Canon has confirmed that an autofocus defect that's led to some of its Canon EOS R5 C cameras being recalled in Australia isn't a global problem and only affects a "small number" of units.
Canon Australia recently reported in a public notice that said some EOS R5 C digital cinema cameras had an autofocus defect that meant "the camera may repeatedly go in and out of focus in movie mode". This meant anyone who'd received an affected camera on or before March 21 would need to organize return or replacement.
We contacted both Canon UK and Canon USA to find out of the problem could be more widespread and affect the EOS R5 C outside Australia, and the good news is that, according to Canon, it isn't.
In a statement, Canon UK said: “A manufacturing defect has been detected in a small number of EOS R5 C cameras. This issue has now been resolved and will have no impact on units to be delivered in the EMEA [Europe, The Middle East, and Africa] region.”
Fortunately, it's a similar story in the US, with Canon USA telling us that "Canon Americas EOS R5 C units were updated and corrected before distribution within the territory.”
So, if you live outside Australia and have been coveting Canon's latest video camera, which is effectively a fan-cooled version of the Canon EOS R5 C, you can still forge ahead without any concerns about its autofocus. Well, if you can find it in stock – the camera is currently out of stock in the UK, and only available for pre-order in the US ahead of a planned shipping date of April 4.
Analysis: A small blip for a big hybrid camera
The minor nature of the Canon EOS R5 C's autofocus issues is good news for one of the camera giant's biggest launches of the year, as it could scarcely afford a major recall.
The launch of the Canon EOS R5 was blighted by overheating issues that were subsequently improved by firmware updates, although some of these problems were in part down to unrealistic expectations of what's possible from a relatively compact mirrorless camera.
The EOS R5 C, which swaps the EOS R5's in-body stabilization for fan-cooling, shows the kind of heat management that's required for continuous 8K video recording. And it promises to shoot 8K/25p raw internally for an impressive 50 minutes, or 4K/50p video for 35-40 minutes.
Given it's such a video-focused camera, the EOS R5 C could have been derailed by a major focusing issue in movie mode, but that fortunately only affects a small number of units in Australia. All it has to do now is negotiate the chip shortages that have blighted most mirrorless cameras so far this year.
- Check out our guide to the world's best video cameras
