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.