R5c Rumors Collect, Timeline Pushed Out

Just a few weeks after the Canon R5 launched in July, Canon Rumors and Canon Watch were fed rumors of a video-oriented version of the 8k hybrid shooter. They called it the R5c as a best-guess name. Canon shooters will recall that was at the height of the dyspeptic reaction among some video shooters (and seemingly all YouTubers) regarding the R5’s non-optimal heat management. The thinking then was that a low-megapixel version of the R5 would surface with a Sony A7s III-style resolution and much more attention paid to the heat envelope.

After September, chatter quieted down, especially so after a firmware upgrade improved the heat management, and some time had passed to allow even hybrid shooters to realize they didn’t often shoot for very long in the few video formats that caused heat problems. In the intervening months, Canon launched the C70, a ~10 megapixel, super-35 sensor video camera in the body of a DSLR, looking for all the world like husky R5.

More recently, Canon Rumors reports it has been hearing more of a “video R5,” that would have the same sensor, but more active cooling, even rating it the site’s highest level of reliability. This theoretical camera wouldn’t come out until next year, although it could be announced at the end of 2021.

That Canon might have a variant of the R5 come out about 2 years after the first doesn’t sound like much of a stretch. The rumors had more sizzle when they implied the cameras were in the offing. That it would have better cooling seems also seems a given. That it would have the very same sensor might be a disappointment to gearheads of the future who will then likely be over-worrying about keeping up with competitive offerings.