R5 Battery Draining When Off (LP-E6NH battery)

[-Chad-]

TLDR:
Has anyone had a problem with an R5 camera body draining an LP-E6NH battery while turned to "off"?

Context:
A couple of times now, I've pulled my R5 out of my camera bag only to find the OEM battery that shipped with the camera body completely drained. 

The first time this happened I was in a hurry to get a shot so I just grabbed a LP-E6N battery out of my R (which had been sitting unused longer but has never had this issue) and carried on shooting. I assumed I had accidentally left the R5 switched to "on" in my bag, took myself to task and made sure I started turning it to "off" after use.

However it has now happened again, and the camera was definitely "off" and was definitley near full when I put it in my bag. It had set about 10 days between usage. This time I had a backup OEM LP-E6NH which I had charged at the same time as the LP-E6NH that was now dead in the camera. That backup battery was still full. 

I am still not sure if I have a bad battery or a camera issue, so I am starting to try and isolate variables, starting with leaving the second OEM battery in the camera unused for a few days to see if it drains. I'm open to other suggestions, but has anyone had a problem with an R5 camera body draining an LP-E6NH battery while turned to "off"?

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

Make sure that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are disabled when not in use.

[-Chad-]

After a couple of tests with different batteries, I've confirmed that putting the camera in airplane mode eliminates battery drain on the R5 when the camera is "off." 

Thanks @waddizzle for the tip!

[dougsturgess]

Does anyone know if Canon is addressing this in a future firmware update?  They should make it go into Airplane mode when the camera is turned off automatically, or give you a choice to put in airplane mode. 

[Waddizzle]

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@dougsturgess wrote:

Does anyone know if Canon is addressing this in a future firmware update?  They should make it go into Airplane mode when the camera is turned off automatically, or give you a choice to put in airplane mode. 

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Use the power switch to actually turn the camera [OFF].  Just because a camera went to sleep, and most of the buttons seem dead and unresponsive, does not mean the camera is turned off.  It is merely sleeping, and wireless may still be awake.

[Lotus7]

Unfortunatly, the R5 "power switch" does not physically disconnect power from the processor.  Regardless of the switch position, power is supplied and can be used by the processor and wireless transciever to run Bluetooth and WiFi as well as the systems which recognize  and scan the directory of memory cards when a card is installed.  This happens if the switch is in the "OFF" position.   Keeping Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections in operation will use battery power to keep the transciever "alive".  The wireless operation is discussed on pp. 597 of the R5 Advanced User's Guide:

Maintaining a WiFi Connection When the Camera is Off

"Even when the camera power is set to <OFF>, as long as it is paired to a smartphone via Bluetooth, you can use the smartphone to connect via Wi-Fi and browse images on the camera or perform other operations.

If you prefer not to connect via Wi-Fi to the camera when it is off, either set [Airplane mode] to [On] or set [Bluetooth settings] to [Disable]."

The R5 is a computer that happens to record images and video. It's only really "OFF" when the battery is physically removed.

[wq9nsc]

"The R5 is a computer that happens to record images and video. It's only really "OFF" when the battery is physically removed."

Lotus 7 is absolutely spot on with this statement.    With the power switch off, for my 1DX and 5DS series bodies inserting a card or battery causes the activity light to flash indicating that the camera has been triggered out of its low power standby mode.

It is similar to the reason that many modern cars can't sit nearly as long as older vehicles without depleting their battery beyond the starting point.  Keyless entry systems, particularly the passive types, involve both the transponder in the vehicle and in the key fob to stay in a low power sampling mode looking for activity.  So even without any content theft prevention system, most modern vehicles are never fully asleep. 

The same is true of most modern line powered technology where the power supply is constantly on in a low power mode so that the remote and touch controls on the device can work.  Very few current devices have a physical power switch that actually interrupts the power feed and to an extent that also improves reliability since switch contacts are no longer switching heavy current.  Standby power consumption is very low for all of these applications but over a long period of time a device dependent upon batteries will deplete them.

Rodger

[dougsturgess]

To clarify, the camera's power switch was switched off while the battery drained from full to completely empty over 3-4 days.  I'm assuming this is due to the WIFI & Bluetooth being enabled (even though the camera was off).  I have yet to do my own experiment to see if this makes a difference.  

[Waddizzle]

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@dougsturgess wrote:

To clarify, the camera's power switch was switched off while the battery drained from full to completely empty over 3-4 days.  I'm assuming this is due to the WIFI & Bluetooth being enabled (even though the camera was off).  I have yet to do my own experiment to see if this makes a difference.  

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Remove the lens when you do test it again.

[Lotus7]

For what it's worth, I have not noticed any significant battery drain on the R5 and R when they are not in use.  The indicated caspacity is typically the same or may drop only by 1% over a week of non-use. The R5 usually sits with a RF 85 or RF 70-200 installed and the R has it's original 24-240 zoom.  I have both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi disabled.  No difference between any of the Canon OEM LP-E6NH or LP-E6N's or the handful of Watson LP-E6NH's I have.  All seem to hold their charge while in the cameras when not used. On the other hand, when a camera is ON and I'm storing on both cards, checking shots on the screen, checking focus often, and generally messing with the cameras, the battery dischage curve is like falling off a cliff. 🙂 Especially with the R5.

I suspect it's possible that IF your camera had its wireless mode enabled, AND was in proximity to your phone which had also had the Canon Camera Connect App running you could have had a communications link running that drew down the battery. 

Otherwise, you may just have a bad battery with a high self-discharge rate.  This can easily occur with Li-Ion cells that have been allowed to rest in a fully discharged state for an extended period.  Charge the suspect battery and let it sit for a week and then stick it in a camera and check its state of charge.