p.1 #1 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
Two days ago I made an online order of an R5 Mark II for pickup at my local brick-and-mortar camera retailer where I have purchased nearly $15K of gear in the last 2.5 years. Later that day I received a message that the camera was in stock and I could pick it up at my convenience. Yesterday afternoon I picked up the camera and when I got home a couple of hours later I open the box, put the battery in the charger and plugged the charger into a wall outlet. I then had to leave for a while, and when I returned several hours later, the battery was charged, so I put it in the camera. I then turned on the camera, adjusted the diopter, and started customizing the settings. I had only gotten through a couple pages of menu when I realized it was bedtime (I needed to get up early today), so turned the camera off and heard the sound when it closed the shutter. While I was closing the back screen in preparation for putting the camera back in the box, I heard a noise like the shutter opening, and found that the camera had turned on. I looked at the power switch, and it was still in the off position, even thought the camera was on. I experimented with the camera for some time, moving the switch to the on position and then back to the off position, reset the camera to factory settings, switch between stills and video mode, opened and closed the back screen, all multiple times. I found the sometimes moving the power switch to the off position sometimes turned the camera off and sometimes didn't. In addition, even if the camera turns off, sometimes opening or closing the back screen or moving the stills/video switch, and sometimes just moving the camera causes it to turn on. Finally, I learned that just touching the power switch when it is in the off position after turning the camera off causes the camera turn back on, which leads me to believe the power switch is defective.
This morning, I took a phone video that demonstrates the problem:
It starts at 2:30. In case your German is subpar, the guy says that the camera started taking pictures during the night while it was switched off. The footage starting at 3:30 is similar to your experience.
p.1 #3 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
I took the camera back to the store yesterday, shortly after I posted my original message, and told them there was a problem. They asked me to show them the issue, and when I put the battery in the camera (I had removed it for obvious reasons) with the power switch in the off position, the camera immediately powered on. When I showed them that the camera was on even thought the power switch was in the off position, they immediately agreed there was a problem and that they would have to return the camera to Canon. Fortunately, they had another R5 Mark II in stock, so I left the store with a new R5II. They did ask to see my receipt, but I was in and out of the store in 5 minutes. I've been busy, so I didn't have time to try the replacement camera until a couple of hours ago, but it appears to turn on and off (and stay off) normally.
This kind of customer service is a perfect example of why I started patronizing a local brick-and-mortar camera store (Mike's Camera, Menlo Park) 2.5 years ago, but it was the first time I had to "test" their customer service, so I certainly had some anxiety and didn't sleep well the night before I returned it.
p.1 #4 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
That's the way it should be, and unless the product shows signs of abuse they give you a refund/replacement and just return it to Canon for credit. Then it will be repaired and sold as a nice refurb.
p.1 #5 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
EB-1 wrote:
That's the way it should be, and unless the product shows signs of abuse they give you a refund/replacement and just return it to Canon for credit. Then it will be repaired and sold as a nice refurb.
EBH
Yup, but I've never gone though the experience before, so it was a little nerve wracking. I would also hate to have to deal with this situation if I had bought mail-order. It's definitely reassuring to me to be able to talk face-to-face with someone.
p.1 #6 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
Just wanted to elevate/revive this thread as I just got my 2nd R5ii body (soon to be returned/exchanged) which suffered from what vbnut posted in his original post above. Slightly applying pressure to the power selector switch (without turning it to Lock or On) can randomly power on the body. My first R5ii did not suffer from this. Wanted others to be aware in case anyone purchases an R5ii (mine came with 1.0.1 firmware) recently and experiences this behavior. I am not prepared to say it affects a lot of cameras, but it definitely affects at least two, so it's not a unique flaw.
p.1 #8 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
vbnut wrote:
Thanks Carlo. It's good to know that it has happened to more than one camera. I hope your return/exchange experience goes as smoothly as mine did.
The return was super smooth and they're rush delivering a replacement to me tomorrow.
What I don't know is:
1) Did this affect an entire run/batch of R5mk2
2) If it did, will the next replacement be from that same batch?
I've already decided that if the next one comes from the warehouse and exhibits the same problem, I'm going to go through Canon for a warranty fix rather than keep playing the "return/reorder until I get a working one" game.
But if I get a third and it's the same issue, we'll know it affected a batch.
p.1 #10 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
dcisive wrote:
Guess I'm glad I may have dodged that bullet. Mine never did such behavior
My first one doesn't either. But it's weird that this second one had exactly that same behavior. I'm really crossing my fingers that this next one is from a different batch.
Out of curiosity @vbnut do you remember what firmware your defective camera came with? I know that s/n would be an easier way to tell if it was from the same batch, but I didn't keep track of the s/n of the camera I just returned. My perfectly operating R5ii came with 1.0.0 (which was glitchy as all get out, but that's another story, and subsequently has been super stable with 1.0.2 and 1.0.3). So I will take that as an older batch since the firmware was the original revision, and the 1.0.1 was a newer batch (I see you started this thread in March 2025 and the one I bought arrived on May 6 2025, but who knows how long it sat in the warehouse).
p.1 #11 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
My R6 once just started taking pictures while it was sitting on a shelf. Had to remove the battery. Only did it once and has been good ever since, no recent seizures either which happened a few times when new.
p.1 #12 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
Carlo_M wrote:
My first one doesn't either. But it's weird that this second one had exactly that same behavior. I'm really crossing my fingers that this next one is from a different batch.
Out of curiosity @vbnut@ do you remember what firmware your defective camera came with? I know that s/n would be an easier way to tell if it was from the same batch, but I didn't keep track of the s/n of the camera I just returned. My perfectly operating R5ii came with 1.0.0 (which was glitchy as all get out, but that's another story, and subsequently has been super stable with 1.0.2 and 1.0.3). So I will take that as an older batch since the firmware was the original revision, and the 1.0.1 was a newer batch (I see you started this thread in March 2025 and the one I bought arrived on May 6 2025, but who knows how long it sat in the warehouse)....Show more →
I don't remember for certain, but I see that I have the eosr52-v102-win.zip firmware bundle on my computer, which means I must have downloaded it so I could install it (1.0.2 is what is currently installed as 1.0.3 has nothing that interests me, and seems to cause AF issues for some folks). I expect that means my camera came with 1.0.1
p.1 #13 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
That behaviour seems inherent in the power switch system they use. I had this happen to RP (not as new, but later) and I've seen similar reports of R7. They really should get this problem fixed.
p.1 #14 · Newly purchased R5 Mark II has defective power switch
J.K.T. wrote:
That behaviour seems inherent in the power switch system they use. I had this happen to RP (not as new, but later) and I've seen similar reports of R7. They really should get this problem fixed.
I hadn't heard it was a widespread problem but I also had a huge ownership gap from the 7D to the R6ii (then traded in for an R5ii) so I'm far from the Canon product line expert.
I will say that when I was googling for what could be the problem, I didn't find a lot of references to this issue outside of this thread (ironically) popping up in the search. So if it is widespread, people are sitting on that information vs. putting Canon on blast for using a power on switch/dial that is prone to glitchiness.
I did decide on one thing. If the replacement today suffers from the same thing, not only will I deal with Canon directly vs. ordering a third and praying, but a local store has Canon reps on site for a three day event. I'll actually take my camera (again, only if it's defective) to the store and politely ask the Canon rep what is up with this issue and see what he/she says.
Tracking says it's "out for delivery" as of a couple of hours ago, and so my wait begins. Sadly this shipping company doesn't provide the vehicle GPS location like Fedex and UPS sometimes do.
