ERROR 20 on Canon R5

Hi everyone.

Has anyone experienced this? I have, and it's massively annoying.
I still believe it's a software glitch more than a mechanical thing, but I wold like to get more opinions on board.

https://support.usa.ca​non.com …actory%20Servic​e%20Center.

More user input here:

https://www.reddit.com …381bj4/error_20​_canon_r5/

thanks, man. I am aware of what Canon says, but it's just so generic that it does not help.
I am going through the Reddit link, appreciated you sharing that.

OK, been through that Reddit link.
I confirm one of my suspicions, and that is that the battery might be the culprit. I have tried like 6 of them, but none is new.

Being the camera a true power sucker... could that be? I could try to buy a brand-new battery and see if that changes anything.

There's also this very, very strange fact. Essentially the more you use the camera the lesser the ERROR 20 appears.. to the point I had zero warnings during a recent trip.

But if you let sit idle for days, it's definitely greeting you at boot.

Got the camera out and took more shots during the weekend!.
Again, no errors when you turn it off and on in a short span of time and sometimes not even the next day.

I really can't figure this out

Hey,
I have exactly the same error 20 phenomenon in my eos R5 camera,
I thought it was because of a battery, so I purchased a new original battery, but the error 20 continues exactly the same,
it only happens when the camera is first turned on and only when the camera has been unused for several days,
I think it started after the last update of the firmware number 1.8.1, but I'm not sure,
I don't want to send it to Canon for repair, they will open the camera and replace the shutter And in the end the problem will not be solved,
I don't know what to do yet, waiting for maybe another firmware update that will fix it the problem.
I have a feeling it's a software problem and not hardware.

Hey man,
thanks for your message, I am in the same boat.. kinda trouble shared, trouble halved!
I was glad to learn you tried to replace the battery, because that was next for me.
Got 6 LP-E6N batteries but they're not that fresh so I thought... could it be that?
Feeling the same as you, don't want to send it in becuase I feel it's not a hardware issue but more of a software one.
Like you said,when the camera is in costant use, there's no issue and that makes you wonder.
I am definitely puzzled and torn on what to do next. Again like you said, maybe just sit and wait for the next firware update?

I'm not convinced it's a software problem - otherwise almost everyone with a R5 (me included) would be really screaming.
Might be a silly question, but if you leave the lens off for a few days does the problem occur? (don't know what lens you have)

I tried with the EF 24-70 F2.8 lens with an original Canon adapter
and also with the new RF 24-105 F4 lens and both the problem remains.
I think it's software and not hardware because it started right after I did a firmware update to 1.8.1.

Hey Joseph,
I can see your point but I believe it might be the combo of the 2. Let's say a certain software version with a certain hardware version.
I mean machines go through different hardware batches, and Canon might have changed their shutter mechanism down the line.

I feel some R5 had prone-to-fault shutter hardware, and Canon realized as much... but kept quiet. They're more than happy to see your machine serviced and make $$$?

In terms of lenses, man... I have all the lenses in the world, Canon and not-Canon, but that does not make any difference.
Leaving the lens off does not eliminate the problem, regretfully. The error happens when the camera is not used for a few days and you boot it up.
At the following reboots, no issues. Weird as ever.

Have you tried reflashing the firmware with the one that did not have an issue? I know that it’s possible, or at least was.

Hey guys,
some updates here.

So I had the chance to use the R5 pretty much every day for 3 weeks. Few ERROR 20 annoyances during the 1st week, but then... NONE. I mean literally zero. I think this rules out the firmware, or software, issue. The problem is totally mechanic, or hardware related.

I think it has to do with some lubricant in the shutter mechanism getting stiff when the camera is not in use? I can't be sure of that, but it seems the most plausible explanation. Thing is Canon would rather have the part entirely replaced, likely with a Gen 2 shutter mechanism, then go for a simple fix.

Thank you very much for the update,
I still get ERROR 20, on the first turn on of the the camera,
I noticed that if I change the camera menu that when the camera is turned off the shutter will remain up, so the error20 does not appear.

hey there,
Not sure I follow, how would you change the menu when the camera is off? There are no physical dials for that.
However, going by your suggestion, the shutter could be completely blocked. There is an option in the menu for that, I think it relates to using the electronic shutter only.