I've had an EOS 3 for a few weeks now. My previous body was an EOS 600/630. I'm used to the battery consumption of the 600/630, which was fairly respectable, and I realise that the 3 has much more technical gadgetry inside it, but what is "normal" for the battery drain? I've only shot about 10 rolls and I'm on my 3rd 2CR5. These batteries are $11 a shot so it's working out quite expensive. I'm not using eye controlled focus and am not contantly roaming the autofocus, in fact I'd say I'm normally power conservative. I'm curious to see if other EOS 3 owners are experiencing similar results. If this is 'normal' what are the other options? I know about the PB-E2 booster, but having already spend well over $2500 on a body and lenses I'm not in a position to blow another $500 + charger + magazine + battery pack. What about the BP-E1 battery pack for the EOS 1N, will this fit the EOS 3? And if it does, how does 4 AA type batteries compare to a 2CR5? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Asif

-- Asif Lakhanpal (Asif_NSX@yahoo.com), September 22, 1999

Answers

Asif: I don't own an EOS 3, but I own a 1n and have used the A2 and Elan extensively, and I can't imagine that an EOS 3 would normally eat one 2CR5 battery every three rolls of film, even if you were using an IS lens constantly! (What lenses are you using?). Clearly, something is wrong, though I have read numerous other postings here complaining of heavy power consumption with the EOS 3, but nothing this severe. I would think that even leaving the camera switched on but otherwise inactive should not result in this degree of consumption. Personally, I would contact the dealer as well as Canon and demand a new EOS 3. There must be a short somewhere, and if they start telling you to try this or that, I would protest and again demand a new body.

-- kurt heintzelman (heintzelman.1@osu.edu), September 23, 1999.

Hi Asif... I've shot 29 rolls of 36 exposure film in my EOS-3 and have gone through 7 x 2CR5 batteries. I get about 3 - 3.5 rolls per battery if I use the eye control function. I can stretch to about 5.5 rolls if I switch eye control off, use only single shot/single servo, do a lot of manual focusing, and turn the camera off between every shot! My EOS3 has been with Canon Australia for a month now while they look into this problem. BTW, I've tried the EOS3 with the PBE2 booster, and while it provides a comfortable grip and is ergonomically well thought-out, the setup is too large and heavy for my purposes (i.e. mainly travel photography). I'll let you know what Canon Australia have to say about my camera if I ever get it back.

-- Karl Nielsen (tufnell@eis.net.au), November 07, 1999.

Thanks, I'd be interested in what Canon have to say.

I've since ordered the BP-E1 to allow me to use AA batteries, but then.... I dropped my EOS3! It broke :-(

It's getting an estimate at the moment for repair so maybe I should mention the battery drain to them too. I'll keep you posted.

Asif

-- Asif (asif_nsx@yahoo.com), November 08, 1999.

Hi Asif, I have owned an EOS 3 for 4 month now and haven4t yet replaced the battery. I am not using ECF because I am wearing anti-IR-coated glasses. But on the other hand I use constantly autofocus in both modes (single and cont.) and I use the 28-135 and the 300/4 IS lenses quite often on the camera. I sometimes use the BP-E1 but most of the time the body only. I am still using the same 2CR5 battery and have exposed at least 25 rolls of film. So I4d rather say, that there is something really wrong with your camera and that Canon should be able to fix it. send it in is my advice. Hope this helps cheers Michael

-- Michael Schmidt (mschmidt@xolo.conabio.gob.mx), November 10, 1999.

Update: I just received my EOS3 back (after 5 weeks). The entire shutter unit was replaced, which (in theory) would fix the battery eating probem. Maybe, but the multi-spot metering on my camera now does not work. It also had significant focusing errors with the Canon 28-105 lens from the date of purchase. I have been told that Canon Australia will be replacing my EOS3 with a new one, although at this point I am considering 'downgrading'[;)]to an EOS5.

-- Karl Nielsen (tufnell@powerup.com.au), November 15, 1999.

I had power-drain problems for a while with my EOS 5. It's due to IS, lots of AF, Eye Control, and, THE TEMPERATURE. The lithium batteries have poor temperature range...cold, or hot, will cause the battery to be drained very fast. I got about 2 rolls from one battery in the middle of winter, using my 300mm F4L IS. Also, try changing battery brands...some brands don't make good contact with the terminals. I like the panasonic ones best for use in my EOS-5. The panasonics seem to work better than others, esp samsung (which seemed to be the worst).

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), July 09, 2001.