R5 lcd screen draining battery

[mirabellafrench]

Hello!

When I turn my camera off, the top lcd screen stays partially on (it is not fully lit up, but it shows the M setting and is not fully dark like when there’s no power). If I leave it like this in the “off” setting, it fully drains my battery pretty quickly. I’ve been having to unscrew my battery grip every time I am not using the camera so that the battery is not used.

Haven’t been able to find anyone talking about this issue and would really appreciate any help!! Thanks!

[rs-eos]

Which particular 5D do you have? Mark IV, III, other?

Do you have GPS enabled? About the only thing that comes to mind that could perhaps drain the battery.

[mirabellafrench]

Hi, 

My mistake! It is an R5, not a 5D. GPS is not enabled. 

[rs-eos]

Do you perhaps have the camera paired with a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth?   The manual states that auto power off will be disabled if you're using a Bluetooth remote controller feature.   Also, the camera could be maintaining a Wi-Fi connection even when off.   See page 604 in the User Manual for details.

[mirabellafrench]

Thank you for the response! I have airplane mode enabled, so no connection with WiFi or Bluetooth.

Do you know if it could be related to my grip? The grip is Canon and was purchased at the same time as the camera, but it is the only other factor I can see related to the issue. 

[JoeySnaps]

Yes I have the same problem, the batteries in my R6 and R6mkII go flat in a few days even when the camera is turned off. I discovered, just as Ricky has indicated, the manual does warn that if Bluetooth is enabled the camera doesn't fully turn off. One solution is to enable 'airplane' mode - page 3 of the Communications menu. That should disable Bluetooth and WiFi. You'll need to turn off airplane mode next time you need either of these, though.

I either remove the battery so it doesn't flatten (although Lithium batteries do lose a little charge in storage) or don't worry about it, and always have a couple of batteries fully charged, and put a fresh one in before each use.

Regarding your concern about the LCD screen, although maintaining a display on an LCD panel does take power, the amount is TINY and will not be significantly affecting your battery's capacity. In the early days of digital watches, a tiny button cell kept an LCD panel alive and displaying the correct time for about a year.

[mirabellafrench]

Thanks for the info, Joey! 

Just checked and I've had airplane mode enabled, but still witnessing the batteries drain. Wondering if it could be related to the grip holding my batteries. 

[AtticusLake]

I would forget about the top LCD.  That is a reflective LCD, which uses microscopic power.  I wouldn't be concerned about it being on.

I did find the R5 to be very good at draining batteries when not in use.  Some folks suggested disabling WiFi and Bluetooth.  But in the end I just took the battery out when not using it.

I haven't noticed the same issue with the R5C (which of course also keeps its top LCD on), so I wonder if it's just a problem in the electronics which they've fixed in later cameras.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

I am very surprised to hear this, and started watching this thread.

When I turn my R5 C off, my top LCD is blank. I don't typically leave a battery installed for any length of time, but every once in a while it happens.   I've left my battery installed for a week with basically no noticeable difference in available power.  Example,  if I have 2 bars when I turn it off, there's 2 bars the next time I come back to it.  Power remaining is always within a few percentage points from where I left it previously .  Movie recording time might show a minute or two less.  I don't have a battery grip   I also don't use airplane mode.  Wi-Fi or  Bluetooth only gets turned on when I'm using it.  The camera definitely remains powered because the card LED flickers if I open the door insert or remove a card, but my top LCD is blank unless the camera is on.  It's always behaved that way.  If I recall the camera was released in April. I ordered late and got one of the first units in the second batch in June.  I just looked now and my top LCD is definitely off.  Battery is installed.

[AtticusLake]

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When I turn my R5 C off, my top LCD is blank.

Ah, I beg your pardon, the R5C does blank the top LCD when turned off.  I just got used to always seeing it on the R5.  Still, a reflective LCD does use next to no power -- I'm pretty sure that's not the issue.  But I definitely saw a lot more battery drain on the R5 than on the R5C.

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The camera definitely remains powered because the card LED flickers if I open the door insert or remove a card,

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That doesn't neccessarily mean a lot -- depending on how the camera is wired internally, it could just be set up to respond to those events.  (I.e. they are what we call "wake sources".)  Doesn't neccessarily mean that it's using (much) power.