ISSUE: EOS R6 'freeze' glitch.

I was taking photographs at night with a tripod a few nights ago and my EOS R6 camera froze up immediately after taking a photograph. The buttons and touch screen were frozen. Nothing worked. I had to turn the camera off and then back on again to reset it.  The other reports I have seen required the battery to be removed and then reinserted.  I seem to have lost the image I had just taken. No bursts. No absurdly high ISO. No long exposures because I was shooting in a well lit carpark and wanted to replicate my visual experience.
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The camera froze up on the 6500th JPEG image (since purchase).
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SETTINGS:   JPEG | 85mm | ISO 2000 | f/2.8 | 1/25sec | Mech-Shutter
MEMORY CARD:  Sandisk ExtremePro SDXS 128GB UHS-II 300MB/s
EQUIPMENT: EOS R6 + RF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens on a Manfrotto Tripod.
NOTES 1: Ambient Temperature was 20C. 
NOTES 2:  SD card was Low Level Formatted before use.
BATTERY: 89%
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Just thought I'd mention it here since others may have encountered a similar glitch. It's often good to make a note for others to be aware of any potential issue.  I do recall at least two members with R5s mentioning their cameras seized up briefly but that they had to remove the battery to get it to reset. I can't say I've had this happen with any other digital camera before.  I took 315 pictures on that day and there was no problem afterwards, nor the following day.
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I had experience this issue couple of times, but my analysis says that's because the card was nearing full. I have taken about 2k pictures in the card without clearing it (not in a single day). So it hanged. I had to switch off/on the camera and eventually replace the card with another empty one. But never faced freeze issue otherwise.

OEM battery?

btango05 wrote:

OEM battery?

Absolutely. I won't use a non-Canon original battery in my cameras (mainly for the potential for risk during recharging).  This was the same LP-E6NH battery that shipped with my R6.

Are all images retained or are some/many deleted from the card using the camera   delete image(s) function?

My guess would be a glitch in the RF lens communication. The camera sending a command to the lens and waiting for an expected response that never arrives.

Just my guess.

I think it is the Sandisk ExtremePro SDXS 128GB UHS-II 300MB/s, that freeze the cam.

I have a R5 and the some Scandisk Card.

I changed it into a Sandisk 64 GB UHS-I Card. Since i have changed the card, no more freezing.

penums wrote:

I think it is the Sandisk ExtremePro SDXS 128GB UHS-II 300MB/s, that freeze the cam.

I have a R5 and the some Scandisk Card.

I changed it into a Sandisk 64 GB UHS-I Card. Since i have changed the card, no more freezing.

The new R6 requires a UHS-II 300MB/s card if you want to shoot video or use high bursts for say wildlife or action shots.   I sure wish the UHS-1 cards were "ideal" because it would save me hundreds of dollar.  Those UHS-II cards aren't exactly cheap.

This MAY be a contributing factor:
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When my freeze occurred, I was standing at the base of a really MASSIVE communications tower.  In fact, I took this picture just seconds after my freeze.  My friends, who were with me at the time, told me that the large signs around the carpark warned that this location affected the remote controls of many cars security systems when parked where I was standing.  Now if I remember correctly, another member here or on Facebook commented that their iPhone/Smartphone could always see their EOS R5/R6 camera, even when the camera was supposed to be turned off.  This makes me wonder if my location added to my problem.
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I had to turn off my phone and unplug my Philips HUE indoor lighting system after taking this picture with the EOS M6.  It's only 4 inches across.  High Frequency emissions from the EHT generator were enough to mess up my home lighting system until I unplugged and then restarted it.  A massive 20 inch sphere with a more powerful power supply just 4 feet further away has no impact.

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I was photographing a tiny 4 inch wide plasma ball the other day with the R6 (which was not a problem at the time) but the Philips HUE lighting system I have was thrown for a loop from the EMF coming off the plasma ball... resulting in me having to deactivate and reset the system to get it to work properly again.  I also remember that Canon feels transformers and especially neon transformer and neon lights can interfere with Canon digital cameras.  Might be worth noting if there's a connection between these glitches and transformers or WiFi receivers/outputs.
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I once had a Canon PowerShot G1X camera fail to lock focus because I was standing with my back to a power supply to a Neon Sign on top of a food truck.  I couldn't tell if it was the flickering pulse of the neon signage or the high output generator next to me.
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R6 + RF 85mmL - My freeze took place last week when I was standing here... in a "dead zone" where interference affects the security devices on cars parked below it.  Microwave and High Gain antenna cover the entire building - which sits atop a mountain overlooking the city.

I know this is not what is causing the lock ups for others, but one thing that will lock my R5 every time is trying to focus the camera using the Canon Camera Connect app.  It doesn't matter if I drag the focus point around, or use the AF button.  Every time I focus, it locks the camera up.  I've tried connecting a phone and a tablet and neither one works.  If I focus using the camera, I can take all the pictures I want using Camera Connect, as long as I don't try to focus.  When the camera freezes, I get an Error 70 message.

