Battery Life

[erowe16]

I just bought a Rebel SL2 two weeks ago. I am realizing now my battery on display screen only has two bars even though I know the battery was fully charged based from the green light that was showing from my charger. Can someone explain to me why this is happening?

[kvbarkley]

How many pictures have you taken?

[John_ · Accepted solution]

Were the camera, battery, and charger new when you bought it? If not, first get yourself a new Canon battery, that would be my first suggestion. A dying battery will give you a false full-charged indication. If they all were new then contact whoever you bought it from for help.

[RobertTheFat]

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@John_ wrote:

Were the camera, battery, and charger new when you bought it? If not, first get yourself a new Canon battery, that would be my first suggestion. A dying battery will give you a false full-charged indication. If they all were new then contact whoever you bought it from for help.

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That sounds right to me too. After about nine years, my first LP-E6 batteries are starting to fizzle out, and the symptom is that they still work but don't hold a charge nearly as long as they should.

[wq9nsc]

Agree with the others that if the camera is used, the battery is probably very near end of life.  If it is new then it is a warranty issue.

Do yourself a favor and buy an actual Canon replacement.  You may get lucky and find a third party battery that works OK but don't bet on it.  Several years ago I needed a new pair of batteries for my 1D Mark II and took a chance on some highly rated third party batteries via Amazon.  They generally worked but not well, they hold a charge but even with fully charged batteries the camera would often experience an error when shooting continuosly at a high frame rate because the third party batteries couldn't sustain the required voltage at continued heavy current draw.  I bought a set of real Canon replacements and that cured the problem.

Rodger

[shadowsports]

Or there's me who has 2 OEM Canon and 2 3rd party Watson batieries that work great.  Every bit as good as my Canon batteries and I got 2 for a steal.  I wouldn't hesitate to buy either.  Both have gone the distance time and time again.  Whichever you choose, make sure you buy from a reputable retailer.    

[wq9nsc]

Rick,

My batteries were NOT Watson brand which weren't available when I was looking and those do seem to work well at least in most bodies.  These batteries aren't bad because they have a total image capacity very similar to (probably a little better) than the OEM Canon and most users wouldn't experience an issue with them but sustained full speed bursts with the 1D M2 was their Achille's heel. They hold a charge for a very long time when not used.

By the way, I bought the Watson external charger for my XF-400 camcorder batteries and it works extremely well with faster charging than the internal charger and the ability to also work from 12 volts in vehicles that don't have a built in inverter/120 VAC outlet.  

Rodger

[shadowsports]

Hi Rodger,

I was looking at that dual charger this weekend.  The digital displays, rapid charging and 12v option is appealing.

The Watson batteries really are good.  Most of us here aren't willing to compromise when it comes to our gear.  I don't even look when I take one out of my bag.  (My method)  If it has a cover on it, I know its charged and ready. I was leery at first, but the brand quickly won me over.  I won't discourage anyone from going OEM.  Canon has a "system".  It just works.

Rick

[ebiggs1]

The truth of the matter is some 3rd party batteries are really good.  You just can't depend on that, though.  I have also gone down that road and decided it wasn't worth it.  But if you get a good one you get a good one.

 Wasabi and Watson batteries are properly chipped, now, so the camera display shows how much charge is left and how many shots were taken on the charge, just like with the OEM batteries. That was not always the case.  The main issues still remain as..................

Leakage, Swelling, Shorter useful life, Incompatibility with OEM charger, Incompatibility with firmware updates and most of all voiding your camera's warranty.

I see it still as, do you fell lucky today, well do you? My experience with Wasabi and Watson batteries has generally been positive. Not 100% but hey they don't cost as much so a bad one here or there isn't a big issue.  At least now that I am retired but if I was still working I would only buy real Canon batteries from a favorite retailer that I trust.