A closer look at the Canon EOS R5 lower quality 4K mode to avoid thermal cut-off

[Andrew Reid]

The Canon EOS R5 works in mysterious ways.

Canon chose to implement 8K and 4K/120p on this camera knowing that heat build-up will make for some short recording times. This was a risk, because the perceived hit to reliability can generate a lot of bad publicity. What was Canon thinking and what else does the camera offer for when more reliable recording is needed?

New blog post:

https://www.eoshd.com/8k/a-closer-look-at-the-canon-eos-r5-lower-quality-4k-mode-to-avoid-thermal-cut-off/

[Video Hummus]

Looking at the body weight. 

R5 - 738 grams

GH5 - 725 grams

Both have IBIS, similar batteries. I think we know why the damn thing potential has overheating problems.

[ajay]

I think what you wrote is very well put. I think that its imperative that any and all issues with these new cameras be it Canon, Sony or pick your camera should be brought to the table and discussed and verified. Because of your posts, you've brought it to the attention of a lot of potential users and reviewers. When the production cameras hit the market, you can damn well bet they will be testing overheating issues.

People can piss and moan all they want that you are being unfair but you are not. I certainly would like to know before I plunk down a lot of money if the camera I am investing in is capable of working in all stated modes without compromise. If there are compromises, I can make an informed decision myself based on my personal needs. All I want is an unfettered review without bias.

Thanks for bringing this issue to the forefront.

[abehalpert]

I think you're striking a good balance, Andrew. Life is full of nuance. One can be happy for the features they've included and disappointed by the limitations. Best to see things clearly.

Now, let's see if the A7SIII overheats...

[wolf33d]

A7SIII is rumored to have a specific cooling design. It will probably not overheat as much and have a few better features. The biggest question is will Sony improve ergonomics, touch screen, menus and color science, as well as IBIS. 

[Caleb Genheimer]

Better thermal management/active vents will probably remain something you have to look to the Cine division for.

[JR Lipartito]

They could have made the R6 the video flagship with internal 5.5K raw (Like the 1DX mkIII) and marketed the R5 primarily as a stills camera that happens to be capable of short clips at 8K raw—more for frame grabs than making movies. If that were 8K’s purpose then the heat would be a non-issue and they could still keep the 8K badge on the box. Filmmakers would flock to the R6 in droves, and I’m sure a few would also pick up the R5 for the better stills and occasional 8K beauty shot. The R6 would have been a major threat to threat to the S1H and whatever the A7SIII works out to be. But Canon doesn’t think in that big picture kind of way. They just want to set the entry point for raw video at >$4,000, whether or not it actually works. 

[Vrzalík]

And what Canon EOS R6? Is there any overheating issue too? Today I watched one Youtube video and R6 has overheating issue too. 😞

 

[JR Lipartito]

30 minutes ago, Vrzalík said:

And what Canon EOS R6? Is there any overheating issue too? Today I watched one Youtube video and R6 has overheating issue too. 😞

 

Well there ya go. Maybe it will take Canon another ten years to get from “finally taking video seriously” to “able to deliver a usable product”... 

[Dimitris Stasinos]

Pushing tech forward and pushing existing tech to it’s limits are two different things.

[padam]

To be fair, the A7sIII or a Z6s could very well have similar problems in a smaller body, some said the Z6 can overheat in 10-bit 4:2:2 with an external recorder, its using the full sensor in that mode unlike Prores RAW with the line-skipping.
The S1 series cameras are a lot bigger and heavier and they are skipping phase-detect AF for this same reason, more processing, more heat, noisier signal.

So far, Sony hasn't enabled 4k60p in their cameras even though some sensors are capable of doing it, exactly for this reason.
Now they suddenly have 4k120p coming, probably external recording only, we'll see how it does.

[John Matthews]

My understanding is that the big kicker is not so much the overheating but the time you need to wait to get the same initial recording limit. Maybe you can cool it down with a cold beer strapped to the side; when it overheats, you can drink it and put another cold one next to to get it to cool down faster. No harm in that.

[PaulUsher]

3 hours ago, Vrzalík said:

And what Canon EOS R6? Is there any overheating issue too? Today I watched one Youtube video and R6 has overheating issue too. 😞

 

Yeah I saw last night Canon admit even the R6’s 4K <30p recording limit on that ProAV interview: 40 mins before overheating. This isn’t going to work for me. I don’t even need to see the footage. You can get better performance from the R’s 4K 1:1 readout + speedbooster. I’m done looking at these cameras now and moving on. 

[Silenkiller]

I wonder if the IPB recording on the 4k60 of the r6 will thermal limit badly too? If that is the case then it sounds like the 1dxm3 is the only choice. Except they freaking disabled AF in 4k60. Canon WTF

[Rinad Amir]

14 hours ago, Video Hummus said:

Looking at the body weight. 

R5 - 738 grams

GH5 - 725 grams

Both have IBIS, similar batteries. I think we know why the damn thing potential has overheating problems.

2017 tech dontforget Panna was revolution back then

[newfoundmass]

8 hours ago, padam said:

The S1 series cameras are a lot bigger and heavier and they are skipping phase-detect AF for this same reason, more processing, more heat, noisier signal.

I don't think that's why they are skipping PDAF. I don't know why they are, but I don't think PDAF would be enough to overheat an otherwise fine camera. Maybe I'm wrong though? 

[stephenkraus]

9 hours ago, Vrzalík said:

And what Canon EOS R6? Is there any overheating issue too? Today I watched one Youtube video and R6 has overheating issue too. 😞

 

So this video is great, and idk if anybody watched the original ProAV QA video, but it's full of info. Basically: the R5 CAN handle non-oversampled 4k in 24p/30p without thermal limits, and the R6 CANNOT. It will overheat after ~40 min because it's oversampling the 5.5k sensor. 

 

[padam]

1 hour ago, stephenkraus said:

So this video is great, and idk if anybody watched the original ProAV QA video, but it's full of info. Basically: the R5 CAN handle non-oversampled 4k in 24p/30p without thermal limits, and the R6 CANNOT. It will overheat after ~40 min because it's oversampling the 5.5k sensor. 

What if one is recording with the 1:1 1.4x UHD crop mode on the R6 instead of oversampling?

That should help with heat and the rolling shutter. Maybe even they forgot that it exists 🙂

[Wild Ranger]

3 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

I don't think that's why they are skipping PDAF. I don't know why they are, but I don't think PDAF would be enough to overheat an otherwise fine camera. Maybe I'm wrong though? 

Panasonic avoid PDAF because they aim to "higher image quality" since PDAF pixels in sensor reduce potencial resolution. Now that's a debatable topic, but that's why they keep pushing Contrast detection.

[CaMeRa QuEsT]

I have a pair of big Canon copiers that also overheat when making copies nonstop for more than 5 minutes. My solution: running an 18" fan at full blast on them.