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R5 Reliability

Jeff Nolten
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · R5 Reliability

I'm curious about the forum's response to this article on FStoppers. I carefully researched the R5 before I bought it six months ago with shinning reviews from a variety of users, many of whom have been using in challenging field conditions. So this is probably a one off. It always seems to happen that after I purchase, then I see the less than favorable reviews.

So how has your R5 been holding up? Thanks.

Aug 15, 2023 at 02:35 PM

artsupreme
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · R5 Reliability

They are not 1DX level tanks but plenty tough to handle most of what you would throw at it. I was one of the biggest shit talkers on this body when it was first released with all it's issues, but now they are my body of choice currently for Canon, even over the R3. I've put a lot of mileage on over 5 bodies and I've been down to two this last year which see constant use. I have two more being delivered today for another large shoot coming up. If you happened to be 1% of shooters who are out in the worst possible elements, then yeah the ruggedness is not on the level of the former 1D bodies. Other than that, you should have zero reason to be concerned about the durability or reliability of the R5.

Aug 15, 2023 at 02:44 PM

stanj
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · R5 Reliability

I have two R5s: One with 51k mechanical (and 60k electronic) clicks, and one with 169k mechanical (and 295k electronic) clicks. You could say that I use them a lot, especially the original one. I travel a lot, both for work and pleasure, and at least one of them is always with me, rain or shine, sandy desert or Antarctica.

Other than the occasional freeze that's fixed with a battery pop, no problem at all, despite what I would call pragmatic handling (no pampering, no dropping, always with L-bracket for protection.)

Aug 15, 2023 at 02:47 PM

artsupreme
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · R5 Reliability

stanj wrote:
I have two R5s: One with 51k mechanical (and 60k electronic) clicks, and one with 169k mechanical (and 295k electronic) clicks. You could say that I use them a lot, especially the original one. I travel a lot, both for work and pleasure, and at least one of them is always with me, rain or shine, sandy desert or Antarctica.

Other than the occasional freeze that's fixed with a battery pop, no problem at all.

What program do you use that shows both MS and ES clicks?

Aug 15, 2023 at 02:48 PM

stanj
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · R5 Reliability

artsupreme wrote:
What program do you use that shows both MS and ES clicks?

ShutterCount (Apple App Store)

Aug 15, 2023 at 02:50 PM

artsupreme
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · R5 Reliability

stanj wrote:
ShutterCount (Apple App Store)

You must have paid for the live pack that gives you the chart? Because I just tried it and it only gives me shutter count and shutter wear (the free version 6.4).

Aug 15, 2023 at 03:02 PM

Jesse Evans
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · R5 Reliability

The R5 is one of the most popular cameras Canon has sold. There are some bad units.

Why is my R5 lasting? Who knows. I have had it since release and it has only ever frozen up one time due to a crappy sandisk card. It’s been all over the world and not babied, and it’s just fine.

People overblow their own experience. Users experiences with failures in any camera are equally valid as all the users that never complain about anything. Or those like me and stanj who have the polar opposite experiences of poor build.

Aug 15, 2023 at 03:29 PM

stanj
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · R5 Reliability

artsupreme wrote:
You must have paid for the live pack that gives you the chart? Because I just tried it and it only gives me shutter count and shutter wear (the free version 6.4).

I guess I must have - it looks like I have the "Plus Pack." It's been years...

Aug 15, 2023 at 03:36 PM

Mike_5D
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · R5 Reliability

stanj wrote:
Other than the occasional freeze that's fixed with a battery pop, no problem at all,

I remember reading about a lot of lockups in the first year or so of the R5, but not much lately. Did it get fixed with a firmware update or was a cause (such as an incompatible memory card) ever found?

Aug 15, 2023 at 03:56 PM

armd
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · R5 Reliability

The author of the account had tremendous angst over the ordeal and some of the personalization was inevitable. It is frustrating when one purchases an expensive item which doesn't live up to perceived expectations. Personally, I never had an issue with my R5's, R3, or R7 apart from some early "freezes" with the R5 and RF lenses when using a SD card. That resolved when I switched to CFE and/or subsequent FW updates. I appreciate the obsolescence which is inherent in these products though when one considers the complexity of the cameras in terms of design and engineering, it is rather remarkable that the failure rate is so low.

Aug 15, 2023 at 04:16 PM

stanj
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · R5 Reliability

Mike_5D wrote:
I remember reading about a lot of lockups in the first year or so of the R5, but not much lately. Did it get fixed with a firmware update or was a cause (such as an incompatible memory card) ever found?

It got better. I still have lockups for instance when shooting long exposures (5-30s) at night, bracketing (5 or 7 frames, 2s timer, let it take all the photos in sequence automatically). Often it will just freeze and I have to pop the battery and start over. Was annoying at Sydney Vivid. Otherwise, in general it's very good although I did have to pop the battery once or twice during summer vacation. Not a big deal, nor am I looking for a pattern at this point to be honest. Just dealing with it.

