# Battery problems... How long does your 5D Mark III battery last?



## jessicaellenc (Apr 3, 2012)

The battery on my brand new Mark III seems to die very quickly. I've only taken 11 pictures with it, kept it on for less than 8 minutes, and the battery went from 100% to 89%. I just just charged it less than 2 hours ago..

I have to charge the battery very frequently as it will not last more than an hour or two of shooting.

I've tried looking it up and asking around and nobody seems to have any issues with their Mark III's battery life.

What are your thoughts?


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## dr croubie (Apr 3, 2012)

That ain't right.

Do you have a 7D or 5Dmk2 around that you can test with? (ie, new battery in old camera and old battery in new camera) Then you can at least figure out if it's the camera or battery at fault.
If not, try going back to the shop and asking them...


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## Daniel Flather (Apr 3, 2012)

I can get 700+ shots before I'm under 10% on my battery, and I'm still playing in the menus a lot as it's a new camera. The shot total per charge and percent is shown in the battery info in the menu.


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## Daniel Flather (Apr 3, 2012)

Also, that includes a little video shooting, but nothing big.


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## JerryKnight (Apr 3, 2012)

I think it's a combination of things.

You can't measure a camera's battery life purely in hours or number of shots. It's a mixture of the two, as well as how long your LCD screen has been on and at what brightness, etc.

Also, there is no way to reliably check a battery's capacity, only it's voltage. The two are usually related, but there are other factors like heat that can affect the capacity estimate. That's why Canon only gives you a few "ticks" on the external battery meter. If you saw it go from 100% to 89% right away, it would concern you. But seeing it go from 5 ticks to 4 wouldn't as much..

Or, you could have a faulty battery.. What does the "recharge performance" say for that battery?


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## prestonpalmer (Apr 3, 2012)

The only way you will know is to shoot till its dead. See how many shots you get. You should be able to shoot all day on one batter for stills. For video. Go buy 5 more batteries


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## Daniel Flather (Apr 3, 2012)

prestonpalmer said:


> The only way you will know is to shoot till its dead. See how many shots you get. You should be able to shoot all day on one batter for stills. For video. Go buy 5 more batteries



For video with an IS lens, make that 5 a 7.


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## tasteofjace (Apr 3, 2012)

Mine lasts longer than any other battery i've ever used.


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## CanineCandidsByL (Apr 3, 2012)

You might consider charging it up fully and then recording video until it dies (note settings & if you use IS or not). That will give us a baseline we can use to compare to our cameras.

But as others are saying, battery life seems very good. My wife shot about 4 or 5 hours and around 1500 raw photos on a single battery with power to spare. She recharged and did it again the next day. That was with a 70-200 IS lens.

It is possible you have a bad battery or a short in the camera.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 3, 2012)

Are you using live view or taking video? That eats up batteries quickly. 

If you are just taking stills, you should get 700-1000 shots and more from a single charge as long as you are not in live view while taking them.

I leave my camera on all the time, it does shut down automatically. I see that after 136 shots, I have 72% of the battery left, but I have used live view a lot while doing AFMA and tethered to my pc with auto shutoff disabled, and that uses the battery pretty rapidly. Its actually holding up very well.

Don't recharge the battery every time it drops a few percent, take a few hundred shots and see what it reads.


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## prestonpalmer (Apr 3, 2012)

What the batter indicator reads is totally inaccurate. Go shoot all day (without video) and without chomping through tons of photos. If you get less than 700 shots you might have a bad battery. I am a wedding photographer and shoot 1000 to 1300 images Per battery per day. I switch them when the battery light blinks. It is NOT good to run a battery COMPLETLY dry... that's what damages them. Also, let them cool off for a few hrs before putting them back on charge. Even my 3yr old 5d2 batteries perform excellent. And they have had TONS of charge cycles. I would be willing to bet nothing is wrong with your battery, or camera.


