p.3 #1 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
Smallrig 5490 is a great charger!
On 22.5W PD USB-C adapter/powerbank or more it charges faster and 2 E6P batteries simultaneously.
When using 5V 2.4A adapter or connected to a laptop it operates in slow-modus and charges one battery after the other.
p.3 #2 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
vbnut wrote:
One of the reasons I started this thread was to try to ensure that I would have enough battery capacity that I only need to charge at night (and maybe during a break in the middle of the day), especially since it seems unlikely that I will be able to charge in the safari vehicles.
I too am researching this subject, and am reading that often power is not available overnight. I’d need two sets of batteries, one with me and one back at the accommodation on the charger, since the charge sequence for two batteries takes 6 hours.
To those who’ve been there, is this true? Just for glamping places? Or for larger places outside towns?
p.3 #3 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
It depends on where you go, but I always want to have all batteries charged for the next day.
Nowadays thare are some places with solar and lead-acid on inverters that are 24/7 as compared to generators only that may be off much of the night. I put batteries on the charger every time entereing the room or tent before doing anything else. Normally they are mostly charged by the time you are finished with dinner, or if mid-day before the afternoon game drive.
Ideally you should have enough batteries not to be too obsessed about charging. R5/R5 II use small batteries, so it's much easier just to take enough. You are there to see the species not charge batteries.
p.3 #4 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
melcat wrote:
I too am researching this subject, and am reading that often power is not available overnight. I’d need two sets of batteries, one with me and one back at the accommodation on the charger, since the charge sequence for two batteries takes 6 hours.
To those who’ve been there, is this true? Just for glamping places? Or for larger places outside towns?
Unless you are going to a really inexpensive camp, you won't have any issues. All decent camps should have plenty of USB charging in the vehicle as well as plenty of charging stations at camp during lunch and dinner, or overnight. People always stress about this stuff and take waay too many things on their first trip to Africa, including lenses. But once they go they realize there's plenty of opportunities to charge your batteries and nothing to stress about. For anyone taking two R5's or R5II's, a total of 5 batteries should be absolutely fine for 99% of people who don't chimp like crazy or shoot 4k 120 all day long.
p.3 #5 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
artsupreme wrote:
For anyone taking two R5's or R5II's, a total of 5 batteries should be absolutely fine for 99% of people who don't chimp like crazy or shoot 4k 120 all day long.
It's the last part of your statement: "or shoot 4k 120 all day long" that worries me. I don't shoot 4K/120 all day long, but I have started shooting a lot more video, and it's mostly 4K/120 so I can turn it into slow motion later if I want to. I expect/hope to shoot more video on my upcoming trip than I ever have in the past. My current plan is to take 6 batteries for 2 R5IIs. LP-E6Ps are relatively cheap to rent ($42 each for 29 days at LensRentals), so I could easily take more.
p.3 #7 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
tomba8tomba wrote:
Smallrig 5490 is a great charger!
On 22.5W PD USB-C adapter/powerbank or more it charges faster and 2 E6P batteries simultaneously.
When using 5V 2.4A adapter or connected to a laptop it operates in slow-modus and charges one battery after the other.
I'll have to try it.
I have the Orange SmallRigs 4xLP-E6 charger and it's not so great. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHH26299
In general that company is rebadging a number of products. I don't know about that one.
Do you have experience with how the 5490 manages end of charge?
p.3 #8 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
vbnut wrote:
It's the last part of your statement: "or shoot 4k 120 all day long" that worries me. I don't shoot 4K/120 all day long, but I have started shooting a lot more video, and it's mostly 4K/120 so I can turn it into slow motion later if I want to. I expect/hope to shoot more video on my upcoming trip than I ever have in the past. My current plan is to take 6 batteries for 2 R5IIs. LP-E6Ps are relatively cheap to rent ($42 each for 29 days at LensRentals), so I could easily take more.
3 batteries per R5II is plenty, even for shooting a lot of video. Your camera will overheat before you blast through all your batteries while shooting 4k 120.
p.3 #10 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
It's a 2-wire charger, so there is no interaction with the smart controller in the battery pack that I could find. It's only a 1A charger like many others of the generiac variety.
Is just the current being measured triggers shutoff? How did you measure the charge and discharge capacity?
