topic Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

isad008 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 11:12:40 GMT

Hello,

Last week I bought a new Canon EOS 7D body. Before starting to use the camera for the first time I fully charged my battery and started using it. I used the camera for one week. I shoot raw with back display always on and LCD brightness to very low. I took around 200 images, 10 with live view mode and 2-3 image with flash and a 30 sec video and my lens is 24-105 f/4 L. I turn off the camera when not in use.

But after 200-250 images my battery just rans out of juice. According to canon, the battery supports up to 1000 shots with fully charged battery. I don't use flash at all and I did mostly indoor shoots. What I feel like is my battery is draining pretty fast. Seems very unusual. After facing this issue I tried to find out how fast my battery was draining. So I shoot 3 raw images and found that battery just drained 1% so I keep doing it and eventually found that each 3-4 images taken my battery loses 1% of charge. I can only take around 220-280 images with a fully charged battery.

Super disappointed

I hope any Canon 7D user could shed some light with this matter. Let me know if I am doing anything wrong here. Thanks in advance.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

hsbn — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 15:46:20 GMT

Shooting with live view and constantly display images on the back of the LCD is draining battery fast. 1000 shots per charge rating is for optimal condition without live view.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

amfoto1 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 16:31:18 GMT

The way you're using the camera is causing the battery to drain rapidly...

Using the LCD screen continuously heavily drains it no matter how bright you have it set... whether it be active while shooting, reviewing stills, using Live View, or shooting video. It takes a lot of power to keep that screen on.

Also, Live View and shooting video both consume a more power for additional reasons. In either of these modes both the camera's mirror is kept flipped up and the shutter held open, and doing both these puts a pretty heavy and continuous drain on the battery, as long as the camera is in either mode.

I've shot with a pair of 7Ds for over four years. I use the Canon vertical/battery grip on it, which holds two batteries. I mostly shoot stills and consistently get 2500+ shots with a pair of freshly charged LP-E6 in that grip, which was roughly 30% or more increase over a pair of freshly charge BP511A in 50D grip that I used before.

I try to conserve battery power...

I have the cameras set to go into sleep mode after the shortest possible time.... they wake up instantly so this is no problem. I use the viewfinder and have the LCD off most of the time. It comes up instantly when I occasionally go in an review reviewing images, or use the LCD to make changes in the menu, etc. I use Live View occasionally, but not often. I don't shoot video with my 7Ds. This is with a variety of lenses, including a number with IS, and using continuous AI Servo focus a lot. I do a lot of sports/action shooting, which often involves heavy use of AF and IS, tracking subjects and taking bursts of shots.

I carry two extra batteries per camera... but rarely have to use them even on days when I shoot as much as 5000 images with the two cameras. Usually if I need to use the spare batteries, it's because I forgot to recharge the ones in the camera the night before!

Canon's rating of the shots per charge uses some industry standardized method of testing (CIPA?), for comparing cameras. It's probably still shots only with minimal review, and some percentage using the built-in flash (another heavy power user... I never use the built-in).

Any DSLR you might choose, used the way you are using the 7D, will rapidly drain the battery and fall short of whatever rating the manufacturer has given it under the standardized testing.

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

isad008 — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 06:08:44 GMT

Thank you so much for your valuable opinion. Before reading your post last day I took my 7D to an event. Actually I took two of my Cameras Rebel T3i and 7D. Both with a full charged battery, I decided to compare the two camera. For 7D I basically turned of most of the features such as noise reduction, lighting optimiser etc. I also turned off the LCD and Image review. I only reviewd the images when I thought I might need to check if the composition was ok. And probably had to review 5-6 images at best.

I took my T3i as a backup camera. On my t3i back display is on always and sleep mode is set to 16 sec or something. As these cameras are really fast at waking up as you have said. In fact I set my 7D the way I use my t3i. Sleep time is probably 16 sec or at best 30 and I never went past that actually. I review my shots only when I feel I didn't quite make it right.