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## stilscream (Apr 3, 2012)

If this is an old battery, it may have worn out. Batteries only last a certain number of charges, so charging after you use it for 5 minutes each day would be wasteful. Never charge them longer than necessary, because excessive charging can damage the battery. ie don't leave it on the charger overnight if it's full after 40 minutes. This applies to all Li-ion batteries. Cellphones can be damaged by the swelling caused by ritual over night charges. I've never heard of Li-ion batteries damaged by running it until they were empty, I've heard the opposite, in fact, that it was better to do that so that you are not charging it as often. This advice comes from Radio shack vet of 20+ years of expeience, not myself.


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## jessicaellenc (Apr 5, 2012)

Thanks everyone!
After wearing it out and seeing that the battery lasted me approximately 2 and a half hours of shooting and about 350 pictures, I have decided to call the manufacturer and see if I can get it exchanged or replaced. I know the Mark III's battery can do much better than that.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 5, 2012)

jessicaellenc said:


> Thanks everyone!
> After wearing it out and seeing that the battery lasted me approximately 2 and a half hours of shooting and about 350 pictures, I have decided to call the manufacturer and see if I can get it exchanged or replaced. I know the Mark III's battery can do much better than that.


 
Strange as it may seem, Canon does not warranty the battery. Its also likely a camera issue, many have had similar problems with Canon DSLR's not properly going into sleep mode. 

You may have to return the camera for exchange. Do it quickly before your return rights expire.


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## ew20 (Apr 5, 2012)

I charged to full when I got the camera, and have taken about 250 stills and 20 minutes of video. I'm about 40%, and that's with a lot of LCD time. Pretty impressive. Way better than a 5DII so far.

I have been using IPB though, I would imagine All-I would put a greater strain on the battery if the camera is processing more.


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## itsnotmeyouknow (Apr 5, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> jessicaellenc said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks everyone!
> ...



Doesn't surprise me in the slightest as I used to work in a cellphone store. It's the same for any battery operated item as its hard to be specific about battery life as it differs widely depending on many many factors such as operating temperature, style of usage etc. Li-on batteries don't have memory issues like the old Ni-cad ones. Most dealers will swap out batteries for cellphones but camera batteries are slightly more complicated. It probably would be done on a goodwill basis


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## pierlux (Apr 5, 2012)

stilscream said:


> I've never heard of Li-ion batteries damaged by running it until they were empty, I've heard the opposite


Wrong. That's true for NiCd- NiMH batteries, Li-ion ones die when discharged completely even if brand new. In fact, devices using Li-ion batteries switch themselves off before the battery runs empty. Better store them with 30-50% charge when not using them. Or completely charged, provided you store them in a cool place. A charged Li-ion battery dies also if overheated.


CanineCandidsByL said:


> You might consider charging it up fully and then recording video until it dies


This is the best way to go IMO. Report the time, others having your same camera may provide useful feedback.
Regards,
Pier


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 6, 2012)

stilscream said:


> I've never heard of Li-ion batteries damaged by running it until they were empty, I've heard the opposite, in fact, that it was better to do that so that you are not charging it as often. This advice comes from Radio shack vet of 20+ years of expeience, not myself.


 
20 years ago, they used NiCad batteries, and that was believed to be true, (disputed by battery experts).

However, todays cameras use Li-on, and a li-on cell will cease to be rechargable if fully discharged. There is electronic circuitry in the battery to prevent it from being fully discharged, but it is still not a good idea to run it down, because if unused for a while or freezing, the battery voltage may fall so low that it can't be charged with ordinary chargers.

From wikipedia

"If overheated or overcharged, Li-ion batteries may suffer thermal runaway and cell rupture. In extreme cases this can lead to combustion. Deep discharge may short-circuit the cell, in which case recharging would be unsafe. To reduce these risks, Lithium-ion battery packs contain fail-safe circuitry that shuts down the battery when its voltage is outside the safe range of 3–4.2 V per cell. When stored for long periods the small current draw of the protection circuitry itself may drain the battery below its shut down voltage; normal chargers are then ineffective. Many types of lithium-ion cell cannot be charged safely below 0°C"


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## prestonpalmer (Apr 6, 2012)

Yup. Don't brick your batteries by running them dry. Never a good idea to let a Lithium battery get too low. Also, as far as battery life goes. I've had two photoshoots with my 5D3 over the last few days. Spent WAY more time looking at them and messing with settings on the LCD than I ever have with my 5D2 and battery life seems to be virtually identical. Pretty sweet considering im writing RAW to CF and JPG to a SD.


