p.6 #1 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I was out in cold temperatures all day today (13 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit). The batteries seemed to be draining very fast. I didn't get any kind of error message, just the red blinking symbol for almost dead batteries. Based on this thread I checked them after they warmed up. One still had about 1/3 power and the other said 52%. I hope this is a firmware issue. I never experienced this with my R5.
p.6 #2 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
The high temperature was 19 F today and I photographed for a couple of hours using the battery grip and pre-capture, and had no issues at all. This is with firmware 1.0.2, the batteries drained faster, which is not unexpected. I left the camera and batteries in the trunk of the car for a few more hours and got back when it was 12 F. The camera was still working fine after that time. Interestingly, I could not charge the cold batteries right away in the camera or with external charger and got an 'err' message, and had to wait about 30 minutes before they warmed up a bit and then charged normally.
p.6 #3 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
From the recent posts, it appears that the R5II works in the cold. So either the complaints were one of's or setting related or the new firmware update fixed it.
p.6 #4 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I think it depends on what you think is cold. I've worked at -20F in yellowstone's lamar valley and sub zero in other locations. The reported +19F is not that cold that I needn't worry about lower temperatures. I spend part of the winter in the Colorado Mountains. In winter in Yellowstone, as do many, I leave the camera equipment in the trunk and just take in the memory card and batteries for recharging and downloading. It keeps the camera cold soaked so I don't need to worry about condensate or other issues as it warms or heats up. I've photographed the northern lights from Fairbanks. The average winter low there is -17F.
p.6 #5 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I had a chance to test my Mk II last night and early this morning at the lowest temperatures so far this season in my area. I didn't take any pictures. I just left the camera outside in the on position and would check every 15 minutes to see if camera would wake up without error.
Last night I placed a gripped MkII with (2) batteries in the camera outside in the on position for 2 hrs. Temp was 7* F and fell to 5* F. I checked camera to see if it would wake up every 15 minutes. At 1 hrs 45 minutes the camera woke up with 80% battery capacity. Batteries were fully charged at start. At 2 hrs camera woke up and (1) battery was at 65% and the other was at 0%. I pulled batteries from camera leaving camera outside and warmed batteries up wrapped in a heating blanket for 10 minutes. Placed warmed up batteries in cold camera outside and batteries showed 98% capacity.
This morning when I woke up my backyard Temp was minus 1*F. I only had an hr to test. I checked to see if camera would wake up every 15 minutes for 1 hr. After 1 hr in minus 1*F and both batteries showed a charge of 82%. I couldn't leave camera outside at that temp for longer because I had to go to work. Checking both batteries later in the day once warmed up and both show 98%.
p.6 #6 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Flowernut wrote:
I think it depends on what you think is cold. I've worked at -20F in yellowstone's lamar valley and sub zero in other locations. The reported +19F is not that cold that I needn't worry about lower temperatures. I spend part of the winter in the Colorado Mountains. In winter in Yellowstone, as do many, I leave the camera equipment in the trunk and just take in the memory card and batteries for recharging and downloading. It keeps the camera cold soaked so I don't need to worry about condensate or other issues as it warms or heats up. I've photographed the northern lights from Fairbanks. The average winter low there is -17F....Show more →
I think everybody in this thread is simply sharing their experiences in the environment they encounter in order to be helpful.
In your case it might be prudent to bring a camera that worked reliably in the past and bring new equipment to test it and see if it works.
p.6 #7 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Anthonymt wrote:
I had a chance to test my Mk II last night and early this morning at the lowest temperatures so far this season in my area. I didn't take any pictures. I just left the camera outside in the on position and would check every 15 minutes to see if camera would wake up without error.
Last night I placed a gripped MkII with (2) batteries in the camera outside in the on position for 2 hrs. Temp was 7* F and fell to 5* F. I checked camera to see if it would wake up every 15 minutes. At 1 hrs 45 minutes the camera woke up with 80% battery capacity. Batteries were fully charged at start. At 2 hrs camera woke up and (1) battery was at 65% and the other was at 0%. I pulled batteries from camera leaving camera outside and warmed batteries up wrapped in a heating blanket for 10 minutes. Placed warmed up batteries in cold camera outside and batteries showed 98% capacity.
