EOS Rebel T3 Battery Problems

[samuelprowse]

Hello, 

I got my camera maybe 8-9 months ago and I've been trying to figure out this battery problem ever since. The original battery that came with the camera hardly worked at all. I would charge it fully and then it would take about 5 pictures and then caput. The camera told me to recharge. 

I bought a new battery (official canon battery) and this one does work slightly better. However, I still have to charge the battery between uses. I remove the battery from the camera between uses, but whenever I turn it back on again it might last for 10 pictures before needing to recharge. I even bought a new charger, thinking maybe it was the charger that wasn't working, but that hasn't helped the problem.

So my question is: Do the batteries just not last long in general? Is it normal to have to recharge the battery after every use? Could this be a problem with my camera that I'll need to send in to be fixed? 

[jrhoffman75]

That is not normal. We use T4i and T5i and get hundreds of shots.

[ScottyP]

Yes.  You should be getting hundreds.

You proved it is not the battery by getting a 2nd one.

It could be the charger.  You could check that by borrowing someone's compatible charger and trying it on your batteries.

If not the charger, it must be something with the camera itself.

[TCampbell]

"Liveview" draws a lot more power than using the viewfinder to shoot.  With the viewfinder, you should should never have to swap batteries during the day for casual shooting.  For heavy shooting you might have to swap batteries just once.

As other have said... you should be getting hundreds of shots out of a battery -- not 10 minutes worth.

There are counterfeit bateries on the market.  Who did you buy your genuine Canon batteries from?  If you're getting them from an authorized Canon dealer then they should be fine. 

While batteries degrade as they age and get more charge cycles, it normally takes a couple hundred charge cycles or at least a few years of age before you start to notice them degrading in their ability to hold a charge.

It sounds like you have two dud batteries, but the odds of getting two bad "new" genuine Canon batteries in a row should be exceptionally low (are you buying these from an eBay seller??)  This makes me wonder if the camera isn't drawing down the power rapidly.   Even when we do astro-imaging where the camera isn't taking very many pictures, but each image is very long (camera under continuous use) we tend to a few hours of use out of a battery.

[ebiggs1]

" I turn it back on again it might last for 10 pictures before needing to recharge."

A fully charged battery that drained itself in 10 minutes would become warm to hot to the touch.  Is your hot?  It doesn't sound as if they are getting fully charged.

This assumes everything is real Canon stuff.

[samuelprowse · Accepted solution]

No, they do not get hot to the touch. In fact, if I plug them back into the charger, the charger will show a green full charge light after a couple minutes. 

The camera itself will show a full charge one minute and then shut off with the "charge battery" message the next. After turning it back on, the battery indicator will usually show a full charge again. 

I am under the impression the issue lies with the camera, and have contacted support to try to resolve the issue. Thank you all for your help!