p.8 #1 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
My R5 mk2 is entirely worthless in frigid temps to the point I do not even take it with me any longer. I had sent it CPS (with my batteries, grip, and lens). They returned it saying it was fine and to document any future issues. The day I received the Mk2 back from CPS, I set up a test to document and send to Canon. I set my Mk1 and Mk2 next to one another outdoors equipped with batteries the OEM charger showed as full. Within 25 minutes, the Mk2 went from 98% full to 1% full; while the Mk1 only dropped 2% during the same duration. A tech contacted me to have me send RAW images taken while the Mk2 had a blinking battery sensor; which I did and have yet to hear back. I shoot outdoor photography in Alaska and never had 1 cold weather issue with the R5 Mk1; the Mk2, as stated, is entirely worthless.
p.8 #2 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
EB-1 wrote:
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?
EBH
As mentioned, it's not my camera and it worked fine for what I needed as is, other than battery endurance.
A higher wattage power bank doesn't appear to charge the batteries while the camera is on, it appears to bypass the batteries. The bars in the battery icon in the EVF gray out when the power bank is connected. After removing the power bank the in-camera battery level is the same as it was before plugging it in. I noticed this when I first tried it and a few hours later the in-camera battery charge remained unchanged. But the funny thing I discovered Sunday was that if the in-camera battery level is too low (one bar) to copy files from one card to the other, plugging in the power bank still didn't allow that function. I had to swap out the batteries.
I haven't looked into it enough to determine what R5II functions are unavailable if using the power bank. When I used this solution for football, I was still able to shoot at 30fps ES and use pre-capture despite using the old BG-R10 grip and a mix of P and NH batteries in the grip (IIRC).
It's pretty chunky, likely due to the number of cells and capabilities.
EB-1 wrote:
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.
EBH
I should add for my uses described earlier it was ES at 7.5fps. But I did have EVF refresh set for best performance and did a lot of in-camera image review/culling via the EVF.
thedutt wrote:
Introducing Canon BG-RG20H, a heat addition perfectly designed to keep you and your camera warm while working in frigid conditions.
p.8 #3 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I would not be using the R5 II below 5°C until or if this is fixed. Fortunately I don't operate as cold as many of you who are "taking one for the team" with the learning curve.
Have you tried using the Canon DR-E6P DC Coupler with a large power bank? That eliminates the battery entirely.
p.8 #4 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
The camera works fine in the cold via USB. It's something related to power management of the in-camera battery, which must be installed to power from USB. The manual states that "the remaining battery level may decline when power is supplied to the camera. To avoid running out of battery power, use a fully charged battery." But I did not notice in-camera battery level change while connected to USB, including the very cold hockey games.
I haven't looked into the DR-E6P DC Coupler as I'm only borrowing the camera for a short period. It's probably the better longterm option than using the USB port. But if the connection is broken, the camera will shut down, whereas if the USB is disconnected it will flip to the in-camera battery.
p.8 #5 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I was just out with the R5II for a couple of hours, two fully charged batteries in the grip and 14 F (-10C) and it then warmed up a little bit but not much. I took over 5.5k images using pre-capture the entire time. The batteries and camera worked fine, the batteries were at 54% when I was done. I guess it has to be colder than that before the batteries really start to struggle.
p.8 #6 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Axel H wrote:
I was just out with the R5II for a couple of hours, two fully charged batteries in the grip and 14 F (-10C) and it then warmed up a little bit but not much. I took over 5.5k images using pre-capture the entire time. The batteries and camera worked fine, the batteries were at 54% when I was done. I guess it has to be colder than that before the batteries really start to struggle.
Majority of my shooting is between -50 to 10F. At 40 below with the Mk1, I never used more than 2 batteries during 8 hours of shooting. I understand that’s extreme, but the Mk2 should handle what the Mk1 could (plus every other Canon, Nikon and Sony I’ve experienced).
p.8 #7 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Wackinwuss wrote:
Majority of my shooting is between -50 to 10F. At 40 below with the Mk1, I never used more than 2 batteries during 8 hours of shooting. I understand that’s extreme, but the Mk2 should handle what the Mk1 could (plus every other Canon, Nikon and Sony I’ve experienced).
That is certainly on the extreme end of the spectrum and I'm not arguing that battery performance should not be on par with the R5. I'm curious though what the temperature range is where the battery performance of the original R5 and Mark II start to differ significantly. At this point, my best guess is about 5F (-15C).
p.8 #8 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
Wackinwuss wrote:
My R5 mk2 is entirely worthless in frigid temps to the point I do not even take it with me any longer. I had sent it CPS (with my batteries, grip, and lens). They returned it saying it was fine and to document any future issues. The day I received the Mk2 back from CPS, I set up a test to document and send to Canon. I set my Mk1 and Mk2 next to one another outdoors equipped with batteries the OEM charger showed as full. Within 25 minutes, the Mk2 went from 98% full to 1% full; while the Mk1 only dropped 2% during the same duration. A tech contacted me to have me send RAW images taken while the Mk2 had a blinking battery sensor; which I did and have yet to hear back. I shoot outdoor photography in Alaska and never had 1 cold weather issue with the R5 Mk1; the Mk2, as stated, is entirely worthless.
