Canon Says It’s Not Blocking Third-Party Batteries In the R5 II
Some reports have started to arrive that the new Canon EOS R5 Mark II doesn’t work with third-party batteries. However, Canon says the camera does not require photographers to use official, first-party Canon batteries, even though some features require the new LP-E6P battery.
Tech enthusiast Justin Chu picked up a new EOS R5 II, along with a couple of Canon’s new battery grips. In a hands-on video, seen below, Chu, known as JCustom on YouTube, remarked that his third-party batteries didn’t work in the Canon BG-R20 grip.
This is joined by other user reports, as described by Canon Rumors, that suggested that the R5 II “won’t even turn on with third-party battery packs.”
Given that Canon released an all-new version of the LP-E6 battery, the LP-E6P, and has restricted certain features with the use of older LP-E6-series batteries, people have naturally wondered if Canon has done something to prevent the use of third-party batteries on the R5 II.
“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,” writes Canon Rumors. The website also contacted a couple of third-party battery manufacturers to ask about the issue. The word back to Canon Rumors is that problems using third-party batteries may be the “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 makers says they’re working on a solution.
As for Canon’s side, PetaPixel contacted the company to ask if it had implemented any battery restrictions in the Canon EOS R5 Mark II or if there was any requirement to use official first-party Canon batteries in the R5 II.
“There is no such requirement,” Canon tells PetaPixel over email.
However, as usual, Canon recommends that owners of the EOS R5 II “utilize Canon LP-E6P or LP-E6N/H batteries (LP-E6N/H batteries do restrict some functions).”
The restrictions in question are rather interesting. Canon says the following:
LP-E6 cannot be used. Use of LP-E6P is recommended. When using the LP-E6NH/LP-E6N, the network (Wi-Fi/Ethernet) functions and multi-function shoe accessories that require heavy power supply from the camera cannot be used. Pre-continuous shooting, HDMI RAW output, and dual shooting (still & movie) are not available. Continuous shooting speed may be reduced. During movie recording, resolution, image quality, and frame rate are limited. For details, refer to Supplemental Information for EOS R5 Mark II on the Canon website.
There are also caveats when it comes to the use of battery grips, as this Canon EOS R5 Mark II user manual page details. The gist is that regardless of the battery grip attached to the R5 II, the new battery (or direct DC power) is required for full functionality.
The primary takeaway here is that Canon did not implement a restriction on third-party battery use with the EOS R5 Mark II. However, some features require Canon’s brand-new battery, the LP-E6P, and third-party manufacturers have seemingly not caught up.
For now, the actionable advice is that R5 II owners who want to use all of their camera’s features should use the Canon battery that came with the R5 II. If someone’s R5 II won’t turn on with a third-party battery inserted, Canon is adamant that it has not taken any action to render the battery unusable.
Image credits: Canon
