Canon 5d4 battery drain.

jerry12953

jerry12953

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Jeremy Moore
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I'm just wondering how many other people on here with a canon 5d4 have problems with batteries draining over a period of time? I've had a whole series of Canon dslr's without having a hint of battery drain, even if I've left them switched on. However my 5d4 drains over a period of about a couple of weeks.

I sent it for repair under guarantee when allegedly a couple of circuit boards were replaced. However it's still just the same.

This just shouldn't be the case, so I'm going to take it up with Canon - make a bit of noise , as it were.
 
Have you got WiFi and GPS enabled? I've seen people say that drains the battery even when off. Never enabled them myself so not seen a significant drain.
 
I have used my 5D4 for just over 2 years now. It certainly can be heavier on batteries but it is important to use the correct settings. I never leave the WiFi on and only enable when I wish to control using my iPad usually for Macro Focus Stacking. Given this mode will almost certainly be using mirror lock up, the battery drain is fast.

I also use the GPS in Mode 2. This means that when the power is switched off the GPS is also switched off. The alternative would be to leave the power on the GPS even when the camera is powered down thus draining the battery quickly. There is no serious disadvantage with using GPS mode 2 but you may need to allow a few seconds for it to acquire GPS satellites after switching on. I only use the genuine canon battery and always set out for a shoot with two fully charged batteries. So far I have never drained the first battery in one day but have come close.

Dave
 
The GPS or WiFi being left on may well be the cause, however, some old EOS film SLR cameras and IS lens combinations (the EOS-3 fitted with the 28-135 EF IS lens for instance) were reputed to suffer from increased battery drain if the lens was fitted when the camera was turned off (as you're supposed to do) but not turned back on again and switched off before putting the camera away.

Because of this, I got into the routine of turning the camera on, then off again, after changing lenses. I'd like to think Canon have sorted any such issue out long before the 5D iv was developed (and I'd imagine they almost certainly have), but if switching the GPS/WiFi off doesn't work, then perhaps give the switching on and off after changing lenses thing a try?

Best of luck and, whatever the issue is, don't forget to let us know how you go on. (y)
 
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Throughout all this process GPS and Wifi has never been switched on.

Are there people here who can categorically say that they have no battery drain problems with their 5d4?

Box Brownie said:
It appears to have been commented on since it came out.....maybe one of more here will give some wider insight
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Yes, I've googled this a few times; I just wonder if most preople use their 5d4 more often than i've done since i bought it so that they don't notice it's draining while switched off.

Mr Badger said:
perhaps give the switching on and off after changing lenses thing a try?
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That's an interesting one. I've certainly not heard of that before....... It may be worth a try but as you say you'd expect Canon to have sorted that one by now!
 
I think the battery does drain faster than leaving it out of the camera and possibly faster that my previous 5D2. Having just checked the last time I used my DSLR was almost 4 weeks ago and I would have thought that I had used less than half charge on that occasion. Checking just now the battery is almost empty. However, I do not find this to be a problem. Before my next shoot, I will ensure I have two fully charged batteries. If I had to grab my camera and use it at short notice the main spare is fully charged. I fortunately have a third spare from my 5D2 which is also charged.

Dave
 
David,

Thanks for expanding on your earlier post. It sounds like you do experience battery drain then. In a camera costing in the region of £3k it really is unforgiveable in my opinion. Users really shouldn't have to take the battery out of the camera between sessions to retain charge. It was never the case with the 5d2, 5d3, 6d or 7d in my experience.
 
I went to use mine after not using it for a few weeks and the battery was flat despite being fully charged when I last used it. I didn't have this happen with my 5D3.
 
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It's still a cracking camera though, but annoying if there's a glitch with some of them. I keep being tempted as I know I'd love everything else about it. I must remain strong! :giggle:
 
Well, I've spoken to a guy at Canon this morning and he is blaming the batteries I'm using.

He asked me to check my batteries and I discovered that they are all LPE6's, not the LPE6N that was supplied with the 5D4. On checking them in the battery info section of the 5d4's menu system, it appears that they are all (4 of them) due for replacement. He said that you should never use poorly perrforming batteries, and not even take one as a back-up for use in an emergency.

I may have sent the LPE6N to the dealer when i sold my 5D3. Bu**er!

Or is he fobbing me off? These very same batteries do not fail in my 6D and never did in my 5D3......... . I just don't know what to believe.
 
Why not speak to the same chap again and say you'll buy a new LPE6N from a registered Canon dealer and try it, but if that shows the same drain issue as the other batteries then you want Canon to fix the problem free of charge and give you something towards the 'unnecessary' battery you bought as a direct result of their advice? If they agree then put it in writing to them by email.
 