Aug 15, 2023 at 04:40 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · R5 Reliability

I've used at least 7 R5s now and about 280,ooo frames mostly mechanistical. Most of them were rentals that had a lot of miles already. I can't speak to reliability, but IME the imaging system is quite durable with so many frames and not failing yet. Of course I usually take 2-3 R5s in case of damage or failure. I had a few lockups in 2021 Q3, but none with later firmware.

The problem with these articles is that there is no data on percentage of failures and causes. If you had to find a 45MP camera without any defects it will be impossible. Most failures are caused by water or impact damage IMO.

EBH

Aug 15, 2023 at 05:29 PM

artsupreme
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · R5 Reliability

Aug 15, 2023 at 05:30 PM

G Lavaty
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · R5 Reliability

I had a lot of lock-ups early on and they got less frequent with the various firmware updates but I still get them occasionally. I just stopped talking about them because I just accepted that occasional lock-ups are a way of life with the R5. My R7 and R8 have yet to lock up on me so I figure that is a good sign for the future.

I find that the R5 is quite robust. I’ve used mine quite often in bad conditions and a lot around salt water and it’s taken the abuse gracefully. I’m actually quite impressed with the build quality of Canon cameras.

Mike_5D wrote:
I remember reading about a lot of lockups in the first year or so of the R5, but not much lately. Did it get fixed with a firmware update or was a cause (such as an incompatible memory card) ever found?

Aug 15, 2023 at 05:41 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · R5 Reliability

EB-1 wrote:
I've used at least 7 R5s now and about 280,ooo frames mostly mechanistical. Most of them were rentals that had a lot of miles already. I can't speak to reliability, but IME the imaging system is quite durable with so many frames and not failing yet. Of course I usually take 2-3 R5s in case of damage or failure.

The problem with these articles is that there is no data on percentage of failures and causes. If you had to find a 45MP camera without any defects it will be impossible. Most failures are caused by water or impact damage...Show more →
artsupreme wrote:
Curious why you use mechanical most often?

Actually I don't, but lots of hummers in 2021-2022-early 2023 plus some other fast critters. Lately I use EFCS a lot and lump it together with MS for sake of this "wear and tear" discussion. ES produces the worst images at low ISO, so it is necessary to be careful about the exposure and DR. You have to live with ES for focus bracketing at low ISO, but >500MP there are some noise and DR benefits simply due to the sheer MP. I use ES on large animals most of the time since they don't look wonky like the fast movers.

EBH

Aug 15, 2023 at 05:44 PM

Jeff Nolten
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · R5 Reliability

Thanks everyone! Your responses so far are what I've expected. The R5 is not perfect but really no different in general build and durability that all the other Canons I've been using these last 20 years. If there had been an obvious problem posters would have been ragging about it.

I've not seen this.

Mine has worked fine so far. I had one heat warning signal in the viewfinder while in Morocco but it didn't affect stills. I was surprised to see the article talking about the viewfinder hanging by a wire and the other mechanical failures. Never seen anything like this in any of my bodies. But then I don't throw my bodies in the sand when not using them.

Aug 15, 2023 at 07:42 PM

nmerc_photos
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · R5 Reliability

For awhile I owned 3 or 4 R5 bodies at a time. Main purpose of having multiple was different angles and lenses of time lapse for aurora.

Over the two years I was an R5 owner I took over 400,000 pictures (a little over 12TB) with them. Didn't really mess much with video.

Every single one of them failed at one point or another with the error 70, which I'm told by Canon is a motherboard error. ~$350 repair after Canon CPS discount. So for me it was not a matter of "if" one of the bodies would experience it, but "when".

There was only one time when it negatively affected anything. I was on a trip to Iceland and only had 2 bodies with me, and one became completely unusable for time lapses and had to be sent in for repair upon return. For the rest of them, usually popping the battery out was enough of a reset to keep it going.

That being said, I put my equipment to the test in freezing temps, rain, hail, etc. and other than error 70 I never had any issues.

At the current prices of $2,000 - $2,500 for a used R5, I find them to still be the best value photography body offering amongst any of the current manufactures. If you're mainly into videography, I think there are a host of better options especially given all the overheating issues, recording limitations, etc.

As always, it's just a tool in the toolkit.

Aug 15, 2023 at 10:29 PM

robert_in_ca
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · R5 Reliability

I had an R5 for over a year and in that time I made a couple of trips with it to Tanzania, Costa Rica, Utah and Florida. I had zero issues whatsoever with it. A year ago I sold it to a friend who is a profession fashion photographer who works with a few major brands and she's had zero issue with it as well. If I were to shoot Canon again I wouldn't hesitate getting an R5.

Aug 20, 2023 at 12:39 PM


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