p.7 #1 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
WJaekel wrote:
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.7 #2 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Looks like R5II has a real problem. Historically canon cameras have lasted a full day for me in the 0-32F degree range. Thanks for the tip on 1.02 firmware. I don't think I'm going to buy any more batteries until this is sorted out.
p.7 #5 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Flowernut wrote:
Looks like R5II has a real problem. Historically canon cameras have lasted a full day for me in the 0-32F degree range. Thanks for the tip on 1.02 firmware. I don't think I'm going to buy any more batteries until this is sorted out.
p.7 #6 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I don’t know if the problem is the battery or the camera firmware/hardware is the problem. I’ve not needed a battery grip in the past so I’m hoping this can be fixed without having to use a grip. Starting with the canon t-90 various 1d 5d and r5 bodies I’ve not had a problem having spent a lot of time in winter in Yellowstone Alaska Canada Montana Wyoming and Colorado. Most scenic including northern linghts as well as mammals and some birds. What is being reported is pathetic.
p.7 #7 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
EB-1 wrote:
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.
EBH
Its the camera since both sets of batteries are showing the same issue. The 2 batteries in the grip seem to last about 2-3 hours of active shooting. Today, fully charged batteries showed at 50% when I started shooting. Went down to blinking red light very fast. But the good news is that they kept shooting at blinky point for almost an hour.
Tomorrow I am going to try to tape heat warmers on the outside of the grip and see if that makes a difference. Perhaps canon can make a new winter grip, where the hot air from camera gets circulated to batteries in the grip!
This is very dissappointing that 4 full batteries are getting depeleted in about 4 hours of shooting in 15-20F weather.
p.7 #8 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Canon will have to do something with the FW in the short term. There are some ways to improve Li-ion cell performance at low temps, but then they will have less capacity at room temperatures and less longevity at high temperatures. It's probably too confusing for a consumer product to have multiple battery types.
Fortunately I don't function at low temperatures any better than the r5 ii, but I feel your pain.
p.7 #9 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
EB-1 wrote:
Canon will have to do something with the FW in the short term. There are some ways to improve Li-ion cell performance at low temps, but then they will have less capacity at room temperatures and less longevity at high temperatures. It's probably too confusing for a consumer product to have multiple battery types.
Fortunately I don't function at low temperatures any better than the r5 ii, but I feel your pain.
EBH
I hope they do - It was frustrating for the first 2 days and I lost on some once in a lifetime situations (in flight boreal owls) as battery concerns changed my shooting behavior. Today I even tried to Jerry Rig it by taping heat pads around the grip. Initially it seemed to have helped but then battery still drained rapidly. Any future trips up north where temps are low, I will be brining more batteries.
I think a dedicated winter battery grip would be an adequate solution. Most lithium ion batteries now have built in heaters when you are looking at larger batteries. Having a grip that circulates the hot air from camera or has a small heating element would fix this, but I doubt we will see anything.
p.7 #10 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I've been noticing this same issue with my new (refurb) R5II, and was initially thinking maybe it was just in my head. I'd shot with the R5 for years and done so in cold weather plenty of times and had never really noticed much of an issue on that body. Prior to purchasing the R5II, I'd picked up a couple of the LP-E6P batteries and was using them for a few weeks in the R5. I noticed already then that they were draining quicker than I expected (and quicker compared to the NH batteries). Finally this morning, using the R5II, I saw the drain and re-charge issue in action. I was out in temps in the low 20s (F), with wind chills in the low single digits. The battery went from what should have been close to full to 34% in roughly 2 hours - I had only taken 38 images. Power saving settings have the screen dim - 10s, screen off - 15s, auto power off - 3min and viewfinder off - 1min.
Upon returning home, I had the camera sitting (inside/warm) turned off with the same battery in for about an hour and suddenly it's reporting 74% charge now (and seemingly rising as it continues to warm up).
I have not yet updated to the 1.0.2 firmware but will try that today and take it out for a test again tomorrow (temps should be similar). In case it's relevant, I'm shooting with EF lenses currently (500II and 300II).
p.7 #11 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
thedutt wrote:
I think a dedicated winter battery grip would be an adequate solution. Most lithium ion batteries now have built in heaters when you are looking at larger batteries. Having a grip that circulates the hot air from camera or has a small heating element would fix this, but I doubt we will see anything.
I've never really liked the idea of a grip holding two small batteries but only utilizing them sequentially.
I see no reason that Canon couldn't make a grip to hold a LP-E19 from the R1 which would include an integral voltage regulator to take the larger battery from 10.8V down to a 7V output.
p.7 #13 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
thedutt wrote:
I think a dedicated winter battery grip would be an adequate solution. Most lithium ion batteries now have built in heaters when you are looking at larger batteries. Having a grip that circulates the hot air from camera or has a small heating element would fix this, but I doubt we will see anything.
Ruffo wrote:
I've never really liked the idea of a grip holding two small batteries but only utilizing them sequentially.
I see no reason that Canon couldn't make a grip to hold a LP-E19 from the R1 which would include an integral voltage regulator to take the larger battery from 10.8V down to a 7V output.