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## Viggo (Apr 6, 2012)

Mine (after first charge) lasted 900 images, included a lot of fiddeling with the menus and settings etc. I'm very happy with the 200 picture increas over the mk2.

I expect to get and average of 1000 images pr charge once the battery has been charged about ten times.


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## Tracy Pinto (Apr 6, 2012)

I got 950 clicks out of my first run with the new battery that I fully charged before a shoot. No video or playing around with features just shooting. I did all that when I first received the camera and I payed no attention to counts during that.


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## kbmelb (Apr 6, 2012)

I'm at 413 shots with 13% left. Seems relatively low. I've only shot stills, no IS lenses. I have messed around in menus a bit though.

I've read to that batteries need to be conditioned by use. Meaning the charge will last longer after a couple charges. This was definitely the case with my Mini-Vagabond.


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## pierlux (Apr 6, 2012)

Viggo said:


> I expect to get and average of 1000 images pr charge once the battery has been charged about ten times.





kbmelb said:


> I've read to that batteries need to be conditioned by use.



I'm afraid your expectations will be frustrated. Unfortunately (or should I say luckily), Li-ion batteries deliver 100% performance immediately, they do not need to be excercised unlike Ni-MH or Ni-Cd ones.

There's plenty of misconception regarding lithium chemistry batteries, primarily driven by instruction manuals themselves which still retain old guidelines ascending to the old nickel chemistry cells. One of these is the advice to charge Li-ion batteries for 10-12 hrs at their first charge.

Below are some tips which prolong the life of lithium batteries.

1. Store them partially charged in a cool place when not using them for a long period. Never store them fully or nearly fully discharged, they naturally undergo self discharge which can brick them after a few months. When left in the device they power (camera, phone or other) a little current is always drained by the device which adds to the self discharge, and the few months period may likely become a few weeks period.

2. When recharging them, stop the charge before they are fully charged. For Canon batteries, this means unplugging the charger when the light stops blinking (or after a short while, say 10-15 min.): the battery is not yet fully charged (about 75% full charge if I remember correctly). You won't take advantage of their full capacity, but you will prolong their life.

3. Replace the battery when it still retains at least 15-20% of its full capacity. Again, you are not going to take advantage of its full capacity, but... same as above. And remember to recharge it as soon as possible!

4. Never let them overheat, i.e. don't leave them in a car under the sun, near a heather, or in direct sunlight, ESPECIALLY when fully or nearly fully charged.

Following these rules, your batteries may last 8-10 or more years. You may not believe me, but I have 2 BP 511A batteries which are 8 years old and still perform well.

All these rules DO NOT apply to nickel chemistry batteries, i.e. those we use in our Speedlites, for example. Ni-MH batteries need to be excercised when new or not used for a long time, they'd better be fully discharged before recharging them and they do not suffer from excessive heating.

Cheers!


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## dpinparis (Apr 8, 2012)

I seem to be having the same issues with batteries. I am going to do a full test as soon as I can, but seem to get a few hundred at most.


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## Abraxx (Jul 24, 2012)

Daniel Flather said:


> I can get 700+ shots before I'm under 10% on my battery, and I'm still playing in the menus a lot as it's a new camera. The shot total per charge and percent is shown in the battery info in the menu.




I wonder if it makes a difference if:
shooting RAW only or RAW+ JPG?
To one card or CF + SD?
Haven't tested this till now.
I'm usually shooting RAW to CF and JPG to SD and getting nowhere near to 1k
Its more around 500-600 (some HDRs, but no video or liveview normally, but lots of setting changes and Display use)
When using a SD with several Eye-Fi transmissions I'm down to 200 or less


Just curious.
Any thoughts?


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