"...Intelligent circuitry offers multiple safety protections, including over-temperature and over-voltage safeguards. It monitors temperature and voltage, automatically slowing down charging during overheating, cutting off power in case of overvoltage, and employing trickle charging near full capacity to preserve battery health...."
p.3 #12 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
Have you tested the charger with the Canon batteries?
Some of that marketing info makes little sense, like how can the charger know the temperature of the cells with only the 2-wire connection? The charger can measure itself but the temperature of the cells is what matters. NMC (INR) cells in battery packs are not typically trickle charged as that reduces battery life. Normally one expects to take the batteries off the charger when they done or take them off the next day.
My main issue with the 3rd party chargers is that they are prone to short charging, i.e., stop charging too soon like my other Smallrig charger. The second issue is that some chargers allow excessive curent when the battery pack is in a low state of charge or the temperature of the cells are outside of the normal range. The low weight of the 5490 makes it appealing so I will do some testing. I don't know why the plastic goes up so high on the sides.
p.3 #13 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
Short charging is a specific review complaint on Amazon for the Smallrig charger. Some indicated that the Canon branded batteries only charge to 85-90% and a few have complained that after a period of use, the charger no longer charges past a lower amount.
Regarding the high plastic walls; likely this is to keep batteries securely in place while charging on the go, such as tucked in to a bag or pocket. It also doubles as a transport case for the batteries. It's not the most space efficient solution, but the dual functionality makes up for this, to a degree. The design is one of the features that interested me in the charger.
I believe the point about trickle charging is that after 90% the charger switches to trickle to slowly reach 100%. I didn't interpret it as a feature to allow the batteries to be stored in the charger on trickle charge between uses. It would be a similar concept to how EVs are fast charged to ~80%, after which the charge rate is typically reduced.
p.3 #14 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
I would not trust the generiac USB chargers enough to keep batteries in them.
I will do some testing of the 5490 charger. Wish I had x-ray available to see if there is anything in the side walls, but may buy extra to cut them up.
The Chinese may have another idea about what trickle charging means than traditional usage, so I won't belabor the terminology here.
I should be able to get some battery side data first (what users care about) and then see what is inside the charger later.
It is important to understand that the % battery charge shown in the camera may be accurate or quite far off when generiac chargers are used. I've done about 20+ LP-E6x charging cycles in the past week. As usual, correlations are not very consistent.
p.3 #16 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
I received the SmallRig charger yesterday and so far have used it only for a couple batteries. One was a Neewer LP-E6NH clone that the camera said was at 86% SOC but the charger showed at three bars. I didn't time charging speed but it was pretty quick to reach full, and in the camera it showed 100%. The Neewer batteries, even those I've had about 4 years, always charge to full and almost always show 100% SOC after long idle periods (I use them usually only after I've gone through all my Canon batteries). I had two Canon LP-E6NH batteries that were used in an R6II with the BG-R10 grip. The camera showed both at 50-something SOC. I put one on the Canon charger and one in the SmallRig at the same time as the Neewer. With the Canon battery, the charger showed three bars, so was more in-line with what the camera reported. The SmallRig charged the Canon battery to full (solid 5 bars on the charger) in about an hour (I didn't time it exactly). At this point the Canon charger was at the three rapid flashes stage. Installed in a camera, the SmallRig charged Canon battery reported 90% SOC. I put the battery back in the SR charger and left it until the Canon charger finished the other battery a little while later. The Canon-charged Canon battery reported high 90s SOC (no longer recall the exact number). I checked SOC of the SR-charged Canon NH battery after leaving it in the charger until the Canon charger finished its battery, and the SR 'trickle' charged NH battery was now at 94%. During this trickle charge period I did observe that the charger was pulling a fluctuating range of Watts between zero and about 4.0, so it was definitely still charging, just not at its highest rate.
Charger temperature didn't seem unusual. It was very slightly warmer than body temperature to the touch, and primarily at the base of the unit, when it stands vertically. For most of the charge duration the charger was laid down, which might have reduced surface temperature of the base somewhat. Other than that, the charger feels light and kind of cheap. It doesn't leave the impression that it should cost ~$35.
Anyway, so far it appears to work, including simultaneous charging.
p.3 #17 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
The 5490 works but has the same old issue with the battery charge level accuracy. I've charged and discharged another 15 times (in addition to about 15 of the TopRig) with various LP-E6x batteries day and night.
