The Canon R5 No Longer Overheats

When the Canon R5 was first released in 2020, it was limited to recording at 4K 60fps for only 38 minutes. Almost two full years later, after a series of firmware updates, the Canon R5 no longer overheats!

Canon users rejoice.

As a Canon user for over 10 years, I’ve been on the receiving end of endless jokes about out how both the R5 and R6 overheat. The overheating has been so bad, that on several occasions I’ve been caught mid-shoot and had to make an excuse to my client, while I wait for my camera to cool down. It’s been so bad that I’ve had friends switch their entire camera system and lenses from Canon over to Sony just so they could record 4K video without the fear of their camera shutting off.

Firmware 1.6.0 introduces a new “High Temperature” setting inside the camera that allows the camera to keep recording far beyond what was possible previously. I tested it, and was able to drain a full battery recording in 4K 60fps, which is something I could never do before. Canon gives you a warning when you switch into the High Temperature mode that the camera may get hot to the touch, and it does! But to find out exactly how hot, watch the full video below:

So far the results are promising. I was able to shoot a full 12-hour wedding on the new firmware (mostly in 4k 60fps) without any signs of the camera getting hot or shutting down. By contrast, the other videographer I was shooting with had his R5 set to the old firmware, and for a period of time during the day had to shutdown his camera and wait for it to cool-down.

Admittedly, I’m not someone who plans on recording 4K 60fps for 2 hours straight, but if I ever need to, it’s nice to know I have a safety net. Going forward I’m curious to see if the high heat setting has any detrimental effects on the longevity of the R5.

Now we just need Canon to remove the pesky 30-minute record limit!