Hot,hot,hot!

[Dave Williams]

I decided 2022 would be my year of travel to make up for the lockdown years that preceded and consequently in my pursuit of wildlife photography I have already visited Cuba,Cyprus, Spain and Bulgaria so far this year. The latter two were largely 'pro hide(blind)' set ups with extended periods of sitting around waiting for the action. As the weather warmed up so did the camera...my R5.
To me, the biggest weakness of the R5 is the wake up time. From hitting the shutter button to being in a position that the camera can autofocus takes an age and there is every chance you will miss the action in the process. Consequently keeping the camera awake is important.
Much has been said about battery life but I have found it not to be of any real concern. I maximise the life of each one I own by having the LCD closed and using the EVF for virtually everything in addition to turning off some power consuming features within the menu systems. I have rarely needed a third battery during a days shooting using electronic shutter which produces far too many images on occasion but continues at 20fps right to the end of the battery before it is dead.
To reduce weight when I travel I only took my heavy Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head on one trip, and likewise my EF 500f4 and didn't use it much when I did. The RF 100-500 is my go to lens now and you don't need a tripod for that by and large. The only exception is when stealth is important and any movement of suddenly sticking a lens through an opening might cause your subject to take flight! The longer length of the 500mm f4 was also needed to protrude slightly beyond the opening of the floating 'Hydro Hide' I used in Spain and the Wimberley head alone was used to mount the camera lens combination.
So, back to the main issue. The camera overheating which it did with alarming regularity especially as the weather got warmer during my last two trips. It tended to happen later on during the day, during enclosed hide photography and hand holding the R5/lens combination. It's a frustration having to stop shooting, remove the battery and wait for a while in the hope the camera cools down.
I'm wondering if shutting the LCD screen exacerbates the heating as well as holding the camera for much of the time. That combined with keeping the R5 almost constantly awake and taking shots at 20fps doesn't help although I have a feeling that using CRAW rather than full RAW reduces the heat from image transfer to the camera card.
My next trip is to a likely chilly Scottish island for a week, all outdoors and no hides. it will be interesting to see how I get on.
After that I am off to Africa for a few weeks and that is likely to me much warmer despite it being winter there.
I really don't want to miss the shots but have this dilemma about overheating. I really need a back up camera which I have always had in the past. I regret selling both my 1DX2 and 5D1V within a short space of time as I decided I can't happily switch from one format to another.
I was hoping the R7 might be the answer but looking at the layout of the camera it's not as intuitive once you are used to the three dials on the R5 which control the three main features I use in M mode.
The R3 is both expensive and lacking in MP's. The R6 I worry about resolution too. Another R5 just seems a ridiculous expense to be a stand by camera when the first one gets hot!
Decisions, decisions!
In the meantime any suggestions to avoid heating are ironically warmly welcomed!!

 

[RedCobra]

In terms of boot up time from off: I have found it is CFe card dependent. Both my R5s boot up slower with the Angelbird 512GB card than with my other cards. (Prograde 128GB)
With regard to overheating, neither of my R5s has locked up since upgrading to FW 1.5.2.Are you talking all stills, or are you shooting video as well?

 

[Dave Williams]

I'm using a Sony Tough 128GB CFexpress card which is pretty fast. I have the latest 1.5.2 firmware and don't shoot video. It was more a case of the overheating red warning light coming on than the camera locking up which it has done occasionally but not very often, possibly not since the firmware update.

 

[RedCobra]

I'm using a Sony Tough 128GB CFexpress card which is pretty fast. I have the latest 1.5.2 firmware and don't shoot video. It was more a case of the overheating red warning light coming on than the camera locking up which it has done occasionally but not very often, possibly not since the firmware update.

You need to reset the C3 custom setting in the video menu to a lower rate. The default for video from still is Video C3 and if set too high you will get the warning even though you are only shooting stills. It's just telling you that if you wanted to shoot video you could not. Or, you can just ignore the warning and keep shooting stills. This is a known issue.

 

[RedCobra]

I'm using a Sony Tough 128GB CFexpress card which is pretty fast. I have the latest 1.5.2 firmware and don't shoot video. It was more a case of the overheating red warning light coming on than the camera locking up which it has done occasionally but not very often, possibly not since the firmware update.

You need to reset the C3 custom setting in the video menu to a lower rate. The default for video from still is Video C3 and if set too high you will get the warning even though you are only shooting stills. It's just telling you that if you wanted to shoot video you could not. Or, you can just ignore the warning and keep s

You need to reset the C3 custom setting in the video menu to a lower rate. The default for video from still is Video C3 and if set too high you will get the warning even though you are only shooting stills. It's just telling you that if you wanted to shoot video you could not. Or, you can just ignore the warning and keep shooting stills. This is a known issue.

Further. The boot up speed has nothing to do with the speed of the card. It's dependent on the firmware the card uses. My r5s bootup in less than 1 second with the prograde card.