I can confirm that my two batteries for the 5D4 are LP-E6N (one came with the camera and one bought spare). I also have a spare LP-6N left from my 5D2. It is true that the performance for the LP-E6N is poorer than the LP-E6N. I thus only have the LP-6N as a final backstop though I use it occasionally just to keep it in use. As I originally said, the batteries do not present a problem to me as I fully charge before each shoot. This may not be possible for others but I operated this way even with the 5D2 . Incidentally, if I go out on a shoot with a full LP-E6N, I can take about 500 full sized Raw files with GPS on for one charge.

Dave
 
Mr Badger said:
Why not speak to the same chap again and say you'll buy a new LPE6N from a registered Canon dealer and try it, but if that shows the same drain issue as the other batteries then you want Canon to fix the problem free of charge and give you something towards the 'unnecessary' battery you bought as a direct result of their advice? If they agree then put it in writing to them by email.
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I have emailed him with that suggestion. Thanks !
 
Dave Canon said:
I can confirm that my two batteries for the 5D4 are LP-E6N (one came with the camera and one bought spare). I also have a spare LP-6N left from my 5D2. It is true that the performance for the LP-E6N is poorer than the LP-E6N. I thus only have the LP-6N as a final backstop though I use it occasionally just to keep it in use. As I originally said, the batteries do not present a problem to me as I fully charge before each shoot. This may not be possible for others but I operated this way even with the 5D2 . Incidentally, if I go out on a shoot with a full LP-E6N, I can take about 500 full sized Raw files with GPS on for one charge.

Dave
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I'm a bit confused by your battery model no's, Dave.
 
I have two LPE6 batteries for my 6D, the original one I got with the camera shows one red bar for the recharge category but I've not noticed much performance drop when it comes to taking shots with it. I read somewhere that if you charge the battery frequently when it's only part drained (topping up), then this can confuse the monitoring circuit and make it show falsely low recharge performance. Apparently, it's better to use the battery until it's almost empty and then charge it, rather than topping up.

After seeing the one bar and reading this, I bought a used LPE6 from MPB and that recharges fine and shows three green bars; so now I have a spare battery I can run each one right down before charging it, knowing I've got a spare with me if it runs out. It will be interesting to see if the original battery changes it's one red bar status once it's been charged from empty a few times. As I said, I've not noticed an obvious lack of performance with it, I charged it about 6 weeks ago and it's been unused in my camera bag since, just checked it now and it's still showing 92% charge, which I think is probably about right for a Lithium battery when stored for a while?

Don't take the recharging thig as fact as it's only what I've read on the internet, but it seemed logical. I suppose time will tell.
 
jerry12953 said:
I'm a bit confused by your battery model no's, Dave.
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I do not know why you are confused. The 5D4 is supposed to use a battery LP-E6N and is sold with this battery. However, you can use the LP-6N but it holds less charge. Having re-checked the 5D4 handbook, I re-emphasise that it is important to set the GPS to mode 2 or the battery will drain even with the camera power off; this is clearly stated in the manual.

Dave
 
jerry12953 said:
Are there people here who can categorically say that they have no battery drain problems with their 5d4?
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I haven't noticed battery drain on mine. I've never used the GPS and rarely used the wifi.

I've never measured how many shots I get, but rarely run out of juice. Occasionally during a football match I might put a fresh one in at half time. On my 5D3 it would certainly slow down on the shooting rate as the battery depleted. I think the 5D4 is the same, though I haven't tested it. It's only important when shooting action.
 
My 5d4 was last used in earnest on 16th of June (about 3 to 400 shots, mostly JPEG) - and started the day with full battery. It's taken approx 10 to 20 shots since and been switched on / off a handful of times. It still has 2 bars now - and if I recall correctly, was on 3 bars about a week after last charge. I have 3 batteries and cannot discern a difference between the generic type and Canon official.

When on recent holiday the 5d4 was on for several hrs a day and a few hundred shots. I found that it went totally flat on a couple of occasions, luckily not when needed, but when admiring my shots in the eve over a couple of mojitos.

One thing that must have an impact is the lens. I am convinced the 16-35mm III takes a lot more out of the cells than the 50mm F1.8.The motor in the WA must be vastly more powerful (although the ultra-cheap 50mm STM focuses way faster...but I guess the WA isn't intended for situations where you need the snappiest AF).
 
