p.3 #2 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
rickatfrillerdotcom wrote:
I tested the batteries, both the old and the new batteries and the camera has a problem with both the old and new batteries. If you go back to my initial couple of posts on this topic, I explain how we determined the problem and which cameras and batteries were tested when we experienced this issue.
Sorry - I thought I had read most of the comments but I obviously missed that.
p.3 #3 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I have also not used it with a battery grip and I would agree that this does not seem to be a battery issue but a camera issue. It would still happen even if I used a fresh warm battery. In my case I tried 4 different new batteries in two different camera bodies and would get the error.
p.3 #5 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
rickatfrillerdotcom wrote:
we didn't have a thermometer in the field with us, but it was definitely freezing. Sorry to not have a specific cut-off temp for you.
p.3 #6 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I know this topic has already seen enough attention, but I'm wondering if there is a status report on a fix. I'm heading to a coupla very cold places this winter. Any word from Canon?
UPDATE:
I wrote Canon and provided a link to this thread.
They replied:
"When Canon becomes aware of an issue that may affect a consumer product, a Service Advisory will be published on the Consumer Support page for that product. Per review, this is not a known issue for the EOS R5 Mark II camera.
Regarding third party websites, since we cannot verify the accuracy of that information, we are unable to comment on the information they provide. We can only verify and comment on information that Canon provides through our website.
The operating temperature for this camera is 0 – 40°C or 32 – 104°F with 85% or less humidity."
I don't know if that is actually physically true or if a bunch of lawyers made that up to avoid future liability. I've used full frame Canon pro bodies since 2002, and quite a few different models. I wonder what temp range was stated for Canon DSLRs? I often photographed in temps below freezing, Most of them were DSLRs with mechanical components (mirrors, shutters). The R5 cameras really don't have any moving parts other than knobs, wheels, buttons, and the card slot door (or the mechanical shutter if you use it).
I've already invested big $$ in workshop fees and airfare to some wonderful and cold places this winter. I sure hope I'm lucky.
p.3 #7 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
The Canon cameras have always worked well below their published "operating tempurature" Hope that is true of R5 mark II. Otherwise I've got an expensive paper weight.
p.3 #8 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Jeffrey wrote:
I know this topic has already seen enough attention, but I'm wondering if there is a status report on a fix. I'm heading to a coupla very cold places this winter. Any word from Canon?
UPDATE:
I wrote Canon and provided a link to this thread.
They replied:
"When Canon becomes aware of an issue that may affect a consumer product, a Service Advisory will be published on the Consumer Support page for that product. Per review, this is not a known issue for the EOS R5 Mark II camera.
Regarding third party websites, since we cannot verify the accuracy of that information, we are unable to comment on the information they provide. We can only verify and comment on information that Canon provides through our website.
The operating temperature for this camera is 0 – 40°C or 32 – 104°F with 85% or less humidity."
I don't know if that is actually physically true or if a bunch of lawyers made that up to avoid future liability. I've used full frame Canon pro bodies since 2002, and quite a few different models. I wonder what temp range was stated for Canon DSLRs? I often photographed in temps below freezing, Most of them were DSLRs with mechanical components (mirrors, shutters). The R5 cameras really don't have any moving parts other than knobs, wheels, buttons, and the card slot door (or the mechanical shutter if you use it).
I've already invested big $$ in workshop fees and airfare to some wonderful and cold places this winter. I sure hope I'm lucky. ...Show more →
I think this is an issue that could be fixed with firmware update. Eg if it works after swapping batteries out, it is likely a firmware quirk. Rumour is that canon is going to do a firmware update to let r5II work better with older batteries albeit with lessor performance. I am hoping that this firmware update fixes the problem because it sounds similar.
I pointed this issue out to the "Ordinary Filmmaker" Reviewer. He responded that he was going to test. I was hoping that he would take up this issue and put some pressure on Canon but he lives in Vancouver where it's not very cold, so maybe he has not been able to find it.
