# How many spare batteries do you bring on a trip?



## Cheekysascha (May 31, 2017)

Hey guys, so i was just finishing up my packing for my trip and was looking at my camera batteries and was curious what you guys usually bring with you? I currently have 3 spare batteries for my 5DS and 1 spare battery for my 1DX Mk2 and 1 spare battery for my 1dx with each of the bodies having one inside.

I was thinking of I should maybe buy a third 1DX Mk2 battery for a second backup/spare but not sure if it's needed so i just wanted to check how many batteries you guys usually bring for travel/outdoor adventures


----------



## Ryananthony (May 31, 2017)

What kind of trip and for how long?


----------



## Don Haines (May 31, 2017)

Just got back from a week long canoe trip.... brought 3 batteries and used two.....


----------



## neuroanatomist (May 31, 2017)

Ryananthony said:


> What kind of trip and for how long?



+1

For a day trip to the next town over, just bring the battery in the camera. For a trip to Mars, bring 100 batteries. For a trip of an intermediate duration, it depends. 

Personally, for trips up to a week, I bring one spare battery each for my 1D X and M2. I rarely need to use them, but most of my trips are for business with photography in the evenings only. For a family trip to Europe, I brought the wall-wart charger for the M and I did need to use it.


----------



## mnclayshooter (May 31, 2017)

Don Haines said:


> Just got back from a week long canoe trip.... brought 3 batteries and used two.....



I usually have very similar usage: pack 3-4 and use 2 almost always. 

Shot in Yellowstone last fall, 6 batteries (no chargers at the campgrounds), used 2 total in the park, and 1 on the way out, and back (road trip from Minnesota). Camera on almost all of the daylight hours, but GPS/wifi off. 

A good question is: how many photos do you plan to take/usually take? My typical trip usage gets me (on all day with wifi/gps off) about 500 shots per battery (going from memory - might be more or might be less, but that's what I plan for), but there's long gaps between shots (hiking/driving etc) where the camera is essentially "sleeping/sipping power".


----------



## Don Haines (May 31, 2017)

mnclayshooter said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > Just got back from a week long canoe trip.... brought 3 batteries and used two.....
> ...



I got a solar charger and charged my headlamp and lantern while on the trip.... I could have done camera batteries too, it I already had the three.....


----------



## mnclayshooter (May 31, 2017)

Don Haines said:


> mnclayshooter said:
> 
> 
> > Don Haines said:
> ...



I have a nice folding solar panel too. I can't recall the brand off hand, but it does well for my phone/gps or my AA charger. I haven't ever tried it on my camera batteries - never had the need. I imagine it would do fine for the aftermarket charger I have that I can use on my car/boat cig/lighter socket.


----------



## [email protected] (May 31, 2017)

Maybe I'm obsessive. I usually have 2 spares with me, even for trips that last a few hours. Number of times I've needed to switch a single battery: perhaps a dozen over a few years. Number of times I've used the second backup battery: none.

Here's my logic....
1) I'm very unlikely to take more than 1k shots at any given hike/event/etc., but if I DO take multiple thousand shots, it's going to be because there is something spectacular that I really need to get, and likely have to remain perfectly still while doing so. This has happened with mating eagles; cavorting fisher cats; Cooper's hawks feeding chicks; and a few other unpredictable opportunities. In each case, I was glued to a place for a couple hours, trying to get as many shots as I could as the situation evolved. 
2) On occasion, I bring a depleted battery instead of a full one. I always want to have 2 extra batteries, and then I'm very confident I'm not going to ever have a problem. 
3) The batteries aren't much for size or weight; and I can use the same battery for my 7D2 and my 5D4, which is a huge convenience. Having those two extras is better than having one extra each for two different bodies that take different sizes. 

I also take an extra card with me at all times, even though I shoot with 256 and 512gb cards. I've never had one go bad, but I figure it'll happen someday. It's a few grams. 

If I'm packing to go on a trip, I'll bring 8 batteries, as I'll sometimes fill up a couple battery grips to do intervalometer work over a day, and I want to be able to replace them all at once out in the field. 

Incidentally, I recently bought the Lanparte E6 battery with LP-E6 adapter. In fact, I bought an extra 3rd party battery grip used and drilled holes in it so I could fit TWO of those bad boys in the grip. That gives me the battery capacity of roughly 7 batteries; enough to take about 20,000 exposures doing intervalometer work over a day. That sometimes means an exposure every 3-4 seconds for all the time there is daylight. It sure beats hiking out into the woods every 4 hours to change batteries.


----------



## Maximilian (Jun 1, 2017)

Ryananthony said:


> What kind of trip and for how long?


+1
+ What kind of access do you have to recharge your batteries during that trip.
+ do you have extreme temperatures (= reduces the capacity)


I am no hiking guy, so normally I can recharge batteries overnight.

With my 5D3 I normally take two additional spare batteries with me and I never came to the situation that I needed all three batteries within one day. So I could leave one away but I'd like to be safe.

With my 100D/SL1 I just have one spare battery. Those LP-E12 have a much lower capacity but for normal tourist photography I never needed a second spare. If I'd take that one to a safari or a soccer game I'd surely take more than 3 spares with me.

Disclaimer: I use genuine Canon batteries, no third party.


----------



## Hillsilly (Jun 1, 2017)

I have three spare batteries, so I'd take three.


----------



## JPAZ (Jun 3, 2017)

For perspective, I have spent a week trekking at altitude in the Himalaya with no recharging opportunities and where it gets pretty cold at night. I have 4 batteries for my 5D3 and shot roughly 2000 images using back-button focus and had no problem. That tells me that for most circumstances, I have more than enough to get through most trips. One caveat.........Some of my batteries are now 4 years old and although I have not noticed any problems, they do not last forever and may not provide the same number of shots as they age. 

FYI, I have 3 batteries for my M3 for obvious reasons (DSLR does much better than the mirrorless when it comes to shots per battery charge) but I'd not expect that camera to be my go-to when easy recharging is not an option.


----------