I started shooting the event with my 7D. With everything turned off I still had the same battery issue. I was really shocked. With that minimal settings and so forth I only managed to get 229 images. I didn't use the live view, no video, lcd turned off the whole time, image review off, camera sleep mode to 16 sec, most of the features turned off I was sure that I would be able to manage at least 700-800 shoots if not 1000. 😞

luckilly I took my t3i as a backup and with lcd on, sleep mode to 16 sec, image review 2 sec I managed to get 703 images. I also used the live view mode to get 10-15 images as I was standing behind a crowd and wanted to take some photo over their head. I did not expected that performance over my 7D.

Judging by the performance I got last day with my 7D I am not sure what to expect anymore. I used the camera with best possible battery saving way I could and it was again frustrating. The 7d body is twice the price of my t3i and I expected a bit more performance if not less.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

ebiggs1 — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 17:05:29 GMT

It sounds like you may have a bad battery and/or charger. Also new batteries may have to be charged and drained several times before they become fuly useable.

I don't have the camera shut off when I am at a shoot no matter how fast it turns on. I don't know of any pros that do. If it is going to set for a while I turn it off myself. We just have extra batteries if needed. Also I don't ever use live view and rarely check the LCD screen except for settings.

I have the battey grip on my 7D and I highly recommend it for anyone.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

amfoto1 — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 18:55:20 GMT

" Also new batteries may have to be charged and drained several times before they become fuly useable."

This occured to me, too. If these are the first couple times you have used the camera, the battery may not be taking a full charge yet, may need to go through several more drain and recharge cycles before it gives full performance.

I agree that it's not generally necessary to turn off the camera (I try to remember to do so occasionally so the automatic sensor cleaning runs)...

But my undestanding was that you were just turning off the LCD screen (i.e., have is set so it doesn't display automatically after each and every shot).... if so, that's a reasonable setting (Note: I have my "Set" button programmed for image playback when the camera is in shooting mode... this way I can instantly check an image using either thumb.)

You mention taking 10-15 Live View photos, and that doesn't seem like a lot at first glance. But what really matters is how long you had the camera active in Live View mode watching and prepping to take the shot. There's a continuous drain on the batteries, while the shutter is being held open and the LCD remains active. So 10-15 shots where each shot only took a few seconds would be very different than if Live View mode were used for 4 or 5 minutes per shot.

I would think it rare, but certainly there is still a possibilty of a bad battery or charger. If the problem seems to continue after the battery has been through a half dozen or dozen drain/recharge cycles, I'd be more worried and might be getting in contact with Canon.

The battery grip and a second battery is a good idea, as well. Nice to have for portrait orientation shots, too. I also like the balance with larger lenses better, with a grip on the camera. Both my 7Ds have had grips on them from new. All my Canon cameras have been fitted with grips. But, of course, the grip and add'l battery do add weight and bulk.

Lucky thing is that the LP-E6 batteries have come way down in price. They were first introduced with 5DII, if memory serves, and initially were very hard to find. I recall paying $120-125 apiece for a couple of them. Now they are widely available for less than half that.

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

isad008 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 05:45:32 GMT

Thank you, I guess I have to wait couple more weeks and go through some recharge cycle to see if the problem persists.

The thing about camera shut off, I mentioned that I turned of the back LCD not the camera. I too don't turn on and turn off camera often while I am at a shoot, I just keep it in sleep mode and only turn off when I know that I am not going to be using it for extended period of time during shooting. And about the battery grip I do use one for my t3i, I just didn't bought one for my 7D yet. They are really helpful accessories for camera that I am sure off.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

isad008 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 06:26:56 GMT

Thank you again. I guess going through some recharge cycle is the best idea right now. Also yes I did turn of the LCD not the camera. I don't turn if off / on often while I am in a shoot and relay on the sleep mode. Only when I know that I am not going to be using it for some extended period of time I turn off the camera.

The camera was active in live view for that 10-15 shoot was not more then 3 minutes. I was checking if the camera was focusing correctly. The images that I were taking were not as sharp as I was expecting so I did some internet research and found people had issues with front and back focus. So I wanted to check if my camera needed some lens calibration.

