topic Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

Daviskw2004 — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 01:30:05 GMT

I need advice on how to power a Canon R5 with a power bank in remote locations without electrical power. Often in need 5 plus hours of continuous power. I have a Canon dummy battery and hope to find a power bank that will provide enough safe power that I can pair with it without damaging the camera. 5 volt 2 amp power banks will not power the camera. I believe I will need a 9volt 3 amp minimum battery but wondering if the dummy battery or internal circuitry can regulate a 12 volt 5 amp battery input.

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

jaewoosong — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 02:54:51 GMT

probably a power station/generator is what you'll need vs power bank using your dummy battery.

search "200w power station" on amazon to see your choices.

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

Daviskw2004 — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 03:12:27 GMT

I have a 400w power station but the USB ports are 5v 2amp outputs and they will not power the R5… already tried them.

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

Daviskw2004 — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 03:26:40 GMT

I should add there is a 12volt output cable from the power station connected to an ASIAIR plus controller. It has both USB 2 and USB 3 ports… they will not power the R5. The controller does have four 12 volt ports but the connector sockets do not match the canon dummy battery cable.

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

jaewoosong — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 13:17:47 GMT

I was assuming your dummy battery would plug in via regular 110v AC socket plug like this adapter and not via any USB ports. Most power stations will have at least 1 110v plug.

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Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

AtticusLake — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 13:20:10 GMT

A USB power bank will do this -- I tested it -- BUT you need a power bank AND a USB cable which specifically spport PD (Power Delivery), at 30 watts minimum. (Fretting about volts and amps is the wrong approach. You need to look for PD.)

PD is an extension to USB, so don't assume that any power bank will work, even if it has USB C, no matter how many volts and amps it has. Likewise not all USB C cables support PD.

I have a 30W USB PD power bank which did NOT work -- I think because of a bug in it. I got a 60W power bank which DOES work --

Again, you need to use a USB-C cable which is specifically rated for PD. I got these --

Setting this up can be fiddly, so practice in advance. What you're looking for is for the battery life indicator on the main LCD to go grey inside (the battery life bars), and stay grey for more than a minute or so. That means it's running off USB power. If the battery indicator is white, it's draining the internal battery.

You can connect and disconnect USB power while the camera is running. But NONE of this will work unless you have a charged battery in the camera. Even though you're running off USB power, the camera will not turn on unless there is a battery inside it.

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Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

Daviskw2004 — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 14:17:38 GMT

That is a solution I have considered and may very well go that route if I cannot find a separate system. The only draw back is I am already powering two dew heaters, a mount, and a ASIR Plus from the power station. I think, but not sure, the converter is pretty inefficient and may draw the battery down. It is an option and I thank you.

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

Daviskw2004 — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 14:33:30 GMT

Another good option…I appreciate the response I have received here on the forums. I wish I had done a little more research before I bought the Canon dummy battery. But since I have it I’ll try the option below which is a hybrid of both suggestions and see how it works. Then I’ll post the results here in case someone else needs the information.

[Commercial link removed per forum guidelines. Screenshot added to facilitate discussion.]

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

AtticusLake — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 15:32:13 GMT

How are you planning to connect that to your camera...?

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

Daviskw2004 — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 15:59:21 GMT

I hope to use the Canon dummy battery as in the article below.

https://camnostic.com/2021/02/powering-the-eos-r5/

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

AtticusLake — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 16:09:19 GMT

OK... good luck.

Re: R5 mobile power bank system needed for astro photography

kvbarkley — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 14:34:59 GMT

Ken Rockwell just reviewed this:

https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/jackery/explorer-300.htm