It's cold here now - close to zero and snowing - I will be testing soon. But I like all, am concerned that Canon might be slow to fix this. My past cameras eg 7d, 7dii, 5dii, 5diii, 5dsr, R5, R8 have all worked, well below 0c to even -40c.
But the response you got is insulting/inadequate given that r5 worked well down to -40c for an hour or more for me. Yes, they are only guaranteeing to 0c but past performance has been significantly better and other brands perform in lower temperatures. They will fix this if it becomes known as an issue. Its not clear if their response is i) its a one off and until we get more reports we won't look into it, or ii) we are looking into but we don't want to promise anything.
p.3 #9 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I can confirm a variation on this issue.
Yesterday while shooting a college football game, I was switching back and forth between R3 and R5II. Temp was in the mid forties (F). I noticed a few times that when waking the R5 from sleep there was a black screen with white text and all I caught was the word battery before I reflexively did another partial shutter press and it woke up, fully functional. This happened three times and each time, I was more interested in getting on the play than looking carefully at the message on screen.
But it prompted me to do a test today. Here is what I found.
While out doing yardwork (temp again in the mid forties). I brought the R5II outside with a fully charged battery. I took a couple shots and then just left it - for a couple hours. After that time frame, the camera would not wake up from its sleep. It displayed the "charge or change battery" message in red with and empty battery symbol. No additional shutter activity would wake it, nor would switching on and off. I then removed the battery, reinserted it and the camera came on fully functional. AND, the battery showed 92% charged.
p.3 #10 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
bcd80 wrote:
I can confirm a variation on this issue.
Yesterday while shooting a college football game, I was switching back and forth between R3 and R5II. Temp was in the mid forties (F). I noticed a few times that when waking the R5 from sleep there was a black screen with white text and all I caught was the word battery before I reflexively did another partial shutter press and it woke up, fully functional. This happened three times and each time, I was more interested in getting on the play than looking carefully at the message on screen.
But it prompted me to do a test today. Here is what I found.
While out doing yardwork (temp again in the mid forties). I brought the R5II outside with a fully charged battery. I took a couple shots and then just left it - for a couple hours. After that time frame, the camera would not wake up from its sleep. It displayed the "charge or change battery" message in red with and empty battery symbol. No additional shutter activity would wake it, nor would switching on and off. I then removed the battery, reinserted it and the camera came on fully functional. AND, the battery showed 92% charged.
Good to know. I don't have the camera, otherwise I would try it, but wonder if disabling the sleep function would avoid this problem?
Jeffrey wrote:
I know this topic has already seen enough attention, but I'm wondering if there is a status report on a fix. I'm heading to a coupla very cold places this winter. Any word from Canon?
UPDATE:
I wrote Canon and provided a link to this thread.
They replied:
"When Canon becomes aware of an issue that may affect a consumer product, a Service Advisory will be published on the Consumer Support page for that product. Per review, this is not a known issue for the EOS R5 Mark II camera.
Regarding third party websites, since we cannot verify the accuracy of that information, we are unable to comment on the information they provide. We can only verify and comment on information that Canon provides through our website.
The operating temperature for this camera is 0 – 40°C or 32 – 104°F with 85% or less humidity."
I don't know if that is actually physically true or if a bunch of lawyers made that up to avoid future liability. I've used full frame Canon pro bodies since 2002, and quite a few different models. I wonder what temp range was stated for Canon DSLRs? I often photographed in temps below freezing, Most of them were DSLRs with mechanical components (mirrors, shutters). The R5 cameras really don't have any moving parts other than knobs, wheels, buttons, and the card slot door (or the mechanical shutter if you use it).
I've already invested big $$ in workshop fees and airfare to some wonderful and cold places this winter. I sure hope I'm lucky. ...Show more →
Not the R5II, but here's an example: the EL-5 flash was released in early June 2023. I noticed pretty quickly that if I left the battery in the flash that it would lose a lot of charge relatively quickly (like within a few days to a week or so). Just recently Canon released a Service Advisory for this flash for a hardware fix. And it only covers units within a certain serial number range. So a bit over a year later, there's finally official acknowledgement that there was a problem.