I do need some accessories for 7D and will buy them eventually. Battery grip is one of them. I do own one for my t3i and know how much useful they are, not only it gives the extended charging period with two battery but also gives a good balance for heavy lenses. Yeah it does add some weight and bulk but I use a "Caiden Double Strap" and generally keep it hanging form the side.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

amfoto1 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:35:11 GMT

"The camera was active in live view for that 10-15 shoot was not more then 3 minutes.'

If that's 3 minutes total for all 10 or 15 shots, should have minimal effect on battery drain.

If it were 3 minutes per shot, or a total of 30 to 45 minutes of Live View use, that's quite a bit of continuous operation and likely to drain the battery noticeably faster.

Coming from other Canon models, including your T3i, if you shoot RAW and post process them you might feel 7D images are a bit soft at first. The 7D has a rather strong anti-alias filter and RAW files that are not yet sharpened can look soft. Once processed, they look fine. If you shoot JPEGs, you might not notice this, depending upon how you have in-camera sharpening set (that's determined by the Picture Style selected and the settings within it).

Some people might interpret that image softness as front or back focusing. I have two 7Ds and around 20 lenses that I use on them.... and have found only a little bit of Micro Adjustment needed on a couple lenses.

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

isad008 — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 08:43:25 GMT

Yes, it should have minimal effects on battery drain for doing 10-15 shots in live view mode within 3 minutes. Yet it truly was a little bit annoying. So I decided to wait and give the battery another go after 5-6 recharge cycle.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

cale_kat — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 17:13:47 GMT

I'm not aware of any memory effect with Li-Ion batteries, such as those used in the 7D. Conditioning of batteries is useful for NiMH types which are prone to freezing up, preventing access to the full cell(s) during recharging. It's almost embarassing to say I know this from my electric r/c truck racing days. Canon even included a refresh or calibrate button on chargers (limit of my knowledge is soon to be exceeded).

The refresh/calibrate buttons are not on the LC-E6 charger not because it was "decontented" but, IMHO, because it was unnecessary.

I will say this about batteries. If Li-Ion batteries vary in perfomance from one cell to another, as was the case for the NiMH cells I used for racing, then I wouldn't be surprise if you just got a bad pack.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

ebiggs1 — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 19:37:50 GMT

This is from Canon............................................

Affected Product
Canon LP-E6 Battery Pack when used with the Canon LC-E6 Charger
(Compatible with Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 6D, EOS 7D, EOS 70D,
EOS 60D, EOS 60Da)

Symptom
In rare cases, the orange lamp on the Canon Battery Charger LC-E6 will blink rapidly at regular intervals when the Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 is inserted. In such cases, charging the Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 in the Canon Battery Charger LC-E6 is not possible.

This symptom may occur when a Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 has been discharged due to being unused for a prolonged period of time, such as when it is first purchased.
If this occurs, please follow the procedure below.

Procedure

Plug the Canon Battery Charger LC-E6, with the Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 inserted, into a power outlet.
Wait for 20 seconds.
If during this time the orange lamp blinks once per second, please continue to charge the battery until the green lamp lights up, which indicates a full charge. At this point, the battery is ready for normal use, and there is no need to follow the remaining steps.
If during this time the orange lamp blinks rapidly, please move on to Step 3 of this procedure.
If the orange lamp blinks rapidly, remove the Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 from the Canon Battery Charger LC-E6.
Wait for 10 seconds.
Reinsert the Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 into the Canon Battery Charger LC-E6.
The Canon Battery Charger LC-E6’s orange lamp should begin to flash slowly (once per second) and charging will begin.
Please note: If the orange lamp blinks rapidly again, please repeat steps 3-5 above. If, after a third attempt, the Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 does not charge, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center for assistance.
Charge the Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 until the green lamp on the Canon Battery Charger LC-E6 illuminates, signifying that the Canon Battery Pack LP-E6 is fully charged.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

cale_kat — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 21:14:55 GMT

The op said he or she had poor performance from a fully charged battery. This bulletin, which I read before I posted, concern the inability to charge a battery.

