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R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?

  
 
vbnut
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p.1 #1 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


I'm going on a photography safari with Pangolin in October, 3 days on the Chobe River and 3 days in Chobe National Park. I'm planning to take two R5IIs, although I clearly can only shoot with one at a time, and I'm trying to figure out how many batteries I need to bring to get through each day, and presumably charge them each night. I don't chimp a lot, but I do have precapture turned on most of the time, and I do shoot a moderate amount of video (both of the latter are relatively new, which is why I'm uncertain).

For those of you that have taken the R5II on a safari (or other intense camera usage situations), how many batteries did you go through in a day?
Can you characterize the camera usage that gave rise to that battery usage?



Aug 09, 2026 at 01:14 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #2 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


On the R5 II I usually get 4,000 to 14,000 in ES at 20-30 FPS. At slower speeds or with a lot of chimpering it could be lower. I usually have two bodies in use on safari (100-500 and 500/4 or 600/4) and one extra like an R7. I never had a need to change more than once per game drive. So that's 6 batteries altogether. If you mostly use only one camera then maybe have 2 spare LP-E6P batteries for it.

EBH



Aug 09, 2026 at 01:37 AM
rscheffler
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p.1 #3 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


I don't go on safaris, but the people-centric events I cover typically result in the range of 1000-2000 images in e-shutter per battery charge. It really depends on a lot of variables. Some sports events I've covered, when I'm shooting a lot of long bursts but rarely reviewing images, can generate more images per battery charge. This is with the R5II I purchased last fall. Prior to that I had a longterm loan of an R5II that was very early production and more rapidly consumed batteries. For that camera, when covering events of extended duration, I powered it via an external PD capable USB battery. I believe you need to use one that is roughly at least 30-40W output and the USB cable also needs to be able to transmit the power (most do nowadays). A battery with roughly more than at least 25% charge also needs to be in the camera (or grip) to be able to use an external battery.

My approach to your situation would be to take a certain number of batteries, probably 8, and supplement it with external batteries as a just in case fallback option. The USB batteries can also be useful for topping up other devices, such as phones, tablets/laptops, etc. And they are much less expensive than buying more of Canon's batteries. They could also be used to charge the camera's batteries with an appropriate USB battery charger while in the field. And can charge the camera's battery/batteries when plugged into the camera and the camera is turned off. So, if you may have periods of inactivity but not access to AC power, this might be an option to give batteries a midday top up.

You should also consider battery charging options that don't rely on the charger Canon supplied with the camera. As you will only have two of these chargers, unless you have more from previous cameras, if you have 4-8 batteries on the trip and at some point need to charge all or most of them, you will run into a bottleneck if relying on just a couple of the Canon chargers. Here again, in-camera charging via the USB port is an option. If you use the cameras with the vertical grip, you can charge two batteries (successively, not concurrently) via USB. Even if you don't use the vertical grip, you can at least charge one battery in-camera while others are charging via chargers.

In my case, I will typically bring along at least one 140W multiple port USB-C power supply, from which I can charge multiple devices/batteries. A couple Canon chargers will charge batteries directly from wall power. Each camera can be plugged into the power supply to charge the internal battery/batteries. Additionally, I will bring one or two USB dual-battery chargers for the Canon NP-E6 style batteries, which are also plugged into the power supply.

For example, I have a couple of these INIU 10000mAh 45W batteries: https://www.amazon.com/INIU-Portable-10000mAh-Essentials-Powerbank/dp/B0DQD35SQ4

They are quite small and provide about the equivalent of two Canon LP-E6 batteries worth of runtime. Because they're small, it's easy to find room for one to always have at hand, just in case. The small carry strap is actually a short USB cable, ensuring you should always have one available. Additional to these I also have a couple 72 and 99Wh 100W USB batteries that I bring for some situations. These are much larger/heavier.