 

[Dave Williams]

You need to reset the C3 custom setting in the video menu to a lower rate. The default for video from still is Video C3 and if set too high you will get the warning even though you are only shooting stills. It's just telling you that if you wanted to shoot video you could not. Or, you can just ignore the warning and keep s

Further. The boot up speed has nothing to do with the speed of the card. It's dependent on the firmware the card uses. My r5s bootup in less than 1 second with the prograde card.

Interesting stuff, thanks. I have just checked and my video is set at 1929x1080 25.00fps so it's as low as it will go but would record in ALL-I for 2 minutes 59 seconds. If I change it to IPB light it would record for 22 mins 29 seconds. Are you suggesting that would prevent the heating warning light coming on? In fact is it warning that the camera will overheat but only in video? If it's actually warning the camera is too hot is there a risk of damaging it?
All the video terms are alien to me!
I have just checked the camera for start up and realised it was now set up with the video mode in C3 so have turned it back to how it was, pure M with no video. If that was the case my first question is surely answered that it's not a warning if I switch to video but that the camera is actually too hot.

 

[Dave Williams]

So, back to start up from sleep and it probably is around a second before the AF kicks in..seems like an age compared to my DSLRs and in fact in electronic mode you have missed the first 20 frames of action! I guess it depends on what you are trying to capture I suppose.

 

[JayAy]

In terms of boot up time from off: I have found it is CFe card dependent. Both my R5s boot up slower with the Angelbird 512GB card than with my other cards. (Prograde 128GB)
With regard to overheating, neither of my R5s has locked up since upgrading to FW 1.5.2.Are you talking all stills, or are you shooting video as well?

Angelbird cards need to have their firmware updated - which requires the Angelbird card reader. Once you have the updated firmware on the cards themselves, you will find the boot times very fast.

 

[Tim Mayo]

So, back to start up from sleep and it probably is around a second before the AF kicks in..seems like an age compared to my DSLRs and in fact in electronic mode you have missed the first 20 frames of action! I guess it depends on what you are trying to capture I suppose.

It certainly sounds like you have lots of adventures planned this year Dave! I normally have my power off disabled and the display/viewfinders set to go off after 10 minutes. It probably drains the battery a little more but I'd rather carry an extra battery than wait for the camera to wake up. My R5 froze just this morning whilst shooting for around 20 minutes, and it's not even that warm today! I'm using the latest firmware as well. There are definitely still some glitches. As for a second cam that's a difficult one. The R7 would be a good option if you could get used to the control differences, otherwise two R5's would make switching seamless if the budget allows.

 

[RedCobra]

Angelbird cards need to have their firmware updated - which requires the Angelbird card reader. Once you have the updated firmware on the cards themselves, you will find the boot times very fast.

Yeah, I already have two card readers. I have reached out to AB about sending the card in for an update with no results.

 

[Dave Williams]

It's partly budget but more about justification really. How often do you really need to have two camera and lenses set up ready to go? The answer is probably not a lot for most people. A zoom such as the 100-500 covers a big area especially with 45mp's to play with and you don't need to fill the frame with the subject when you can crop, especially if it's just for personal use or the web.
My biggest fear would be the camera coming to grief and having no back up, especially when I'm on holiday in Africa and in the middle of nowhere. The R7 is not what I hoped for really so I'm left with the R3 or R6 because although having two bodies the same is seamless there is no gain either. The R3 has to perform better but the lower MP's are a worry although they didn't bother me too much when I had the 1D series cameras, it's a lot of money though and would involve extra expense of CFexpress cards too. The R6 on the other hand looses on most counts except the money!

 

[RedCobra]

It's partly budget but more about justification really. How often do you really need to have two camera and lenses set up ready to go? The answer is probably not a lot for most people. A zoom such as the 100-500 covers a big area especially with 45mp's to play with and you don't need to fill the frame with the subject when you can crop, especially if it's just for personal use or the web.

Unless you are in a bad environment with a lot of dust and wind.

 

[Dave Williams]

The Kruger in October was really bad for dust, especially when a vehicle travelled past in the opposite direction but I still took my TC off and put it back on when I needed .I don't get too worried about dust on the sensor if I'm quick and careful. Ever since in built sensor cleaners have been in the camera I haven't had any problems.

 

[JayAy]

Yeah, I already have two card readers. I have reached out to AB about sending the card in for an update with no results.

Check their downloads for updated firmware. it's easy to update the cards.

 

[RedCobra]

Check their downloads for updated firmware. it's easy to update the cards.

It's not easy if you don't have their card reader. It's not possible unless you have their branded card reader. I have a Prograde reader and a Sandisk reader. Neither work.

 

[JayAy]

It's not easy if you don't have their card reader. It's not possible unless you have their branded card reader. I have a Prograde reader and a Sandisk reader. Neither work.

Yes, I stated you need their reader and I misinterpreted your email "I alreday have two readers" to mean you had two Angelbird readers. So easy for misunderstandings to happen in online communications. I hope you get a favourable resolution.