# Canon 6D battery issue (?)



## TeT (Apr 21, 2014)

I am getting less than 400 shots on a charge.

Battery recharge performance indicates 3 bars green. battery communicates etc... No GPS, no WIFI running. Using 24 105 L lens . No Live View... No video taking.

Give it a shot... 

Also: will sucking the pics off of the camera via cable v. external card reader use significantly more charge?


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## dgatwood (Apr 22, 2014)

TeT said:


> I am getting less than 400 shots on a charge.
> 
> Battery recharge performance indicates 3 bars green. battery communicates etc... No GPS, no WIFI running. Using 24 105 L lens . No Live View... No video taking.



Try a different battery, then try a different lens.




TeT said:


> Also: will sucking the pics off of the camera via cable v. external card reader use significantly more charge?



My guess is that using the camera as a USB reader will use a lot more power, but that's just a guess. Fortunately, there's an easy way to check: Take the battery out of your camera, and see if your computer can still read files off the card.

If your computer sees the camera without its battery, then the camera was designed to draw power off of the USB bus, in which case using the camera as an interface doesn't run down your camera battery (though it might run down your laptop battery more quickly than a dedicated reader would). If it doesn't work without a battery, then yes, using your camera to transfer photos will drain the camera's battery.


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## TeT (Apr 23, 2014)

Thanks, will do that...


How exactly can a lens draw excess power?

John


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## BL (Apr 23, 2014)

Has auto shut off been disabled?

Canon OEM battery or 3rd party?


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## Marsu42 (Apr 23, 2014)

TeT said:


> I am getting less than 400 shots on a charge.



The ff sensor draws a lot of power, no comparison to my very efficient crop 60d. Live view & reviewing pictures and the IS of the lens also uses power, so 400 shots is not great, but not completely unusual... simply get a 2nd battery. Btw surprisingly gps draws very little power, no reason not to use it.


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## candyman (Apr 23, 2014)

TeT said:


> Thanks, will do that...
> 
> 
> How exactly can a lens draw excess power?
> ...


With the Tamron 24-70 it was a problem with the lens circuit board. A factory fault.


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## mackguyver (Apr 23, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> TeT said:
> 
> 
> > I am getting less than 400 shots on a charge.
> ...


Very interesting on the GPS and I agree with Marsu on 400 shots not being totally unexpected. Downloading over USB definitely uses some battery, too, but probably not a ton. LiveView is a battery killer, though. When I use it on my 5DIII for macro or architecture, I get very few shots per charge, sometimes as few as 100 shots. With wildlife where the LCD is off other than for a 2s review, I can get over 1,000 shots. A second battery is a good investment.


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## TeT (Apr 28, 2014)

*SOLVED: Canon 6D battery issue (?)*

My battery started performing better as I took more pics... I might even get 750+ out of this charge.

Replacement batteries arrived from China. They register and communicate with my camera and hold a strong charge, was at 400+ on initial use with only the initial shipped (not full) charge.. The seller will not claim that they are canon batteries, but I think they might be, certainly are visually identical including the labeling....

Did I say cheap... in comparison anyways... 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281280910770?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_from%3DR40%26_nkw%3D281280910770%26_rdc%3D1#ht_1978wt_851


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 10, 2014)

*Re: SOLVED: Canon 6D battery issue (?)*



TeT said:


> My battery started performing better as I took more pics... I might even get 750+ out of this charge.
> 
> Replacement batteries arrived from China. They register and communicate with my camera and hold a strong charge, was at 400+ on initial use with only the initial shipped (not full) charge.. The seller will not claim that they are canon batteries, but I think they might be, certainly are visually identical including the labeling....
> 
> ...


 
I see they are sending them to the USA thru the mail (USPS). This is illegal, sending li-on batteries thru the mail internationally has been banned for over a year.

The reason is that mail is carried on commercial passenger flights, and Li-on batteries are dangerous and are unsafe to carry in a cargo compartment.

I'd say that they are likely counterfeit and unsafe as well. I notice that they are no longer sold.

I do not have any good will toward a seller that blatantly endangers people flying on a aircraft. You should report this to USPS, so they can shut him down. If I see him selling them for shipment by USPS, I'll file a complaint with USPS and Ebay.


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## Random Orbits (May 10, 2014)

*Re: SOLVED: Canon 6D battery issue (?)*



Mt Spokane Photography said:


> ...
> 
> The reason is that mail is carried on commercial passenger flights, and Li-on batteries are dangerous and are unsafe to carry in a cargo compartment.



Does this mean that we should always carry camera batteries into the cabin even though our cameras are gate checked?


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## e17paul (May 10, 2014)

TeT said:


> Thanks, will do that...
> 
> 
> How exactly can a lens draw excess power?
> ...



I have noticed (but not measured) a notable difference when using modern lenses with USM and IS, instead of my old AFD and third party lenses on my 6D. The lens draws it's power from the camera, so are you noticing a difference between IS and non-IS lenses?


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