I suspect with the R5II, if it's a firmware fix, it will be included in a future update without much fanfare. But if it requires a hardware fix, it will probably take a lot longer, likely because they'd have to devise a solution, test it to confirm it actually fixes the problem and figure out how to provide support for all the cameras that are already in use.
p.3 #11 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
The Ordinary Filmmaker has reported on the issue. He says that he has heard many complaints but cannot replicate it. He asked others to report their issues to him.
p.3 #12 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Scott Stoness wrote:
The Ordinary Filmmaker has reported on the issue. He says that he has heard many complaints but cannot replicate it. He asked others to report their issues to him.
Why people follow this guy? He is a joke just reporting things that he finds on various forums, crystal ball reader, and claims it is his stuff.
p.3 #13 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
action99 wrote:
Why people follow this guy? He is a joke just reporting things that he finds on various forums, crystal ball reader, and claims it is his stuff.
He is testing and reporting on this issue, when no one else is. Absence his attention, I don't think Canon will fix this issue promptly.
p.3 #14 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I wish there had been any new or valuable date in that vid. Nothing's new. And he claims that 35 to 40˚F is cold. No, sorry, that is NOT cold. I'll be photographing owls in Canada in January. Do I have to tell him how cold it will be then?
p.3 #15 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
action99 wrote:
Why people follow this guy? He is a joke just reporting things that he finds on various forums, crystal ball reader, and claims it is his stuff.
Then we should close google.com ad all news agencies as per your logic.
He works hard and bring us the information.
Not everyone has time to surf the internet to get information from different sources. He does research and combines all the information to those busy people.
Nothing to be blamed, quite good.
p.3 #16 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
7*F in Alaska today. 3 batteries dead in around 150 shots. You can't do multi day winter trips with this camera. Who is this camera for? Warm weather environments or where you have power readily available every day.
p.3 #17 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Bliz wrote:
7*F in Alaska today. 3 batteries dead in around 150 shots. You can't do multi day winter trips with this camera. Who is this camera for? Warm weather environments or where you have power readily available every day.
Hopefully there's some settings you can change to improve that battery life in the cold. As far as warm weather environments, I just spent a bunch of time in Indonesia in the hot/humid weather and I was not impressed with my R5II battery life either. I did not have precapture turned on, so maybe I missed some settings somewhere or maybe it's just more of a battery hog than the R5.
p.3 #18 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
artsupreme wrote:
Hopefully there's some settings you can change to improve that battery life in the cold. As far as warm weather environments, I just spent a bunch of time in Indonesia in the hot/humid weather and I was not impressed with my R5II battery life either. I did not have precapture turned on, so maybe I missed some settings somewhere or maybe it's just more of a battery hog than the R5.
Clearly. Yes, I have power saving adjustments made beyond what I would prefer for screen shutdown, camera shutdown, brightness, etc. in an effort to preserve power. It would seem to me that there is more going on with these batteries but I am just frustrated by being hand cuffed in what I can do.
Edit* No pre recapture.
p.3 #19 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Bliz wrote:
7*F in Alaska today. 3 batteries dead in around 150 shots. You can't do multi day winter trips with this camera. Who is this camera for? Warm weather environments or where you have power readily available every day.
Please provide details.
In how many hours?
Were the 3 batteries charged near 100% at start?
Which batteries?
Was it landscape or wildlife?
Did you check battery(s) after to see that it was really discharged, or just the issue identified above (false sensing of low battery)
If landscape, did you leave it to sleep on the tripod as per the reports above?
Did you try the reinsert the low batteries to see if came back?
If wildlife (or landscape), did you have precapture on? Precapture effectively means that the camera is continually taking pictures when pressed 1/2 down - continually drawing on battery.
p.3 #20 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I have been following this thread because I replaced my R5 with a R5 MKII and I am concerned that it won't operate this winter when photographing Short Eared Owls and Snowy Owls .
Today I used my MKII in 21F temperature using two batteries in the BG-R20 battery grip and didn't have any issues. Camera was outside for 2 hours. This is the lowest temperature that i have used the camera in so far.
