Johnnie Behiri, a documentary cameraman/editor/producer/director, and co-owner of Cinema5D, took a Canon EOS R6 out in the field to shoot a mini-documentary. As you watch the video, bear in mind that this is a pre-production ‘almost final’ unit, so Canon would have tweaked things a bit by the time a production unit is available. Bottom line: He is very frustrated with the ‘worse than what you can imagine’ 4K overheating issue.
The Canon EOS R6 is a great camera by all accounts, with one caveat: The 4K video overheating issue is taking a larger-than-life proportion. So, let’s all take a step back and remember that ALL mirrorless cameras (even cameras in smart phones) have a 4K video overheating issue. In the case of the Canon EOS R5/R6, we know that the 4K time limit is about 20 – 30 min. (less than the 30 – 40 min. printed). Though 20 min may be adequate for shooting one scene (out of many), it’s the time necessary for the camera to cool down enough for shooting the next scene that adds to the frustration.
Overheating during 4K video shooting has been a serious source of frustration for photographers/videographers. It’s not that Canon did not print the correct information, it’s just that they may have praised the EOS R5/R6 video capabilities too highly without mentioning the overheating issue — hence the unrealistic expectations, disappointment and resulting annoyance.
Interestingly, Sony is announcing the A7S III next week (Tuesday, July 28 at 10am EDT) and is hinting that its camera will have no overheating (apparently because of a new ‘passive (noise free) cooling system’ using a weather-proofed vent), and therefore no 4K video filming time limit. That would be a major good news, and let’s hope they did not overstretch the facts here.
I have a suspicion that other review sites are highliting the Cinema5D review for a purpose: They have found the same frustrating overheating issue and do not want to be the first reviewer to bring out the bad news. Let Cinema5D be the first and we’ll “confirm.” Some camera manufacturers have the reputation of being especially unforgiving to independent reviewers posting anything even remotely negative about their cameras. Reviewers have to be very careful how they word things (if they want to continue receiving samples for reviews), so you sometimes have to learn to read between the lines.