5D Battery Drain Issue

I purchased a new 5D last month. I tried it with several different fully

charged batteries, but was only able to get a maximum of about 60 shots out of

a fully charged battery. One time, I only took 3 shots with it before putting

it back in the bag ... the battery was dead the next morning.

 

Amazon exchanged the camera for me, and I received my new 5D Saturday

afternoon. I charged the battery overnight on Saturday and put a lens on the

camera yesterday so it would be ready for an early morning shoot today. But

when I arrived at my location and pulled out the camera, the battery was dead,

once again.

 

Although I recognize this problem could be caused by a short in a lens, I

don't think it is in my case because I've had the same problem with several

different lenses (all IS lenses though). Temperatures have been cold (down to

15 degrees), but again, the problem has duplicated itself even at room

temperature, so I don't think that is the problem.

 

Any thoughts? Anyone else experience this problem? Thanks in advance for any

suggestions.

The obvious question is "how do you know your charger is charging your batteries?" You seem to have swapped everything else out. I'd check the terminal voltage of the freshly "charged" batteries to check it is correct.

Sounds like your batteries are not getting charged. But it sounds like you have now had 2 different batteries and charger. How long do you charge your batteries. Could something be pushing a buttom/switch while the camera is in your bag causing a battery drain?

The batteries have been charged using 3 different chargers, and have been used without problems in my 20D, so I think they are charging fine. The camera bag was sitting on a table in my house (not moving), so I don't think any of the camera's controls could have been bumped. Any other thoughts?

Using the EF 24-105 4L IS USM, my 5D averages about 400 image per battery. I do little

chimping as the LCD is too dim for Hawaiian sunlight.

 

Sounds like your batteries and/or charger is going south. After a year of use, the two 511s I

bought with my 10D were only good for 60 or 70 shots. At 30 or 40 degrees they wouldn't

even make 10! I replaced them with Sterlingtreks and a years later they're still going strong.

I use the 5D with the battery grip (and two battery's) I shot an average of 1500 a day at a wedding and my battery's are 50% drained.

 

Check the charger and if your charging the battery's next to a magnetic source.

 

Other than that, send the whole lot back and get a replacement

Jeff,

 

The odds seems quite small that you would get two defective 5D bodies that eat batteries at that rate.

 

Under average conditions (normal temperatures and a fair amount of chimping), I have no problem shooting 400-500 photos with my 5D on a fully charged battery.

 

I agree with the others that it is most likely a battery or charger problem.

 

Jim

For those of you who think it might be a battery or charger issue, do you still think this is possible given that I've used 3 different chargers and 4 different batteries and still had the same problem? And given that the batteries seem to work fine in my 20D?

 

Martyn, I'm wondering about your comment about charging the batteries near a magnetic source. I'm not aware of any magnetic source in any of the rooms I've charged the batteries, but what should I be looking for?

 

Thanks again to all for your help in troubleshooting.

The charger that came with my 5D had an LED indicator that blinks to tell me how its coming

along. A single blink means just getting started, double blink means coming along, triple

blink means almost there, and solid lit means done. Does yours have this?

 

I'm wondering about your outlet. Have you tried different outlets--ones you're SURE are

working?

 

Just a few thoughts...

Peter

Peter -- all of my chargers (both of the chargers that came with the 5Ds and the charger that came with the 20D) work the same as yours, moving from a single blink to a solid light as the battery charges. I left the battery in the charger for several hours after the light turned solid. I used three different outlets in three different rooms over the course of charging the batteries for the two cameras. I have not yet tried the battery that came with the second 5D in my 20D, but the other batteries were tested in my 20D and worked with no problems.

<cite>solid lit means done</cite>

 

<p>If it's like the charger for my 20D, which also uses 1, 2, 3, and solid, solid does <em>not</em> mean done. It means about 90%, and the camera manual says that if you want a full charge, you need to leave the battery in the charger for another hour afterwards.</p>

 

<p>Now, of course, a 90% charge should power a 5D for much longer than the original poster's experience, so the difference between 90% and 100% isn't the issue here. I just wanted to point out that the information given wasn't entirely correct.</p>

jeff, are you using the same battery as with the first 5D or was the battery fresh as well? I ask because you say when you are charging you get a single blinking light then solid but for a full charge on a discharged battery you should get a three-blink, two blink, one blink then solid. Continue to charge for a while after that for a full charge.

 

The fact you have a discharged battery which only gives a single blink might possibly indicate either a faulty battery or one that has a battery memory problem.

Sorry if my prior posts were not clear: yes, my charger goes from one blink to two blinks to three blinks and then solid (I just skipped the interim steps in my e-mail for brevity). And yes, I leave it in the charger for at least an hour afterward, and usually longer. No, I have not been using the same battery each time. I used three different batteries with the first 5D (including the new battery it came with, after charging overnight) and the new battery thtat came with the second 5D (again, after charging overnight).

Just a thought ... what do you have the image review time and auto-power off time set to?

 

Is it possible that the camera is *not* going to sleep for a long period and this is draining the battery?

Have you tried it with IS off or a non-IS lens? Not that it should make a difference, but it sounds like you're running out of options here...

Scraping the bottom of the suggestions barrel here....

 

you are switching the camera off correctly, aren't you? The switch is not getting caught on anything when going into the bag and being inadvertently turned to ON?

 

When you are using the camera are you switching it off between shots as IS lenses will drain the battery even when you are not using the camera.

 

Can't think of anything else.....best of luck with this problem.

I leave my 5D on and my preview is on until the shutter button is pressed. I already shot 600 frames with 24-70L on one charge.

 

Is the electrical system in your house okay?

 

Good luck.

A.

Hey Jeff,

 

I just received a new 5D (replacing another 5D I had for almost one year). The new body exposes the battery drain syndrome you're describing (under the exact usage pattern, I did not have any issues with my old body). Thus, it looks like there's an issue specific to the new 5D bodies.

 

I was wondering if you found about any solutions for this problem - again...

Eduard -- no, I never resolved the problem. I returned the replacement 5D, and have not bought a new one yet. I was planning on buying another one soon, but am nervous about doing so after learning that you have also experienced this problem. If you talk to Canon or get any other ideas, please post what you learn. Thanks.

Jeff, the issue is with the "Automatic shut off" setting, which on the new 5Ds is turned off by default - that is, the camera never turns off.

I switched that option to "2 minutes", and now the camera no longer drains the battery. Yep - it was that easy...

<p>I purchased the 5D Mark IV two weeks ago. I too am having issues with the batteries draining overnight. I had a 5D Mark III and did not have that issue. With the new camera, I also received a new battery and new charger as well as purchasing 3 new batteries. It doesn't seem to matter which battery or which charger, the battery runs down overnight. Hopefully the first software update will fix this. Until then, I remove my batteries after a shoot. Frustrating.</p>

<p>If you just purchased your camera, why wouldn't you return it? </p>

I am having the same problem with batteries draining quickly. My mk4 is just a year old. I did not have the problem initially. I have checked all the areas you all have mentione so far. I just bought a new battery today and I am hoping that resolves the issue. I never had this problem with my mk3. ???

Jeff,

I have had a battery drain problem both my 6D and found the issue to be the GPS. The battery drains when the camera is turned off. One solution is to turn the GPS off when I am finished using the camera for the day. The simple solution I use is to remove the battery when I am finished using the camera for the day. Appears the GPS keeps draining the battery even when the main on/off switch is in the off position. Try the above methods as see if it works.

Also, I have found aftermarket non-Canon batteries to drain very quickly. Are you using original Canon batteries?