topic Re: R8 Battery in Camera Accessories

EOS R8 Battery life is ridiculously short

Eaglesnest — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 13:10:37 GMT

The battery life on my new R8 is ridiculously short. After a full charge, it shows low battery power after just a few of shots. Is there any reason why? Thank you for the tips.

Re: R8 Battery

Waddizzle — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 15:38:06 GMT

Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your camera purchase.

There settings and techniques to reduce power consumption. For example, I would disable photo preview after every shot. Stop “chimping” after every shot, which means looking at it for flaws. The rear screen does not have the display resolution to make that judgement.

All I ever do is check the exposure ever once in a while. There are other settings that affect power consumption, like Continuous AF and OVF display settings., for example.

It is the same battery used in entry level Rebel DSLRs. ??? I believe Canon made a judgment error to not use the larger E6 battery found in their midrange DSLR camera bodies. The E6 battery is used in the R5, R6, and R7 bodies. I recommend that you buy a few spare batteries to carry with you.

Re: R8 Battery

deebatman316 — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 15:38:14 GMT

How many pictures can you get before the battery goes down. The battery could be faulty do you have another one to test. The R8 does use a lower capacity battery compared to the R6 Mark II and R5.

Re: R8 Battery

Waddizzle — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 15:44:04 GMT

I would also like to know what lens you are using to cause such a rapid battery drain.

Re: R8 Battery

deebatman316 — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 15:45:46 GMT

I've seen 3rd Party Mount adapters cause rapid battery drain too. Lenses mainly 3rd Party can also do the same too.

Re: R8 Battery

Eaglesnest — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 20:07:33 GMT

No I don't have another battery. The camera is less than a month old.

I reduced the time preview from 8 to 4 secs. Hope this will help.

Re: R8 Battery

Eaglesnest — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 20:11:27 GMT

I used 100 mm 2.8 Macro EF lens with an adapter.(Canon adapter)

Tried with the right mouse button, still unable to see answers to other members questions.

Re: R8 Battery

Waddizzle — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 21:33:40 GMT

@Eaglesnest wrote:
No I don't have another battery. The camera is less than a month old.
I reduced the time preview from 8 to 4 secs. Hope this will help.

I suggested that you should disable preview entirely. The less the rear display is used, the better.

[EDIT] I also disable the rear exposure display from turning on when my eye is not up to the OVF. If I wish to see a “Live View” display, then I simply press [INFO].

Re: R8 Battery

deebatman316 — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 21:35:58 GMT

If it is the original EF 100mm Macro that uses an Arc Form Drive AF Motor. Those older Arc Form Drive lenses are power hungry. They tend to run the battery down faster in my experience.

Re: R8 Battery

deebatman316 — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 21:37:03 GMT

Which EF 100mm Macro lens. Canon has released a few different revisions over the years.

Re: R8 Battery

Eaglesnest — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 21:57:52 GMT

It is possible that my macro lens is the older version.

I will disable the preview entirely and see what happens. Thanks.

Re: R8 Battery

deebatman316 — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 22:00:44 GMT

Can you please list the FULL NAME of the lens you have. Since Canon has released multiple different versions of it over the years. The name of the lens can be found on the outer ring.

Re: R8 Battery

Eaglesnest — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 22:23:10 GMT

CANON MACRO LENS EF100 mm 1:2.8 L IS USM

is that what you mean?

I have several other Canon lenses.

Re: R8 Battery

deebatman316 — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 22:26:53 GMT

Yes so you don't own the original version that has an Arc Form Drive AF Motor. You have the most current version of the lens. Which is the L version with IS. What other lenses do you have. Please post the full name of those lenses too.

Re: R8 Battery

Eaglesnest — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 03:58:33 GMT

1. CANON ZOOM LENS EF 100-400 mm 1:4.5-5.6 L IS ULTRASONIC

2. CANON LENS TS-E 24mm 1:3.5 L

Re: R8 Battery

AtticusLake — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 09:44:35 GMT

Bear in mind that how you store and use Li batteries can affect their life. For example, if you store a lithium battery fully charged, ad let it get hot -- like on the back window of a car on a hot day -- you can DRASTICALLY reduce its life. Like, completely kill it in a few hours.

Re: R8 Battery

Waddizzle — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 12:38:35 GMT

You disable the sensor that switches the exposure display from the rear screen to the OVF when you bring your eye up to the OVF. Except, there is no specific setting that disables it by name.

Use this setting to tell the camera to not use the rear screen for exposure display. This will save you a lot of battery life. The MILC body “behave” like a DSLR, which means use must look through the viewfinder in order to see the exposure and AF point display. However, you can enable/disable exposure display on the rear screen any time you wich by pressing [INFO].

To repeat, you want to minimize the use of the rear display as much as possible, which can help extend your battery life. If you are using your camera and macro lens in a controlled indoor environment, then you may want to consider using a Canon AC/DC adapter.

The AC/DC adapter actually comes in two parts. There is the 120 VAC to DC converter, which is used with just about all camera bodies. And then there is the battery eliminator, which is a module that is the same size and shape as your camera’s battery. The battery eliminator needed can vary from one camera to the next, depending upon what battery your camera uses.

Re: R8 Battery

Eaglesnest — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 15:01:13 GMT

You mean "let get it hot" is to leave the battery in camera when it's not in use? Should I remove the battery and store it somewhere else (in the camera bag) and put it back when ready to shoot?

Re: R8 Battery

Eaglesnest — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 15:04:31 GMT

I tried "View finder" only. Not in favor for that. Which is better Auto 1 or Auto 2?

Re: EOS R8 Battery life is ridiculously short

shadowsports — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 15:23:10 GMT

Greetings,

In case your question about removing the battery from your camera when its not in use wasn't answered, I use the following as a guide.

The longest I leave a battery in my camera is about 7 days. If I'm not going to use my camera within that period, the battery comes out. I never store a camera with a battery installed long term.

If you aren't going to use a battery for an extended period, charge it to 50% or 70% and store it that way. Cool dry place.

Heat, my camera or lenses would never be subjected to a trunk, car interior or temps above 105*. Either air conditioning or its with me. If I was in the desert, or direct sunlight it would be shaded.

If its too hot for me, its too hot for my gear. Its a camera and I'm going to use it, but I'd try to protect it from extremes as best I could, taking reasonable precautions while enjoying it.