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

[Tracy Pinto]

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.

 

[kbmelb]

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.

 

[pierlux]

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

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!

 

[dpinparis]

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.

 

[Abraxx]

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?