p.12 #1 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Do you happen to have the power profile of the Kraster compared to the Canon LP-E6P?
IME the generiacs often have weaker BMS that sag more under load and/or cut out earlier at lower loads.
It looks like the Kraster are requiring a ridiculous shipping fee, so I cannot access them so easily.
p.12 #2 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Bliz wrote:
Wildlife mostly. I take the battery out of the camera and into the chest pocket of my puffy coat when not shooting which is a real problem. Im not noticing much of an extended life doing so either.
Regardless of the type of camera or batteries I use, I buy a box of Little Hotties on sale every year at Costco.
Not only can I put them in mittens, socks, and pockets, but I can easily use an elastic band to secure them under the bottom of the camera.
If using a battery heater for your battery heater at -30 to -45 degrees, why would you not do the same with camera batteries
A cold battery heater is a device that warms automotive or deep-cycle batteries in cold weather to maintain performance, improve cranking power (CCA), extend life, and speed up recharging by combating the chemical slowdown and potential acid stratification in frigid temperatures, using types like silicone pads (under battery), wraps (around), or blankets that plug into an outlet, keeping them above freezing.
p.12 #3 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
EB-1 wrote:
Do you happen to have the power profile of the Kraster compared to the Canon LP-E6P?
IME the generiacs often have weaker BMS that sag more under load and/or cut out earlier at lower loads.
It looks like the Kraster are requiring a ridiculous shipping fee, so I cannot access them so easily.
EBH
You can also buy them through Amazon.
Their site does not offer any details about peak power output. I checked Neewer's 'P' version and it peaks at 6A whereas the original Canon 'P' does 8A, IIRC?
p.12 #4 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
EB-1 wrote:
Do you happen to have the power profile of the Kraster compared to the Canon LP-E6P?
IME the generiacs often have weaker BMS that sag more under load and/or cut out earlier at lower loads.
It looks like the Kraster are requiring a ridiculous shipping fee, so I cannot access them so easily.
EBH
I got mine through Amazon prime, it was quick.. I did not compare the specs, but on field , the Krasters lasted longer for me !
p.12 #7 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Imagemaster wrote:
You may not, but as I said, keeping any battery in any camera as warm as possible improves its performance. And I have shot at -30 to -40 degrees.
Noted. When I must have both bodies I will find a similar solution.
p.12 #8 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Just to add an other data point, I used my R5 mk2 for more than three hours this morning, -15 Celsius with some wind. Mine seems to work as good as my original R5, no problem at all.
p.12 #9 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
gilles.t wrote:
Just to add an other data point, I used my R5 mk2 for more than three hours this morning, -15 Celsius with some wind. Mine seems to work as good as my original R5, no problem at all.
How old is it (the first three digits of the serial number)? Current firmware?
p.12 #10 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
rscheffler wrote:
How old is it (the first three digits of the serial number)? Current firmware?
Oups! Forgot to mention that I bought this body a month ago, current firmware. Serial number starts with 155…
LP-E6P battery alone, without battery grip.
The body was exposed to wind, mounted on EF 500 f4 ii hanging from Black Rapid strap, so out of the bag for 190 min walk in field exposed to wind chill factor of -21 Celsius, -15 Celsius on thermometer at begining of session, -11 at end of session.
p.12 #11 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
gilles.t wrote:
Oups! Forgot to mention that I bought this body a month ago, current firmware. Serial number starts with 155…
LP-E6P battery alone, without battery grip.
The body was exposed to wind, mounted on EF 500 f4 ii hanging from Black Rapid strap, so out of the bag for 190 min walk in field exposed to wind chill factor of -21 Celsius, -15 Celsius on thermometer at begining of session, -11 at end of session.
It's from the same production month as the one I just got.
p.12 #13 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
thedutt wrote:
are the newer versions performing better or is it just the latest firmware that makes the difference?
No idea. Just trying to gather as much information about as many variables as possible.
In my case, the cameras I initially used were serial numbers starting 144 and those had high/fast battery drain in many different situations and would have had firmware current with the time frame of late 2024 through mid 2025, though I think I skipped 1.0.2 or 1.0.3, whichever was alleged to have worsened AF. The one I have now is serial number 155 with fw 1.1.1 and it has worked well, though I have not yet used it in extreme cold weather or across a wide range of situations.
p.12 #14 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
One other detail I can add, I came home with approx 1100 frames on the card, no pre-capture, 30 fps, mostly following a pair of white brested nut hatch and a wood pecker feeding, hopping from branch to branch, a red tail hawk in flight and a flock of pine grosbeak also feeding, so a lot of hand held shooting with IS and AF working hard to follow the action. Battery was still showing full on the top display screen. I was not quick enough to retract my big mitts thumb finger cover to have access to my second back-button for wide area focus, so I mostly misted the hawk despite my best effort to get it. But that is an other story. A frozen thumb could not have gotten it either.
p.12 #15 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I performed a quick experiment with my R5 mkii this weekend during a very cold Christmas Bird Count. Temps were about 8 F (-13 C) with moderate winds. I started with two fully charged LP-E6P batteries that are less than six months old. I used one of them to shoot and I left one exposed to the elements. After 25 minutes I had taken about 500 images using ES until the battery in camera was completely dead. Following this, I inserted the battery that was exposed to the elements and it read 10% life remaining. Obviously, the cold temperatures were having the predictable impact here.
However, After getting back home and allowing the batteries to come back to temperature, the battery I shot with remained dead. The "control" battery recovered and read 85% life remaining.
My firmware is up to the version prior to the most recent update. I think it's obvious there are still cold temperature issues going on with this system. Temperatures have really been fluctuating this season in my area. I hope to do some more shooting in subzero conditions in the coming weeks.
p.12 #16 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Just another data point, I used the R5II with RF600f4, 2x extender and FW 1.2.0 to photograph birds this morning. Temperatures started in the lower teens and it warmed up to the lower 20s (Fahrenheit). I used the grip with two fully charged LP-E6P batteries, electronic shutter at 30 fps and pre-capture turned on. I took about 5300 images and the batteries were at 36% at the end of the session.
p.12 #17 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
As I mentioned above, if there's any way to decipher this mystery everyone is going to have to include R5II serial number, Battery date code, and firmware version to see if there's any common denominators. I haven't tested my R5II's in the cold yet, but here's a few battery date codes I have sitting in front of me:
2024 PEW 0522 A
2024 PEW 0509 A
2024 PEW 0529 A
2024 PEW 0517 A
There just might be a combo of SN, date code, and firmware that will crack the code.
p.12 #18 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
The LP-E6P I have are:
1x 2025 PEW 0616 A
3x 2025 PEW 0428 A
All were acquired a couple weeks ago.
I no longer have access to the cameras/batteries I previously used when I had issues. But at that time I didn't notice any obvious performance difference between Canon LP-E6P and NH across a range of conditions. They all sucked (in that camera).
I recently did a 3-hour indoor 'room temperature' event and while battery endurance wasn't as good as what I experienced in the freezing-point football game a couple weeks ago, in respect to shots per charge, it wasn't a 30fps action-packed marathon. Battery endurance appeared to be similar to what I would typically get with the R6II. In contrast, this type of event with the previous R5II, with serial number starting 144, would have seen significant drain.