If you think you may explore the possibility of powering a camera from an external battery while shooting, I would also advise purchasing magnetic USB-C connectors so that the cable will easily disconnect from the camera if it accidentally snags or is pulled, which will reduce stress on the camera's USB port and prevent accidental damage to it. Magnetic connectors that swivel and rotate are better than those that just swivel. I also found that I prefer USB cables with soft silicone sheathing rather than the seemingly popular braided fabric styles because the latter typically seem to have some sort of rigid wire reinforcement, which makes them less supple in use. However, the braided USB-C cables Apple recently includes with their devices is an exception, being more supple than typical no-name braided USB cables I have purchase from Amazon.

HTH!



Aug 09, 2026 at 12:11 PM
artsupreme
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p.1 #4 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


vbnut wrote:
I'm going on a photography safari with Pangolin in October, 3 days on the Chobe River and 3 days in Chobe National Park. I'm planning to take two R5IIs, although I clearly can only shoot with one at a time, and I'm trying to figure out how many batteries I need to bring to get through each day, and presumably charge them each night. I don't chimp a lot, but I do have precapture turned on most of the time, and I do shoot a moderate amount of video (both of the latter are relatively new, which is why I'm
...Show more →

Two batteries per R5II per day should be enough for just about everything unless you chimp a ton, shoot tons of 4k120 or 8k60, or you don't manage your power settings and proximity sensor well. If you are efficient you might find that you can stretch one per day for two full game drives, but I don' use precapture. Unless you are shooting birds I don't know why you would need precapture in Africa as nothing moves too abruptly other than maybe cubs jumping/playing or birds flying off perches. You also usually have a place to recharge once per day while eating lunch or taking a break in the heat of the day. So 4 batteries total will cover it but since it's your first time there and it's an expensive trip, 6 batteries will give you peace of mind even though you probably won't touch the two spares.



Aug 09, 2026 at 01:43 PM
robert_in_ca
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p.1 #5 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


2 batteries per camera should be fine. I have 4 for my R5ii and 2 for my R1, and I rarely hit the second battery on either camera.


Aug 09, 2026 at 01:51 PM
vbnut
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p.1 #6 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


BTW, I forgot to mention I currently have 2 LP-E6Ps for my R5II. I am planning to rent a 2nd R5II (as well as some external backup storage and probably a 100-300) for this trip. One more LP-E6P will be included with the rented R5II, and I'll rent whatever additional batteries I need rather than purchase them.


Aug 09, 2026 at 04:19 PM
vbnut
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p.1 #7 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


robert_in_ca wrote:
2 batteries per camera should be fine. I have 4 for my R5ii and 2 for my R1, and I rarely hit the second battery on either camera.


I'm just worried because since I started using pre-capture more and started shooting more video (and using pre-recording) it seems like invariably I have to swap batteries during a shoot of just a few (< 4) hours.

The R1 is a totally different story with its much bigger battery. I have an R3 and it seemed like its battery lasted forever. I took it on a 7-day trip to Alaska a couple of years ago, and while I swapped the batteries each night and charged the one I'd been using, I don't recall ever needing to swap during the day.



Aug 09, 2026 at 04:29 PM
vbnut
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p.1 #8 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


rscheffler wrote:
I don't go on safaris, but the people-centric events I cover typically result in the range of 1000-2000 images in e-shutter per battery charge. It really depends on a lot of variables. Some sports events I've covered, when I'm shooting a lot of long bursts but rarely reviewing images, can generate more images per battery charge. This is with the R5II I purchased last fall. Prior to that I had a longterm loan of an R5II that was very early production and more rapidly consumed batteries. For that camera, when covering events of extended duration, I powered it via an
...Show more →

Thanks Ron. That's very informative, and food for thought.

I do have chargers from my Canon 7D and 7DII DSLRs. Do those chargers work to fully charge the LP-E6P batteries? I also need to check what, if any, charging support Pangolin provides.

I do have a car jump starter that has a couple of USB ports for charging portable devices. I now have an EV, so I don't use it anymore, but I've been wondering if I should use it as a power bank. It's clearly much bulkier than the power bank you mention.

What's the situation with air travel with power banks?



Aug 09, 2026 at 05:00 PM
vbnut
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p.1 #9 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


artsupreme wrote:
Unless you are shooting birds I don't know why you would need precapture in Africa as nothing moves too abruptly other than maybe cubs jumping/playing or birds flying off perches.