Thank you for doing this test and submitting it to Canon. I'm curious if you also looked at the condition of the battery after it warmed back up? My testing was nowhere near as exact as yours and perhaps not as cold, but I found after the battery warmed up that it regained most of its power-- as shown by the battery info when I put it back in the camera (wrench > battery info). My hope is that the fact that the battery hasn't actually drained to almost 0% suggests a firmware update might help this.
p.8 #9 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
At -15 to-18 degrees C I experienced a huge difference between the R5 and R5 II. The R5 MKII had the battery warning out of power show up after 1 hour 10 minutes almost no pictures taken. The R5 in the same conditions showed full charge after 3 hours.
p.8 #10 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
None of the below would explain how the battery looks like it’s close to dead outside in the cold, but then as it warms up indoors it gains back 50% of it’s power.
Something ain’t right. It’s not just that the newer camera consumes more power.
EB-1 wrote:
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.8 #11 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
My friend and I both had this issue today shooting at -20F in MN. I had pre-capture on initially so I turned that off once I noticed my batteries rapidly draining and decreased the EVF brightness, put the refresh rate to power saving etc. My first two batteries in the grip died (or so the camera showed) within 15-20 minutes. I went and changed them out with two fresh batteries from the car that were both fully charged and literally within 100 shots it was showing that the batteries were already at 3/4 bars. I shot with the R1 and didn’t have anywhere near that level of battery drain, this is absurd and Canon needs to address this issue ASAP.
p.8 #12 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
EB-1 wrote:
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.
EBH
ronno wrote:
None of the below would explain how the battery looks like it’s close to dead outside in the cold, but then as it warms up indoors it gains back 50% of it’s power.
Something ain’t right. It’s not just that the newer camera consumes more power.
It is perfectly normal for batteries to exhibit a temporary low SoC at very low temperatures on discharge (kinetics of the reactions are reduced and ions cannot move enough charge). If one device draws more power then it can more quickly deplete the available charge at the low temperature.
To test the batteries alone, I'd put them in a cold chamber and then run a Power Profile ramp while it is in the cold. I suppose one could do that with the LP-E6NH vs. LP-E6P batteries in a home freezer, but using LP-E6P in both R5 and R5 II out in the cold would also identify that.
p.8 #13 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
The Mk2 drains both batteries, LP-E6NH / LP-E6P, just as quickly in cold weather. Likewise, the Mk1 has the same battery drain for both batteries as well; ie, the Mk1 does not drain the LP-E6P like the Mk2 does. At least in my case.
p.8 #14 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
quote]Wackinwuss wrote:
The Mk2 drains both batteries, LP-E6NH / LP-E6P, just as quickly in cold weather. Likewise, the Mk1 has the same battery drain for both batteries as well; ie, the Mk1 does not drain the LP-E6P like the Mk2 does. At least in my case.
I have been following the original post since the start. I am sure I am not the only one who is confused with your post. Maybe a typo/auto correct issue.
p.8 #15 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
It seems pretty clear to me. It's the camera, not the battery.
At this point I hope Canon has received numerous complaints and is actively working on a solution. You would think that parts of Japan are cold and they would be noticing it in their homeland. Unfortunately it may be too late for this winter in the northern hemisphere.
p.8 #16 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I have been following the original post since the start. I am sure I am not the only one who is confused with your post. Maybe a typo/auto correct issue.
Synopsis: R52 drains both battery types, R5 does not drain either.
Thus, the issue is the new camera, not the batteries.
p.8 #17 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I have been following the original post since the start. I am sure I am not the only one who is confused with your post. Maybe a typo/auto correct issue.
The post above is accurate and obviously more succinct than mine.
p.8 #19 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I'm wondering if it might be due to the cooling vents that they added to the R5 Mark II and that maybe in extremely cold temperatures they're cooling the camera excessively? Just spit balling but I just realized that's one unique feature to the R5 Mark II that specifically deals with thermals.
p.8 #20 · Canon R5 Mk II - battery issue in cold weather
I just had my camera out skiing all day- About 20 degrees.
Took 3300 pictures- Only lost one small bar of power-
In and out of a backpack, never in the warm. Brought a spare battery and never needed it. Maybe it wasn’t cold enough. I never let it sleep, on and off.
It's something related to power management of the in-camera battery, which must be installed to power from USB. The manual states that "the remaining battery level may decline when power is supplied to the camera. To avoid running out of battery power, use a fully charged battery." But I did not notice in-camera battery level change while connected to USB, including the very cold hockey games.