgraded from 1.4 to 1.5 and reverted back.
Tried 1.5.1 but encountered the same problem and reverted back.

THE PROBLEM:
I have servo mode with initial focus point on the center of the frame on my af-on button, and i have assigned eye tracking on the asterisk button.
That way i can use the af-on to track things other than eyes (for example if i want to stay on a ring at the brides hand and have it track the ring constantly as she moves), and when i want eye tracking i keep the asterisk held down and it instantly switches to tracking eyes. On 1.4 it works like a charm.

On 1.5 , 1.5.1 this is impossible to be achieved no matter what settings i use. I have been searching for a solution to this since the first day of the release of 1.5 firmware and the only solution is reverting back.

So i reverted back to the old reliable 1.4 firmware through the eos utility.
 
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roby17269

R5, H5X + IQ1-80, DJI Mini & Mavic 3 Pro, GoPro 10
Feb 26, 2014
435
537
New York
rdmfashionphoto.com
I have downloaded and installed 1.5.1 - seems to work ok but did no proper testing.

I had a strange thing never happened before. I downloaded to my Windows 11 download folder using Chrome. Every time I tried to copy the file to the memory card (in a reader) using file explorer, explorer would crash. I managed to copy it to the card with Edge. Never seen this before with other firmware updates. Has anyone seen anything similar?
Update: After a bit of research, it appears it is a known issue with Win 11 and Carbonite. Hopefully one of them will fix it soon.
Canon is innocent! :ROFLMAO:
 
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