I've started trying to follow Steve Perry's guidance for using pre-capture. There's a list of ways to use pre-capture at 2:10 in

" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">his pre-capture video
. In that video he also gives examples of images where pre-capture isn't necessary and explains the downsides of leaving it on all the time.



Aug 09, 2026 at 05:19 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #10 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


I hardly ever use the pre-capture on safari, but birds are only incidental on most trips. Is this a private itinerary or are you part of a group?

I would not be messing around with power banks in the field. Canon LP-E6P are only $79, so if you buy a few extra it is well worthwhile in case there are delays in opportunities to charge. I've done 20+ safaris in Africa and not once run out of battery charge. There are far more risks and mitigations to consider.

EBH



Aug 09, 2026 at 05:48 PM
 


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vbnut
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p.1 #11 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


EB-1 wrote:
I hardly ever use the pre-capture on safari, but birds are only incidental on most trips. Is this a private itinerary or are you part of a group?

I would not be messing around with power banks in the field. Canon LP-E6P are only $79, so if you buy a few extra it is well worthwhile in case there are delays in opportunities to charge. I've done 20+ safaris in Africa and not once run out of battery charge. There are far more risks and mitigations to consider.

EBH


I am traveling by myself, but I'm doing a Pangolin safari that will include other people. After the safari, I'll be doing Pangolin's Antarctic trip, which may be a whole different situation.



Aug 09, 2026 at 06:07 PM
rscheffler
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p.1 #12 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


vbnut wrote:
What's the situation with air travel with power banks?


I was going to comment on this but then forgot as the post became quite long already. I previously hadn't given that much thought because it had never come up with my travel in Canada and the US, but I recently flew to Taiwan on EVA Airlines and they have a limit of one USB power bank. Period. Obviously you don't check these and it's a limit of one as carry-on. That said, I don't see how they can enforce it because they don't check your carry-on during check-in or boarding and security screening is independent of the airlines. They also don't allow you to use the USB power bank during the flight to charge your devices, which would be fine if the USB port at the seat was functional, but mine was not (worn out and too loose).

They didn't have any restrictions on the number of camera batteries, from what I could tell.

Check the website(s) of the airline(s) you will be using.

The jumpstarter is probably overkill and might not even be PD compatible. That's required for powering/charging when directly attached to the camera. Based on the link, it looks like it's only 18W maximum USB output. I think some previous Canon cameras would charge with 20W PD, such as the M6II, maybe 90D, but they may not operate at 20W. When I was looking into all this, the information I found indicated it need to be ~35W.

AFAIK, the older LP-E6 chargers will work with the new 'P' batteries. But as I suggested, that charger is perhaps the least efficient way to charge multiple batteries. I'd go the USB-C power supply route to direct charge via the camera and supplement with a couple of the Canon chargers.



Aug 10, 2026 at 02:33 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #13 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


Power banks need to be accesible when you are seated.
https://www.icao.int/news/new-power-bank-restrictions-will-safeguard-international-aviation

Canon batteries are rather conservatively charged. Bring two of the old Canon plug-in chargers and then also charge in camera at night. There are 3rd party USB-C PD chargers, but most are only 2-wire types that are not so great where it is hot.

EBH



Aug 10, 2026 at 06:34 AM
stanj
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p.1 #14 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


EB-1 wrote:
Canon batteries are rather conservatively charged. Bring two of the old Canon plug-in chargers and then also charge in camera at night.


Or better yet, get a changer *that verifiably charges in parallel* and for extra bonus can both slow/fast charge. My favorite travel companion is this guy because it charges four batteries in parallel, and either at high or slow speed. So when you're not in a rush overnight, you charge at the same slow speed as a Canon charger. However, if you're in a rush, it can fast charge. This is helpful for people who travel a lot with limited power - say, you can charge only while driving in the car, or bush camp generator is running only for one hour a day. All other multi-chargers charge *in series* and more often than not don't offer either fast or slow charge.



