How Do You Unlock the Controls on a Canon R5? (Easy Guide)

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The Canon EOS R5 has a control lock button on the top of the camera. This allows users to lock and unlock the full controls of the camera to be used when it is necessary.

This control button is more widely known as the ‘Multifunction-Lock’ button. It locks most of the controls of the camera. It is tricky because it is not made of a switch but rather a push-down button so users don’t know if the controls are locked before they look at the screen of the camera.

This article will focus on How do you unlock the controls on a Canon r5? when it is locked.

Canon EOS R5 Overview 

The Canon EOS R5 is a full-frame mirrorless camera from Canon. It is a premium choice for the enthusiast as well as professional photographers. 

It is listed at the price of $3900 for the body only but there are options for a kit 24-105mm to be paired with it which shoots the price up to $5000.

The camera packs a punch with features and delivers excellent images and video. It has a 45-megapixel Full-Frame CMOS sensor with up to 12fps continuous shooting. The camera is 8k capable so it also pleases the taste buds of the videographers.

Ever since Canon released their 5D II, they have paved the way for cinematography with regular DSLRs to be capable enough. The Canon R5 has also brought improvements and many changes to the Canon camera lineups.

Buttons on the Canon R5

This camera comes with a lot of buttons and paths for optimation. Most of the buttons can be reprogrammed to suit the needs of the most eccentric photographer.

The camera is almost similar to the first generation of the Canon R camera. Let’s take a look at the button configurations of this camera.

(source: mirrorless comparison)

The buttons are marked as how they would operate on default settings. These buttons can be customized to set different settings for them.

The only button not marked is the ‘LOCK’ button which is the topic of this discussion.

(source: Photographylife)

The lock button here is the one that restricts controls of different settings. This button enables users to lock or unlock certain or most settings and change them or keep them locked at a certain amount.

How do you unlock the controls on a Canon r5?

As shown in this video, this button disables the dials, multi-control or touch inputs to prevent accidental operation or setting changes. By default, the lock button will lock the two quick control dials and the lens’ control rings. 

What controls these button locks can be further customized through the ‘Multifunction lock’ setting on page four of the settings page here. The lock button’s function is not changeable.

(source: Points in Focus)

The top screen as well as the LCD screen will show a lock signal when the controls are locked.

(source: Points in Focus-left | T&C Northrup-right)

To unlock the controls simply pressing the buttons will be enough and the signal will go away giving the user access to change the settings. When locked the main dial will work but all the other dials and buttons will not work. 

Some users have reported that the controls get stuck at locked and they are unable to unlock it at all. This may happen because of the button being broken inside or for firmware reasons. 

A quick firmware upgrade or flash reset may help get rid of the problem. If not then the button needs to be changed or serviced.

What’s the point of a lock button?

Most pro users don’t usually lock their controls as they need to switch between different modes and settings for their photographs. But a lock button can help on some occasions.

If a user doesn’t want their settings to be changed because of bumps or accidents then this button comes in quite handy. 

This is most prevalent in sports or wildlife photography as there is little time between shots and a sudden change in settings may very well destroy one of their best photographs.

Also, since the button’s lock function can be limited to one or two features it doesn’t hurt to set it to a function that users don’t change very often or like to stick to a fixed amount.

FAQs.

What is a ‘Multi-function lock’?

Ans: It is a lock that prevents the dials and controls such as the main dial, quick control dial and multi-controller from changing settings by accident.

What does exposure lock mean?

Ans: It is setting the exposure amount to a certain number and locking it so it doesn’t change when the dial is rotated.

What is the AE lock on the Canon camera?

Ans: Exposure lock and AE lock are the same things.

How do I turn off the AE lock on the Canon camera?

Ans: The locked exposure can be turned off by pressing the AE lock button or the general lock button again. The AE lock can be set to hold for a certain amount of time. After that time passes the lock automatically turns off and the exposure is reset to take in new numbers.

Can you use AE lock in manual mode?

Ans: The exposure is already locked through a manual aperture and shutter speed controls. The different scenes will not affect the AE as the aperture is set to a fixed amount.

How to lock the focus on Canon cameras?

Ans: Pressing the shutter button halfway to focus will lock it on a still object. The focal length gets fixed at that exact distance and will not change until the button is released.

Conclusion

This feature that Canon has implemented creates more hindrance to new users who are unaware of this feature. There are many cases where new users cannot change their settings because of this.

Overall the lock button has its uses that come in handy. Unlocking settings is as easy as pressing the button again when it locks functions.

I hope this article helps you to unlock the settings of your Canon EOS R5.

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