(What is your drain current for each discharge cycle and the cutoff voltage?) I'm not seeing 100% or even over 95% most of the time after a few cycles. Some are stuck at 93%. 30 minutes of extra time may add a couple %, but is poor time efficiency. Of course only charhging at 1A is not great either. All these are the usual pitfalls of the 2-wire chargers. I just wish they would communicate with the battery packs.
Best bet with these cheap chargers is to use the OEM charger after a few cycles to get the battery back to normal.
The TopRig is a better, faster charger with more controls and a robust construction with a finned aluminum base for external heat dissipation. I would prefer to use it when weight is not an issue, but 55g vs. 178g is a large difference for some travels.
p.3 #18 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
I wouldn't be using the SmallRig as my primary charger. Its appeal for me is size, design and simultaneous charging in situations where I need something charging in a bag while I'm on the go plugged into a USB battery. Usually in those situations 90% 'full' charge is more than enough to keep working.
Yes, it could be better and I still feel it's a bit over priced for what it delivers. But for the specific niche cases I have in mind for it, it will do the job.
p.3 #19 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
Update with Canon LP-E6P batteries, two of which were at 33 and 34% SOC respectively, one charged in the SmallRig (SR) and the other in the Canon charger. Both batteries were bought at the same time in Dec. 2025 and show full 3 bars health status.
SR pulled 10W for most of the first hour, at which time it was at 86% SOC and pulling about 5W. The battery in the Canon charger was at 82%. At 1.5 hours the SR showed full charge, battery was at 98% SOC and the charger was pulling around 0.5W in 'trickle' mode. The Canon was at 95% with the orange LED flashing rapidly three times. At some point ~10-15 minutes before the two-hour mark, the battery in the SR was at 99% while the Canon charger's green light was on and that battery was at 100%. SOC was based on reporting from an R5II.
Based on this, the SR charger doesn't appear to be appreciably faster than the Canon, at least with respect to getting close to 100% SOC. It's also interesting that the SR charged the Canon P battery closer to 100% when first hitting the full 5 LED bars compared to what I observed with a ~4 year old Canon NH battery.
Perhaps it's not a true rapid charger, but at least it's not slower than the Canon if one just wants to get two batteries somewhere in the 90s SOC range at the same time without having to plug into an AC outlet.
I'm currently topping up a couple P batteries in the SR from about 80% and the base of the charger is a bit warmer to the touch. Currently the charger is pulling ~11W for both batteries with the fifth LED blinking. This was with the charger lying down on the large flat side rather than standing on the base where it is the warmest. The sides are all at approximately ambient temperature. Perhaps in the interest of safety it would be best to lie the charger down to allow better heat dissipation from the base. An unknown is how hot it would become if tucked in a camera bag while charging, which is something I would want to use it for...
p.3 #20 · R5II battery usage on safari (or other intense camera usage situations)?
The 5490 tends to flop over anyways, so starting on the side is not a bad idea.
The efficiency is decent, but the USB-C power is obviously higher than the power being delivered to the battery packs.
Did you measure the difference in capacity after initial SR charge compared to initial Green LC-E6 charge? That's the inconsistent part that is annoying me for over 10 years with the generiac LP-E6x chargers.
The Smallrig 5490 charger is only 1A max. Canon LC-E6 is 1.2A or 1.0A with some chargers. The TopRig is 1.2A. There are some 3rd party batteries at even higher current, but Canon is very conservative and only specifies 1.2A as the standard maximum charge. Some of the LC-E6 are only 1A, which is just plain slow. Good INR (NMC) cells can certainly handle more current during the middle part of the cycle, but the charger needs to measure the temperature and also apply the charge curve safely. The 2-wire chargers are at a disadvantage and Canon is not going to change anything LP-E6x now.
I feel like INR cells are getting near the end of being practical in high performance cameras, considering all the battery problems in the R5 II at lower temperatures. Sony has some issues with the A1 II also.
In the future Canon should be doing what Sony did with the A7rVI, use a modern Li-Po battery pack with higher capacity (21Wh), higher voltage, and faster charging (2.7A) at about the same weight. They have a 2-bay USB-C PD charger so need for 3rd parties.
