# Canon R USB charging - does it work off power banks?



## Isaacheus (Dec 29, 2018)

As per the title, does the Canon R allow charging off a USB power bank, or does it have to have ac power through the Canon power block? 
I've seen some posts of people being able to use MacBook chargers also, but these need to be plugged in to ac power too, as far as I'm aware. 

If it does work through USB banks, can it be charged while running (like Sony) or only when the camera is off? (like Nikon)


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## koenkooi (Dec 29, 2018)

It should charge off anything that supports the USB-PD (power delivery) standard. Anything that promises fast charging and doesn't list USB-PD is a fire hazard and should be avoided.


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## Isaacheus (Dec 29, 2018)

koenkooi said:


> It should charge off anything that supports the USB-PD (power delivery) standard. Anything that promises fast charging and doesn't list USB-PD is a fire hazard and should be avoided.


Thanks for the reply. 

Do you know if it charges while the camera is running, or does the camera need to be in the off position to charge?


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## Mikehit (Dec 29, 2018)

I asked the Canon rep at a EOS-R launch meeting and apparently the important thing is the power delivery capability of the charger. Up until very recently only mains chargers had the power reserves to charge the camera but powerbanks are now getting into that territory.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 30, 2018)

Mikehit said:


> I asked the Canon rep at a EOS-R launch meeting and apparently the important thing is the power delivery capability of the charger. Up until very recently only mains chargers had the power reserves to charge the camera but powerbanks are now getting into that territory.



Power banks nowdays have had plenty of power, but there are two issues: They typically put out 5 volts where Canon Camera batteries require 8 volts to charge. The second relates to communicating with the device being charged and providing the higher amount of wattage needed for high powered devices, and still work with low powered ones as well.

The Power Delivery Power Bank Batteries have the same underlying wattage rating, but the output power range has been increased greatly from 7.5 watts max to 100W in some cases but certainly not all.

The EOS-R has circuitry to convert 5V to a higher voltage needed to charge the battery, and it tells the PD battery deliver to deliver the required wattage. My 2 year old USB power bank has been powering my 5D MK IV thru the use of a Case Relay device that provides the right voltage outlet. It will not charge a battery in camera, but thats a camera design limitation due to lack of charging control technology when the camera was specified. Since the capability for PD charging requires additional components, its not clear if it will be standard on future cameras.

https://www.gizmochina.com/2018/12/...pd-charger-with-intelligent-power-controller/


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## koenkooi (Dec 30, 2018)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Power banks nowdays have had plenty of power, but there are two issues: They typically put out 5 volts where Canon Camera batteries require 8 volts to charge. The second relates to communicating with the device being charged and providing the higher amount of wattage needed for high powered devices, and still work with low powered ones as well.
> 
> The Power Delivery Power Bank Batteries have the same underlying wattage rating, but the output power range has been increased greatly from 7.5 watts max to 100W in some cases but certainly not all.
> [..]



For me the big benefit of USB-PD that it standardizes on things that *aren't* allowed, so 25W charging won't happen on 5V, 100W won't happen on 9V and so on.
And it allows for charging in both directions, so in theory Canon could allow you to charge your phone from the camera


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 31, 2018)

koenkooi said:


> For me the big benefit of USB-PD that it standardizes on things that *aren't* allowed, so 25W charging won't happen on 5V, 100W won't happen on 9V and so on.
> And it allows for charging in both directions, so in theory Canon could allow you to charge your phone from the camera


The big benefit comes for cable makers. I have a large number of cables in my USB cable drawer (2 drawers full, in fact)

USB A - USB A female (extension)
USB A - USB Mini-A
USB A - USB Micro A
USB A - USB B
USB A - USB Mini B
USB A - USB Micro B (USB-3)
USB A - USB - C
USB A - Apple & Amazon older tablets)
USB A - Apple lightning
USB A - Motorola, LG, Samsung, and a few other special device connectors)

I may have other combinations, but those are typically done with adapters. That does not count specialty cables, or extra long ones.

I still have some cameras (Olympus, Fujii, and even a old Sony Camcorder that uses the rare USB cable types.

I should start a cable museum, when I add in the old SCSI types, the old ribbon cable types from PC's, the old audio cables for CD drives and so on.


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## koenkooi (Jan 1, 2019)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The big benefit comes for cable makers. I have a large number of cables in my USB cable drawer (2 drawers full, in fact)
> 
> USB A - USB A female (extension)
> USB A - USB Mini-A
> ...



USB-C cabling is worse than the version before, if your country has access to amazon, have a look at 

_SPAM Site Removed by ADMIN _ 

to see which cables aren't going to destroy your device while charging (that's not a hyperbole!).


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