It was easier for Nikon to put a larger battery in the grip since the end cap is a separate piece. A charged 3-cell INR is 12.6V compared to 8.4V for 2 cells, but the camera should be designed for both to avoid an extra switching supply in the grip.
Alternatively there could be a grip with battery pack based on 2s 21700 INR, which would be about the same capacity as the pro 3-cell packs but at the native voltage.
Of course a 1 series body with the R5 II sensor would be able to solve many problems.
p.7 #14 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Flowernut wrote:
They should be able to make the r5II perform as well as the r5 in cold weather without having a special battery grip. I'd settle for that.
How exactly is that happening when the R5 II requires more power than the R5?
p.7 #15 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I've been using an R5II demo camera from a Canon rep and this weekend shot a youth hockey tournament with it. The arenas (a 4-pad complex) were extremely cold because it was also well below freezing outside. The camera had fw version 1.0.0 and I was reluctant to update it in case something messed up, since it's not my camera.
Anyway, I used a BG-R10 grip (the BG-R20 was not available for loan) and only had one "P" battery. The rest of my Canon official batteries are roughly 2 years old NH versions. After about 1000 photos on the first day with a fair amount of in-camera review and culling, both an NH and P battery in the grip were down to 2 bars. Due to the limited number of actual Canon batteries I had on hand (because the R5II threw an ERR 80 code with my Neewer clones whenever I tried them), I spent the rest of the day powering the camera from a 72Wh PD power brick. The second day was even colder and from the start I powered the camera from the power brick for around 5000 photos, by which time it was down to around 15%. The last couple hours I just used batteries in the grip. The first set finished with both showing only one bar remaining (too low to allow copying files from one card to the second) after maybe 500 photos. Swapped those out and shot maybe a couple hundred more photos and those two were down one bar at the end.
When I returned home I checked the batteries in my R6II and the set that showed one bar remaining in the R5II were at around 65-70% in the R6II. The set that dropped one bar was in the 85% range.
Otherwise I thought the camera worked really well for what I needed. I think if I was to get one and this hasn't yet been resolved by Canon, for long events I'd probably continue to run it off the PD power brick. Yes, it's a bit inconvenient to have a USB cable sticking out the side of the camera, but for how I was using it, it didn't get in the way and I barely noticed it. Over the longterm though I would be concerned about breaking the USB port, which is probably soldered to the main circuit board, which would then be a costly repair. Based on information about the original R5, it was believed that it needed a PD brick capable of supplying at least 35-40W to power the camera directly. The unit I have will do either 60 or 100W. IOW, the smaller 18W PD bricks likely will only charge the in-camera battery when the camera is off.
p.7 #16 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I would have updated the FW for sure. 1.0.0 is two versions behind. The posted date for 1.0.2 is 5-DEC-2024, but the actual FIR date is 11-OCT-2024. Most likely we would have heard if there were significant issues with it.
The strongest small PD power bank I found some time ago was only 30W and doesn't charge the R5 when the camera is on (did not try with R5 II). Do you have a power bank that charges R5/R5 II when on and is legal for carry-ons?
p.7 #17 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
EB-1 wrote:
How exactly is that happening when the R5 II requires more power than the R5?
EBH
Power setting that shuts of some of the video features if you have to and reduce the motor drive frame rate. Cut it back to R5 performance and you should be able to have same battery life. I'm not sure what the problem is but they are burning though a battery so fast I don't think it is power usage. Could be something about the P battery that is more sensitive to temperature. Hard to know as the reports vary so much. Camera could be looking for a higher voltage too to make sure power is there for some of its more power hungry features.
p.7 #18 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
By now I hope they are testing some compromises. ES should be using less power than MS/EFCS. The new R5 II sensor might be using more power and there are more processors. Maybe the display refresh rate can be reduced and FPS limited to 20 or less.
p.7 #19 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
As a data point for others. I am on new firmware 1.0.2. I used my R5 MKII in 6 degree temps last Wed and noticed battery showed low way earlier than ever before, maybe at 2 hours use (mostly video of eagles, short, 1 or 2 minutes clips). After using a 2nd battery, it was down to 1 bar after maybe 1 1/2 hours.
Today, colder, 3 degree F and battery was blinking red after maybe 1 1/2 hours, same shooting. 2nd battery was at 1 bar when finished, maybe 1 hr 15 min later. I had put 1st battery in pocket after changing. After I got home, I put the 1st battery back in the camera, and it showed 65% state of charge. 2nd battery showed 54% state of charge.
So I don't think the 1.0.2 firmware is a solution.
p.7 #20 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Introducing Canon BG-RG20H, a heat addition perfectly designed to keep you and your camera warm while working in frigid conditions. Jokes aside, I lost several key shooting opportunities during the first 2 days in Duluth due to battery problems. Firmware 1.0.2 was installed by Day 2, but it seemed to be a hit or a miss. This "heat" hack, seemed to have helped, but I needed to be diligent that the camera was turned off and not going to auto-sleep.
AF also failed me twice on critical times, when a great grey was flying straight to me, backlit, using 100-300.
But I think that the best-underappreciated aspect of R5MII is its dynamic range latitude in highlights - it saved my ass when I overexposed by mistake, chasing a snowy that I had spent multiple days scouting.
