EOS R8 Battery Life Too Short

[mmbrombe]

I understand that CIPA ratings are not the most reliable - for the Canon R8 I've seen figures between 350 and 400 shots when using the back screen. I am also aware that the R8 has a small battery so I normally carry a spare or two just in case. I was quite disappointed at my last outing, and I'm trying to figure out if I'm doing something wrong or if this has been the experience of others.

This was outdoors in a beautiful sunny day, using single shot drive mode and one-shot AF. I ended up getting only  105 shots before the red battery warning started blinking.

Is this to be expected? Is this the experience from other R8 users?

Appreciate the feedback,

Marcelo

[rs-eos]

Are you using Canon-branded batteries? Did you have an GPS or Wi-Fi enabled?  Were you using Live View for all shots, or the EVF?  What lenses were you using? Any in-camera image adjustments?

There are many variables that will affect battery life.  When in doubt if you've enabled some setting, you can always return the camera back to factory defaults and see if that improves things.

[Waddizzle]

There are many different things that can reduce battery life.  Your AF settings can do it. A large lens can do it.  You can do it by using the rear screen to review shots and settings. 

[p4pictures]

105 shots seems a little low in my experience. I would check that you don't have Preview AF enabled, as it constantly drives the lens focus motor while the camera is powered on, and can reduce battery life by 50% quite easily. 

[mmbrombe]

Thank you all for your feedback. I’m wondering if my camera has an issue. I only use Canon batteries, only used 2 primes (50 and 28mm) on this occasion, I don’t use preview AF (hate the constant AF noise) and only use the EVF. Thank you for your feedback, I will contact Canon and see what they have to say.

[LeeP]

I had a fun moment with my R8 this weekend. I went to a car show and was shooting heavily using the screen, which obviously depleted the battery. But instead of just running out of juice and dying. it:

1.  Refused to focus though it was powered up. 

2.  Then it went to this message: "Err 01 Communication between the device is faulty. Check the camera, lens, or mount adaptor contacts." The lens was not the issue as it worked perfectly on my R100. There was no mount adaptor.

3.  Turning the camera off did not turn off the display.

I removed the battery to turn it off. Freshly charged battery in and the R8 was once again happy.

I found the R8's "dead" battery behavior in that moment a bit odd. I've never had a Canon do anything other than just stop working with a dead/dying battery. The drama was a bit unsettling.

When the battery gets low, my R8 definitely gets as cantankerous as an internet troll getting ready to pounce, but this was a new level of drama. 

Solution: have a fully charged battery ready to go.

Does anyone have experience with the  Vello BG-C18 Battery Grip?