Canon has made it known that heating issues place limitations on video recording with its new EOS R5 and R6. However, as Johnnie Behiri of Cinema5D has pointed out in his new ‘First Look’ video, the practical impact is ‘completely different’ than you might expect, from seeing an estimated capture time on paper.
To test out his pre-production EOS R6 camera, Behiri shot a mini-documentary in Japan titled ‘Never Say No.’ While the mini-doc, which is sandwiched inside the ‘First Look’ video, looks fantastic, capturing it wasn’t nearly as great an experience as Behiri was hoping.
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| A screenshot from the video showing what the camera's display looks like after the unit overheats. |
Behiri starts the video by saying that he had hoped to report back on the in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and autofocus capabilities of the EOS R6, but that those features ended up taking a backseat to the limitations created by overheating while shooting.
‘When you see [the time limitations] on paper and experience it in the field, it’s completely different,’ says Behiri. While he shot most of the mini-doc at 4K/24p, he at times had to resort to shooting footage at 1080/24p so he could get the footage he needed after his EOS R6 unit overheated. He even went so far as having to use fans and bags of ice to cool his camera down.
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| A still image Behiri shares in the video showing his attempt to cool off the camera using a household fan. |
Wrapping up his experience with the pre-production EOS R6, Behiri says ’It’s a tool [and] on one hand it has a lot of useful features and really nice features [but] on the other hand, [those features are] a bit meaningless because you can’t work with the camera and execute what you want.’ He effectively summarizes his experience with the camera saying that 'instead of controlling the camera [...] the camera controls you.' He says ‘it will overheat badly and you don’t know how long it will be until you can shoot again.’
'Instead of controlling the camera [...] the camera controls you.'
Behiri shared an accompanying blog post on Cinema5D that further dives into his experience with the camera. While he was happy to report that its autofocus ‘worked like a treat’ most of the time and he appreciated the camera’s articulating screen, that’s where the positives end. He notes rolling shutter was ‘horrendous’ during his time filming and ultimately concludes that the camera is ‘not working for [him].’
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| Even a bag of ice (which we don't suggest you use on your unit) failed to keep the camera shooting, even at 4K/24p. |
While this was a pre-production unit, Behiri notes Canon representatives told him it was ‘almost final.’ He was also shooting pretty much the exact type of assignment you’d expect the EOS R6 to be perfect for and the weather in Japan, although warm at around 82 degrees F, was far from extreme.