Marco Nero wrote:

I was taking photographs at night with a tripod a few nights ago and my EOS R6 camera froze up immediately after taking a photograph. The buttons and touch screen were frozen. Nothing worked. I had to turn the camera off and then back on again to reset it. The other reports I have seen required the battery to be removed and then reinserted. I seem to have lost the image I had just taken. No bursts. No absurdly high ISO. No long exposures because I was shooting in a well lit carpark and wanted to replicate my visual experience.
.
The camera froze up on the 6500th JPEG image (since purchase).
.
SETTINGS: JPEG | 85mm | ISO 2000 | f/2.8 | 1/25sec | Mech-Shutter
MEMORY CARD: Sandisk ExtremePro SDXS 128GB UHS-II 300MB/s
EQUIPMENT: EOS R6 + RF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens on a Manfrotto Tripod.
NOTES 1: Ambient Temperature was 20C.
NOTES 2: SD card was Low Level Formatted before use.
BATTERY: 89%
.
Just thought I'd mention it here since others may have encountered a similar glitch. It's often good to make a note for others to be aware of any potential issue. I do recall at least two members with R5s mentioning their cameras seized up briefly but that they had to remove the battery to get it to reset. I can't say I've had this happen with any other digital camera before. I took 315 pictures on that day and there was no problem afterwards, nor the following day.
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I do a lot of Astro photography and specifically Astro timelapse. In recent years its been EOS 5D Mk2 and 7DMk2. I upgraded recently to an R6, and I'm loving the low light performance and the simplicity of focussing in almost pitch dark.

However I have a serious issue very similar to your report above which is affecting my ability to take overnight time-lapses reliably. I use external PD power and also an external intervalometer. I also use qDslrDashboard for ramping control for longer time-lapses including sunset and sunrise.

My problem is that in cold weather I suspect below about 10-12'C (50f) the camera is randomly switching off and is completely un-responsive until the power is removed and the battery removed and re-inserted. The time between these lock-ups can be a few minutes or a few hours.  Canon have had the camera back for testing and found no problem, but their 'tests' were not valid as they did not use the same set-up. Any suggestions gratefully received. The setup works flawlessly on my DSLRs.--

Cymro
https://www.youtube.com/user/TomYnysMon

T0M0S wrote:

I do a lot of Astro photography and specifically Astro timelapse. In recent years its been EOS 5D Mk2 and 7DMk2. I upgraded recently to an R6, and I'm loving the low light performance and the simplicity of focussing in almost pitch dark.

However I have a serious issue very similar to your report above which is affecting my ability to take overnight time-lapses reliably....

My problem is that in cold weather I suspect below about 10-12'C (50f) the camera is randomly switching off and is completely un-responsive until the power is removed and the battery removed and re-inserted. The time between these lock-ups can be a few minutes or a few hours. Canon have had the camera back for testing and found no problem..

I just saw a video on YouTube that describes what you were experiencing (see video below)... only it applied to the EOS Ra camera.  This suggests to me that a Firmware Fix is needed for all R cameras to prevent this.  I've heard of this freeze taking place on the EOS R, EOS Ra, EOS R5 and EOS R6.   In every instance, Canon asks the owner to send their camera PLUS lens for testing.  This is frustrating due to the inconvenience and amount of time involved.  Here's the video I mentioned:
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I had similar issues just 2 day ago when I shoot my friend's wedding. All just normal and the camera froze. The card reading lamp lit though that is why I think the problem is with my sdxc. I must remove the battery since the power off button didn't work.

I use Lexar 128GB 2000x, that's a top spec but it seems poor in performance. I bought it on a reputable store if anyone wondered.

BirdShooter7 wrote:

frankd53 wrote:

BirdShooter7 wrote:

penums wrote:

I think it is the Sandisk ExtremePro SDXS 128GB UHS-II 300MB/s, that freeze the cam.

I have a R5 and the some Scandisk Card.

I changed it into a Sandisk 64 GB UHS-I Card. Since i have changed the card, no more freezing.

I don’t think it’s the mem card. I’ve gotten lots of lock ups while not actually taking photos at all. I found that they occurred MUCH less frequently when IS on the lenses was turned off though even with it turned off once in a while I would get a lock-up. Usually it happened when I was actively focusing on a subject using animal eye AF. If I would sit on it for a long time (a minute or more) the camera would sometimes freeze. This was a different type of freeze than the IS one. In this case the image would be frozen in the viewfinder and the camera would be unresponsive for several seconds (seemed like 15-20 seconds but I never timed it exactly) and then the camera would power down and reboot on its own and work normally. The IS freezes typically but not always required battery removal. Anyway I REALLY hope that a firmware comes soon to address these issues. When that happens I’ll order a R6.

I have this exact issue highly intermittently on my R6. After acquiring focus (animal eye tracking mode) , the shutter does not fire, and the preview of the shot I missed stays in my viewfinder. The camera is unresponsive at that point. After 30 seconds or so it either frees up or I power off and on. I am using the EF-RF adapter as I have only EF lenses. Anyone know whether a firmware update to fix this has been released yet?

I’m still seeing it once in a rare while with firmware 1.31 but it is MUCH less often. The firmware does seem to have helped a lot.

I have seen it once pre-latest 1.31, haven't seen it since.