This morning when I woke up my backyard Temp was minus 1*F. I only had an hr to test. I checked to see if camera would wake up every 15 minutes for 1 hr. After 1 hr in minus 1*F and both batteries showed a charge of 82%. I couldn't leave camera outside at that temp for longer because I had to go to work. Checking both batteries later in the day once warmed up and both show 98%....Show more →
Thanks for relaying this information. It is getting down to the kind of temperatures I'm concerned about. Interesting results. I may have to go back to using a battery grip which I've not done in years. As suggested by others, for now I may want to travel with something as a back up. I've little experience with R cameras at very low temperature for long periods. A lot of experience with the SLRs but it means carrying at least some duplicate lenses or leaving all the new R lenses at home and concentrating on EF with and without a converter depending on body.
p.6 #9 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Zero centigrade today (32F) and this happened with both P and NH batteries in a grip on my R5M2. When I reset the camera so it didn't go to sleep for something like a half hour the problem seemed to abate. It looks a lot like it is a awakening sleepy head issue. I'm going to chase up with CPS this week because, frankly, for what this damn thing cost it should work better previous generations.
p.6 #10 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I haven't experience temps as cold as when I had the issues since that time. It's been warm here in South Central Alaska. Generally in the 20's F and above.
p.6 #11 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I had the issue in cold weather by -3 Celsius. After 20-30min on a tripod without any action the R5mk2 went off. A spare battery out of my pocket didn’t work. The R5 on the second tripod had no problem.
I updated to FW 1.0.2, changed some points in the menue like Ecomode for viewfinder from 3min to off.
Now I was yesterday and today outside by -3 and -8 Celsius for 2.5h with the camera. I had just one camera with me, so it was always on, I took a lot of pictures and there was no long period without action. As the battery drained out after 2h and 1000 pictures with foxes it showed the red battery sign in the viewfinder and the spare battery worked as it should, no error or blackout.
p.6 #12 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Spent the day shooting in temps -2C to 0C yesterday, which was second day in a row of shooting at these temps. Had 1 occurrence where the camera would not wake from sleep mode. Interestingly the playback button worked so I could view previous pics. Switched off, removed the battery pack from the grip and put it back in. All back to normal after that. Was using EF500F4LIS Lens at time of issue occurring.
I think the camera had been in sleep mode for over 30 mins when I encountered the issue.
p.6 #13 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Today I took out my R5 II with 3 fully charged LP-E6P batteries. Temperature early with windchill was about -17 degrees C. After walking around for 1 hour and 15 minutes I got the red replace battery warning I had taken 5 images. Replaced the battery with a new one. Walked around for an hour and checked 2 bars showing again about 5-10 images. Ten minutes later I got the warning replace the battery. Installed the third battery ( it had started to warm up a few degrees with the sun out, After an hour and 180 images I was down to 1 bar. I put the dead batteries in the pocket of my down jacket and will insert them back in the camera when home and warmed up to check what the battery charge is. This is crazy.
Tomorrow it is supposed to be about 2 degrees warmer and I will take out my R5 with LP-E6NH batteries and compare the results.
After the camera/batteries returned to room temperature I inserted each battery back into the camera. The first two which only been used for about 5 images each showed 39 percent life. The third battery that had taken about 170 images showed 20 percent life.
p.6 #16 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I had the a similar issue yesterday, and scrambled to upgrade the firmware late night before heading out again to shoot; Battery life was pathetic, making my R5II unusable. This is using the grip, and the camera chewed through 4 batteries in less than 2-3 hours of shooting. Warming up didn’t help much.
If you have not done so, upgrading to 1.02 mitigate the issue much better. I spent a good few hours shooting today in cold temperature (15/25F or -9/-4C), shot for a good 4-8 hours and the batteries mostly lasted. Once I rested my first set for a couple of hours after they went to 1 bar/red, they were good to go at 2 bars for a good 1-2 hours. I am using super tele lenses, with preshooting,so there is that.
R5 on the other hand, was a champ. I never thought I would be singing praise of R5 batteries. Out in the field, it has been frustrating because I really do need the preshoot & AF or R5II, but it does not last the full day even with 4 batteries fully charged. On top of it, if the camera is cold, it wont charge using USB charger cable either!!! So I cannot charge it in the field when not in use!! (While driving, I don’t turn the heat on the to avoid issues).
