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Update 2: After speaking with two reputable third-party battery makers, this issue was not created purposefully by Canon, it was just a byproduct of the power delivery changes in the LP-E6P required for the new features and processors in the EOS R5 Mark II.
One of the companies says that they will have a solution in the coming weeks after more time with the new LP-E6P.
Keep in mind that all of the current third-party LP-E6 style batteries on the market today will never be fully compatible with the EOS R5 Mark II, and it's not likely that they will ever be at all unless Canon can do something nice.
Update: I have reached out to a couple of third party battery makers to find out if they even know about the issue.
We also don't know at this time if Canon has done this on purpose, or if it's just a thing that can happen when you change things in a camera body.
Obviously Canon will never respond to Canon Rumors, but hopefully another publication can get an official response.
For those of us that missed this little bit of information, it may be worth mentioning. Especially if you thought you had your battery plan all figured out.
It looks like Canon has closed the door on third-party batteries for the time being as a power source for the EOS R5 Mark II. I looked through the manual and couldn't find any mention on this topic.
We have spoken to a couple of people with the camera in hand, and they have confirmed that the camera won't even turn on with the third-party battery packs.
As you know, Canon has released a new LP-E6P battery pack to help power some of the new features in the EOS R5 Mark II, but you can still use the LP-E6NH/LP-E6N batteries with some limitations. The original LP-E6 cannot be used in the camera at all.
Operation of Battery Packs
○: Fully functional △: Partially functional ×: Not compatible
| Without a Battery Grip | Battery Grip BG-R20 | Cooling Fan CF-R20EP | Battery Grip BG-R20EP | Battery Grip BG-R10 | |
| LP-E6P | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | △*2*3 |
| LP-E6NH/LP-E6N | △*2*3 | △*2*3 | △*2*3*4 | △*2*3 | △*2*3 |
| LP-E6 | × | × | × | × | × |
- Cannot be used as a power source.
- Network connectivity (Wi-Fi/wired LAN) not available.
- Reduces continuous shooting speed and prevents selection of 8K DCI/8K UHD/RAW/SRAW movie recording size, Fine image quality, and 239.76/200.00/119.88/100.00/59.94/50.00 fps frame rates. HDMI RAW output, still photo shooting during movie recording, High Frame Rate movies, and pre-continuous shooting are not available.
- Cooling fan cannot be used.
Third party companies have been making LP-E6NH/LP-E6N batteries for quite some time, so I don't think this is simply a matter of voltage/wattage. Canon appears to have killed off the possibility for the moment.
The topic of third-party batteries always brings about a lot of discussion I think it has always been whatever you're comfortable with, and sometimes what your wallet says.
Will this change? I'd be surprised if it did. Is Canon going to spend time certifying third-party batteries to work in the camera? I'm not versed in how the chips inside the batteries interact with the camera and if it would be possible for a manufacturer to reverse engineer that communication. Even if they could, would it be worthwhile and could Canon just make them bricks again with firmware updates?
We have already seen that there is a mentioned shortage of LP-E6P batteries, but this could get messy quickly. Here's hoping Canon will have enough batteries for the market once the cameras officially begin to ship.
It may be wise if you have an R5 Mark II ordered, to preorder some extra LP-E6P batteries if you have not done so. B&H Photovideo Adorama
You can also check out JCustom testing third party batteries in both the camera and battery grip below.
If you really want to innovate, integrate the shutter button with a fingerprint reader and add password protection so cameras can stop being high value targets for theft.
Well, it's off topic a bit, but a fingerprint scanner would do nothing to prevent theft, the lens attached to the camera still has value, as well as all of the other goodies inside your bag. Smartphones still get stolen in large numbers (and it's increasing in a lot of places) with all sorts of new and interesting techniques to make it worthwhile (it can be insanely lucrative with 2FA banking/transfer app access).
Insurance is the best protection for theft (too many learn the hard way or don't understand the policies they do have). It doesn't help with images that may be on the cards that weren't send to a device though. A friend of mine has a "Can you please send a WeTransfer of the images on the memory card to <email address>" on the bottom of his cameras. No theft yet, but a funny idea.
I don't know, if Canon has actively done this, they probably have it set up to either prevent it with serious encryption or the ability to nuke it in firmware. I don't think a lot of people would buy a third-party battery without knowing how it all works.
I'll ask SmallRig if they have anything they can share on the topic.
Looks like my trusty old 7D will start using that smallrig battery 🙂
I really love the convenience of not having to use a charger, everything accepts USB-C PD! In that respect, the EL-5 I’m considering is a huge step backwards: custom batteries, no USB-C option 🙁
It doesn't need to be an "authenticate for every shot" kind of thing, but maybe a daily/weekly thing. This should be enough.
But nooooo
This will greatly help with GAS if the R6III turns out to be OEM batteries only too 😎
I never travel with chargers. I use a ugreen 160w brick and cables. Charge my phone, laptop and camera at the same time. I think I have converted some R3 shooters to the same method, as that charger is enormous and charges at pretty much the same slow speed as the USB-C port. Most of the shooting we do doesn't require a battery swap... A morning session and an evening session in the good light.
Mongolia I had to use a second battery once, it was so cold... Even the lcd on the R3 froze.
Obviously my use case will differ from others.
Just kidding. I have never used 3rd party batteries and never will. Spending $5k AUD on an R5II + cooling grip and then skimping on extra batteries doesn't make sense to me.
I've always had a 1/3 series... I don't think there are any third party batteries, but I have never really looked either.
Well, this is a new thing (though Richard thought one of the 5 series DSLRs had a similar issue) The motivation may also be to combat counterfeiting, which Canon is very vocal about.
We know Canon hates third party batteries!
They might have done something new in the camera and will be able to maintain control. I'm ignorant as to whether other LP-E6 cameras have had battery dependant features.
Or it's just a random thing and Canon didn't consider it at all. It'll be interesting to hear back from some of the manufacturers.