Perhaps the op might have noticed the flashing orange light.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

Bill-Emmett — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 23:05:56 GMT

I was having the same issue with my 7D. The battery seemed to drain just sitting in the camera. The problem battery was a Canon battery that was supplied with my 7D, which is still in warranty. I called Canon about the problem. The customer service advisor had me check the menu for the battery information (looks like a wrench head with three dots) I selected the information, and the battery was only at 26% with 129 clicks on the shutter since removal. As I was doing what the tech said, the battery discharged another 5%, and the clicks remained the same. The tech said it was a bad battery, took my shipping info, and sent me a new Canon battery. I also use a Watson battery for the 7D, and it has not had simular problem. I suggest recharge your Canon battery, install in the camera, go to the Battery Info, note the full charged battery level. Allow the camera to sit idle in the off position over night, and check it again. If the battery has become discharged 5-10% call Canon, or just buy a new battery if yours is out of warranty. Good Luck.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

isad008 — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 06:26:41 GMT

Ok what I did was charged the battery full and then I started using it. After taking just about 100 shot I uploaded them in my pc and then checked the battery performance and it was 80%. So in my view it was ok and started to realize that the battery might eventually start perfoming fully after some drain recharge cycle. But still I wasn't out of the thought that the battery still might be faulty or something must be wrong with my camera body. Funny part is if I browse through the menu of my camera from the back lcd display for about 1-2 minute the battery losses power 3-5%, Odd.

After reading your comment I decided to do another test to see if the battery was draining just by sitting in the camera. So I turned off the camera and put it aside for 2 days leaving the battery inside. After 2 days of no use I turned on the camera, checked the battery and the battery drained 4%. Now the t3i does not show battery percentize so I don't know if this is normal that the battery drains just by sitting idel in the camera even when the camera is turned off.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

TCampbell — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:23:58 GMT

I was just reading through your thread to see if you mentioned owning another battery.

From what I'm reading, it really sounds like you have a bad battery that can't hold a charge. It is not normal for a camera to lose so much power so quickly with a small amount of use.

If you do not own another battery, you'll probably want to get one anyway, but even if you know someone with a camera that uses the same battery you could test it. Assuming this was purchased from an authorized dealer, you should either swap it for a replacement or contact Canon.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

amfoto1 — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 19:19:32 GMT

All Canon cameras do continue to use a small amount of power when completely turned off. If I don't use one of my cameras for a couple months, it's main battery(ies) will be largely discharged. (Note: I use battery grips with 2X the number of batteries, plus my cameras use LP-E6, which are about twice the capacity of your camera's battery.)

If you got 100 shots with 20% of the battery in a T3i, I would consider that pretty close to normal. I believe the LP-E8 battery in your camera is rated for around 470 to 550 shots per charge (depending upon ambient temperature.... colder weather reduces total shots). Using Live View cuts this more than in half. Shooting video or extensive images playback and menu use of the LCD will reduce the number of shots, too.... though a 3-5% loss with 1-2 minutes using just the menu seems a little excessive.

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

ebiggs1 — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 19:48:21 GMT

I just got back from Atlanta from a week long assignment. I am currently editing 800 photos with about another 50 rought edit deletes. Maybe another 50 - 75 deletes right on the camera. Both are showing close to 50% left.

I also use battery grips and had my 7D and 5D2 with me. I didn't charge either all week. I probably had a camera in my hands 18 hours a day.

Back to editing. There is always another deadline to meet.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

isad008 — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 12:01:28 GMT

I am not even concerned with my t3i because from the day one the camera performance is really good. With battery grip and two battery it gave me 4 days of usage with 2000+ jpeg shots while I was on a trip. In those 4 days I didn't even thought about charging any one of my battery and after 4 days of usage there were still one bar left in the battery indicator.

So after using 7D I was deeply shocked with the overall battery performance. Apart from using a battery grip and with a single battery the camera should have given me around 600-700 shots which I was expecting as a normal camera behavior. Also LCD panel usage does takes some power out of the battery but 1-2 minute of usage while just going through the menu was cutting 3-5% of the battery that does not even make any sense at all.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Battery drain Issue

isad008 — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 12:15:04 GMT

I still don't wanna lose hope with my 7D and the battery. So I will continue using it for another 2-3 weeks giving the battery some drain recharge cycle and try to get good amount of shots. Judging by the performance it gives me in that time I will then decide what to do.