Dave_E wrote:
Today I took out my R5 II with 3 fully charged LP-E6P batteries. Temperature early with windchill was about -17 degrees C. After walking around for 1 hour and 15 minutes I got the red replace battery warning I had taken 5 images. Replaced the battery with a new one. Walked around for an hour and checked 2 bars showing again about 5-10 images. Ten minutes later I got the warning replace the battery. Installed the third battery ( it had started to warm up a few degrees with the sun out, After an hour and 180 images I was down to 1 bar. I put the dead batteries in the pocket of my down jacket and will insert them back in the camera when home and warmed up to check what the battery charge is. This is crazy.
Tomorrow it is supposed to be about 2 degrees warmer and I will take out my R5 with LP-E6NH batteries and compare the results.
After the camera/batteries returned to room temperature I inserted each battery back into the camera. The first two which only been used for about 5 images each showed 39 percent life. The third battery that had taken about 170 images showed 20 percent life....Show more →
p.6 #17 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
thedutt wrote:
I had the a similar issue yesterday, and scrambled to upgrade the firmware late night before heading out again to shoot; Battery life was pathetic, making my R5II unusable. This is using the grip, and the camera chewed through 4 batteries in less than 2-3 hours of shooting. Warming up didn’t help much.
If you have not done so, upgrading to 1.02 mitigate the issue much better. I spent a good few hours shooting today in cold temperature (15/25F or -9/-4C), shot for a good 4-8 hours and the batteries mostly lasted. Once I rested my first set for a couple of hours after they went to 1 bar/red, they were good to go at 2 bars for a good 1-2 hours. I am using super tele lenses, with preshooting,so there is that.
R5 on the other hand, was a champ. I never thought I would be singing praise of R5 batteries. Out in the field, it has been frustrating because I really do need the preshoot & AF or R5II, but it does not last the full day even with 4 batteries fully charged. On top of it, if the camera is cold, it wont charge using USB charger cable either!!! So I cannot charge it in the field when not in use!! (While driving, I don’t turn the heat on the to avoid issues).
p.6 #18 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
thedutt wrote:
R5 on the other hand, was a champ. I never thought I would be singing praise of R5 batteries. Out in the field, it has been frustrating because I really do need the preshoot & AF or R5II, but it does not last the full day even with 4 batteries fully charged. On top of it, if the camera is cold, it wont charge using USB charger cable either!!! So I cannot charge it in the field when not in use!! (While driving, I don’t turn the heat on the to avoid issues).
I assumed that the R5 II camera was the issue, not the batteries. Does your R5 perform worse with the LP-E6P than the LP-E6NH in the low temperatures you encounter? I've switched to LP-E6Ps to have a common battery for all LP-E6x compatible bodies and am not seeing any difference in the P vs. the NH in the R5 and other old bodies, but I don't encounter much less than 5°C. I no longer want to use any NH batteries if possible.
p.6 #19 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I just returned from Iceland from a 11days Christmas trip. Temperature was between -2 to -6 degrees Celsius but very windy most of the time. From my experience so far, the two LPE6 batteries in the grip of my R5 Mark II lasted considerably shorter than the two LP-E6NH I had used in my R5 one year before on the exact same trip at the same time. I shot landscapes - mostly stills - and didn't use the precapture function of the R5 II. So the use and handling was the same on both trips and the temperature was about the same in Iceland, too. However, it's not a scientific side-by-side comparison, of course, because I don't have the R5 anymore. But the difference was evident to me.
p.6 #20 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
A follow up of my post yesterday (above)
Today I took out my R5 + 100-300 on a Peak Design strap very similar weather conditions as yesterday approx -15 degrees C with wind chill, in mostly open fields with wind. There was very little wildlife out due to the cold, so took 40 imagesI had one LP-E6NH battery in the camera, and two spare in my down jacket pocket. After 3 hours the battery was still showing a full 4 bars on the original battery. Yesterday with the R5 II and a LP-E6P one battery would last about an hour and the red warning flashed battery needs to be replaced.