NB - don't you lot have power banks? I use a twin charger from a****n. It was about 30 or 40 quid inc. 2 batteries. Combined with a Belkin power bank it means I always have 2 full batteries, with a 3rd in use. As I said in previous post, the aftermarket batteries seem indiscernable from the Canon in terms of stamina. My old Nikon D7100 lasts about a week of shooting on one charge, but I don't plan to go back to it -)
 
WD40 said:
My 5d4 was last used in earnest on 16th of June (about 3 to 400 shots, mostly JPEG) - and started the day with full battery. It's taken approx 10 to 20 shots since and been switched on / off a handful of times. It still has 2 bars now - and if I recall correctly, was on 3 bars about a week after last charge. I have 3 batteries and cannot discern a difference between the generic type and Canon official.
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Wouldn't two bars give you the recharge performance rather than the remaining charge?

Good to hear that you find compatible battereis equally as good, though.
 
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I have the same issues with my 5D4 too!
Seems to drain batteries when not in use, all genuine Canon LPE6N's (have 4), so the response from Canon imo is rubbish.
I take out the battery if I know I won't be using the camera for a day or more.
My 5D3 never had this problem.
 
I don't have a 5D4, but I do have a 7D2 which uses the same batteries. I have both OEM and non OEM packs and they are pretty hopeless. Luckily I bought a battery grip along with my camera and it takes AA cells.

I use some rather (very) old Sanyo Eneloop 1900 Mah cells and they last as well or better than two LP-E6/N packs + they discharge very much more slowly so I don't have to worry if the camera has been idle for a while. A few years back the Sanyo cells gave 2135 Mah after being left in an unknown state of charge for about 3 years = OK by me!
 
Carlo said:
I have the same issues with my 5D4 too!
Seems to drain batteries when not in use, all genuine Canon LPE6N's (have 4), so the response from Canon imo is rubbish.
I take out the battery if I know I won't be using the camera for a day or more.
My 5D3 never had this problem.
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Carlo,

Thanks for posting that. I'm going to copy it verbatim and send it to Canon (no names mentioned, of course). I'm was sure I wasn't the only one.
 
I owned a 5d4 for a couple of months and only charged the batteries twice.
Both batts were in a genuine canon grip and were lpe6n types.

In short, I did not notice undue battery drain.
 
I got a M50 in May 2018. since then ive used my 5D4 maybe 3-4 times. Each time ive got it out of the cup bard there has been power in it. Its always going to drain a small amount but im talking over a couple of months at a time with maybe 30% left.
it is quite power hungry though, more so than my old 5D3 and when i first got it i was worried it was faulty.

In the past i did have a 24-105L f/4 that would drain my 5D3 battery to dead within 24 hours if i left the lens attached to the body. I would get maybe 150-180 shots per charge with this combo. I sold the lens with full disclosure but the buyer never had any issue with it, nor did i with any other lens.
 
jerry12953 said:
Latest developments.

I bought a brand new LPE6 N fully charged it and put it in my 5d4 on July 16th, six days ago. It has been sitting on a shelf in my office since then completely switched off.

Battery charge is down to 51%!
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If so, I'd be straight on to Canon customer services to politely, but firmly, tell them how disappointed and annoyed I've been with both the camera fault and their recent diagnostic 'advice'. I'd want the camera fault investigating and fixing immediately, and in view of the fact it's just cost you the price of a new genuine battery to be no further forward, I'd want a loan camera while they fixed mine too!
 
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Last used 5d4 Sunday before.last. Took approx 250 shots, JPG + CR2. Just checked now and it said 71% remaining. It lives with a 50mm STM lens when dormant.
 
@jerry12953 Is there a particular lens that you always leave on it? Have you tried leaving it with no lens?

I've honestly never noticed any drain with mine and it often sits there unused.
 
Bebop said:
@jerry12953 Is there a particular lens that you always leave on it? Have you tried leaving it with no lens?

I've honestly never noticed any drain with mine and it often sits there unused.
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At the moment it has no lens on it but previously it was stored with either a Canon 24 - 105 or a tamron 150 - 600 .

I don't think its the lens.

Battery now down to 42% and falling.
 
UNBELIEVABLE.

Quote from Canon tech......


​

"The issue you experienced with your new LP-E6N battery is normal, please note it is not recommended to leave the battery in the camera if the camera is not used for prolonged period.

Please refer to page 43, 50, 299 and 526 for more information on using the battery, please click on the link below to view PDF user manual;"







I'm bloody furious!

He's taking me for an idiot.
 
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:confused: Tell you what, in the interest of fairness, let's have a straw poll:

Does anyone on this forum consider 6 days non-use to be a 'prolonged period' to the extent that they'd seriously consider removing a rechargeable lithium battery from a high-quality, pro-spec DSLR?
 
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