Aug 10, 2026 at 11:32 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #15 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


I have some like that operating from USB-C PD 45W, but I really don't like the basic CC-CV (brian dead) 2-wire chargers as the primary charger. Canon is so conservative with the max. Current it's probably safe enough, but the EE in me doesn't like it.

EBH



Aug 10, 2026 at 02:07 PM
vbnut
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p.1 #16 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


Thanks Stan. How does that 4-bay charger get its power? I can see a cord in the video on Amazon, but I can't see what's on the other end of the cord. Does it plug into an AC outlet? North American style?

BTW, I'm going to be in Zimbabwe for a couple nights, then Pangolin's house boat in Namibia and their lodge in Botswana,and then spend some time in Cape Town, South Africa. Do they all use the same kind of AC outlet? I have a set of 5 adapters (Ceptic) that I purchased from Amazon 10 years ago, but apparently none of them work in South Africa.



Aug 10, 2026 at 05:20 PM
stanj
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p.1 #17 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


vbnut wrote:
Thanks Stan. How does that 4-bay charger get its power? I can see a cord in the video on Amazon, but I can't see what's on the other end of the cord. Does it plug into an AC outlet? North American style?


It takes USB-C PD, min. 65w. I think it comes with a US AC wart, I am not sure anymore because I throw these away and always use my multi-plug power bricks that I travel with. If you can't supply 65w it will still work, it's just that it won't be able to fast-charge four at the same time (only slow charge, or fewer fast charge).

South Africa uses the really odd M type plug, you're best off buying an adapter. You may get lucky that they may have an Euro outlet, too.

https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-country/south-africa/

Zimbabwe uses the UK plug, like many ex-colonies.



Aug 10, 2026 at 05:35 PM
rscheffler
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p.1 #18 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


I usually bring a short US household non-grounded extension cord and one or two three-outlet cube wall taps to plug into it. Even traveling domestically, too many times hotel rooms have too few outlets or they're inconveniently hidden behind the bed or wardrobe with things already plugged into them. It also allows me to move all the charging to a tabletop where I can consolidate it and see all of it and am less likely to leave something plugged into the wall behind a piece of furniture on departure. In a non-110/120V country, this way you only need one or two adapters and everything else plugs into the 'regular' outlets on the extension cord. The only non 110/120V countries I've done this in so far have been in Europe, and it wasn't a problem because I was only using it for charging batteries, etc. Of course there isn't a voltage converter involved here, so anything plugged into the extension cord has to be multi-voltage compatible.


Aug 10, 2026 at 06:11 PM
stanj
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p.1 #19 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


I do exactly the same, Ron. one of the important things to consider is that the actual power strip/power cube is voltage independent (100-240V). I blew the circuit breakers on a cruise ship twice by plugging in a US-specd power strip. Since then I use Anker power cubes. They have three borderline useless USB ports in them, but most importantly they're genuinely voltage independent, and no problems since.

I agree that many hotels have only one power plug that's free, and usually it's buried somewhere inaccessible, and this solves the problem, paired with a multi-port PD power brick



Aug 10, 2026 at 06:26 PM
rscheffler
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p.1 #20 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?


Yeah, I don't bring a power strip, just an extension cord with the wall warts. Totally low tech.

vbnut wrote:
Thanks Stan. How does that 4-bay charger get its power? I can see a cord in the video on Amazon, but I can't see what's on the other end of the cord. Does it plug into an AC outlet? North American style?


stanj wrote:
It takes USB-C PD, min. 65w. I think it comes with a US AC wart, I am not sure anymore because I throw these away and always use my multi-plug power bricks that I travel with. If you can't supply 65w it will still work, it's just that it won't be able to fast-charge four at the same time (only slow charge, or fewer fast charge).


IMO it makes traveling a lot simpler if all devices can be powered/charged from USB-C, so great to see that's also the case with this charger. Theoretically you could plug it into a high Wh USB power bank capable of delivering >60W for in-the-field charging away from wall power. For example this 100W battery is 92.5Wh, which may be enough to charge four LPE6P batteries (18Wh), though there will be some conversion losses. You want to stay at or under 99Wh for lithium batteries to avoid requiring special permission from the airline.




Aug 10, 2026 at 06:27 PM
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