EOS R8 Battery life is ridiculously short

[Eaglesnest]

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. 

[Eaglesnest]

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

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

[deebatman316]

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.

[Eaglesnest]

CANON MACRO LENS EF100 mm 1:2.8 L IS USM

is that what you mean?

I have several other Canon lenses.

[deebatman316]

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.

[Eaglesnest]

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

[AtticusLake]

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.

[Eaglesnest]

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?

[AtticusLake]

It's not about whether the battery is in the camera, it's literally how hot it gets.  Leaving a charged laptop or camera in the sunlight in a car on a hot day is a bad idea; leaving just the batteries, if they're at 100%, would be just as bad.

[Waddizzle]

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.

[Eaglesnest]

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