DIY Perks on YouTube have posted a 20-minute video showcasing how they developed different cooling methods for the Canon EOS R5.

The first attempt was installing a DIY water cooling solution. What was interesting with this, was firmware v1.0.0 still gave the overheating warning at about the 20-minute mark, proving that part of the original EOS R5 firmware overheating safety measures was the internal timer. However, after updating to firmware v1.1.11, the water-cooled Canon EOS R5 recorded indefinitely.

Since the water cooling is hardly a usable setup, DIY Perks decided to install a custom made copper heatsink for the processor and surrounding areas. The goal here was to push the heat to the rear cover of the camera. With only a copper heatsink installed along with some thermal paste, the Canon EOS R5 was able to record 39 minutes of 8K video, which is a 43% boost over the 25 minutes of record time with firmware v1.1.1.

Interestingly, the Canon EOS R5 was ready to get back to shooting 30 minutes of 8K after a 5 minutes break repeatedly.

The last solution from DIY Perks is an external active fan solution. One fan placed directly towards the back of the camera with a copper plate, and the other solution a very interesting 3D printed solution that mounts to the bottom of the Canon EOS R5 and gives you unlimited 8K recording at 23c ambient temperature.

The latter solution here seems to be a possible solution going forward. You do have to keep in mind that these tests of solutions require the custom copper heatsink installed in the camera.

Check out the video above to see for yourself.

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63 comments

  1. Very interesting video and clever solution to dissipate the heat generated by the camera. The solution presented here is clever but surely no rocket science; makes you think why Canon hasn't taken the effort to simply add some extra copper inside the R5 and at least make a decent attempt to solve the overheating problem instead of a simple software timer. As the presenter mentions: it shouldn't have been a big problem for Canon to design a decent cooling system like the one shown in the end and even make a bigger profit.
  2. Interesting but also sad. Imagine if Canon had done the heat sink themselves and wouldn't have incurred the negative press they got. The marketing would have matched reality.

    Also I missed it. I wonder how 4k 120 and 4k HQ does with just the custom copper plate as it currently lasts longer than 8k.

    I will say even now, for many use cases, the overheating isn't even an issue anymore and is just click bait BS. It is an amazing camera and video camera either way.
  3. Interesting but also sad. Imagine if Canon had done the heat sink themselves and wouldn't have incurred the negative press they got. The marketing would have matched reality.

    Also I missed it. I wonder how 4k 120 and 4k HQ does with just the custom copper plate as it currently lasts longer than 8k.

    I will say even now, for many use cases, the overheating isn't even an issue anymore and is just click bait BS. It is an amazing camera and video camera either way.

    I don't think he tried the 4 K modes, and I would have been curious to see that, too.
  4. I've had my R5 for 2 months and I have never gotten an overheat warning. I typically shoot 4k HQ, 4K 120, regular 4K, and photos.
    That tells us nothing. You might shoot 10s clips. Fact: the camera overheats after a certain amount of time for the HQ modes, that's not in question, it's right there in the specs. If you keep under those limits it won't be a problem and for most people they'll never hit the limits. However, until fw 1.1.1 was released even shooting just stills ate into the allowed recording time for HQ modes. They've now ameliorated that a lot so it's a non issue for most people that aren't shooting feature length videos.
  5. That tells us nothing. You might shoot 10s clips. Fact: the camera overheats after a certain amount of time for the HQ modes, that's not in question, it's right there in the specs. If you keep under those limits it won't be a problem and for most people they'll never hit the limits. However, until fw 1.1.1 was released even shooting just stills ate into the allowed recording time for HQ modes. They've now ameliorated that a lot so it's a non issue for most people that aren't shooting feature length videos.

    What I'm saying is that this "cooling solution" tells you nothing. Nothing about this is real world. I can throw specs and shooting situations at you all day but it wouldn't be as sensational as a video post about a liquid cooling system hack for a $4k camera lol.

    I shoot professionally for a large media company, short and long form productions the R5. Most of my shooting is Run & Gun but could literally be 16 hours of shooting. I also use cinema cameras for extended shoots but my everyday cameras is the R5 and the 1DXmk3 and I've never had a problem. Maybe you will. I'm not here to solve overheating problems nor am I here to complain. I buy and use what works for me.
  6. Very interesting video and clever solution to dissipate the heat generated by the camera. The solution presented here is clever but surely no rocket science; makes you think why Canon hasn't taken the effort to simply add some extra copper inside the R5 and at least make a decent attempt to solve the overheating problem instead of a simple software timer. As the presenter mentions: it shouldn't have been a big problem for Canon to design a decent cooling system like the one shown in the end and even make a bigger profit.

    This topic has been discussed ad nauseum. The simple answer is that if you don't have a big rig to dissipate the heat, you are going to burn your hands.
  7. This topic has been discussed ad nauseum. The simple answer is that if you don't have a big rig to dissipate the heat, you are going to burn your hands.
    That isnt the answer at all, merely your opinion.
  8. Certainly interesting!
    Recording a black screen wouldn't engage the IBIS/AF thermal loads though
    Does 8k/30 have no 29:59 recording limit?
    What CFe card was used to record 4hrs of 8k/30?? Surely it would have been more than 2TB

    I originally thought that a Canon designed grip would have been perfect with fan/power built in to cool the tripod mount (with heat pipes . They could have charged $500 and videographers would have lapped it up... even $1000 like they are charging for the WFT-R10A. No portrait buttons/joystick would be needed of course and could be as deep as needed.
  9. that video was a slap for Canon a simple cooper heat sink, better thermal interface and use the part of the camera you wont touche while shooting results in a more usable camera.

    the kicker is the recovery time, which makes it more usable.
  10. that video was a slap for Canon a simple cooper heat sink, better thermal interface and use the part of the camera you wont touche while shooting results in a more usable camera.

    the kicker is the recovery time, which makes it more usable.
    we don't know what is the temperature at the back of the camera. It could be low temperature burn and may still be a problem with the flippy screen stowed (face in or out). Canon couldn't release a camera that had any low temperature burn surfaces.
    That said, videographers would find this very useful and are happy to have caveats to get the output they want/need. Even with no warranty, it is the only camera that can do what it does in that form factor for any cost.
    I won't mod my R5 but the solution is almost too simple from an engineering perspective.

    Ultimately, it might not be an issue if the low bit rates allow external recording removing one source of heat with no cards installed. There would still be processor cycle needed for the compression though.
  11. that video was a slap for Canon a simple cooper heat sink, better thermal interface and use the part of the camera you wont touche while shooting results in a more usable camera.

    the kicker is the recovery time, which makes it more usable.
    The recovery time has more to do with firmware 1.1.1 then anything done in the video. I have no issues with record limits now that it has gotten cooler in Vancouver.
  12. As he points out in the video, routing the heat to the bottom plate is the key to offering a range of cooling options to meet the needs of different user groups. Passive L-bracket or rig, or active cooling with a battery grip. Look for it in the R5 Mark II.

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