Canon M50 Battery life: How to Improve the M50 Battery Life

Canon DSLR cameras have an immense fan base and Mirrorless cameras are making a mark. Canon M50 is the most famous mirrorless camera and I purchased it. Frankly, battery life is the biggest concern when switching to M50. So, How long does the Canon M50 battery last?

The M50 Uses an L-series battery LP-E12 and the battery life would last for 120 minutes or 200 shots. M50 gives more battery in Echo mode and Manual mode. The estimated battery life depends on the model and types you use. When you are not touching the manual controls during the shoot, it gives more battery than usual.

Generally, Mirrorless cameras and smaller than the DSLRs and you get the benefit of size. Smaller in size means easy to carry but the drawback is you would get a smaller battery compared to the DSLRs. 

Mirrorless is still the choice for most because of the size and battery life is the second priority. So here, I explained why M50 batteries drain fast and how you can improve the battery life of the EOS M50. 

Canon M50 Battery Life vs DSLRs

Entry-level DSLRs are also good at battery life and most of them offer 600 shots per single charge of the battery and people stretch it to even more. For Example, Entry level Nikon D3500 DSLR can capture 1,500 images on a single charge and some Pro DSLRs with good battery capacity can shoot almost 4,000 frames per charge. 

It isn’t the camera or body, but it depends on the battery and how one is using it. Nikon D6 is a professional camera and the company claims nearly 3,600 shots on average. Now let’s talk about mirrorless cameras. 

Mirrorless cameras tend to offer drastically less run time compared to the even entry-level DSLRs. Practically, on average Mirrorless cameras can give you 250 to 350 shots per charge and the numbers can be more if used properly or can be less. 

On the highest paper point, Sony A7R iii gives 650 shots of battery life for a single charge. Mirrorless cameras are more dependent on the battery than DSLRs.

Mirrorless Cameras	DSLRs
Camera – Shots/single Charge	Camera – Shots/single Charge
Sony A7R iii – 550  Sony A7R iv – 530 Canon EOS RP – 250 Sony A6600 – 800 Canon M50  –  120 minutes or 200 shots	Nikon D3500 – 1,500 Nikon D5600 – 970 Nikon D7500 – 850 Canon 80D – 960 Canon 200d Mark ii – 650

Video recording, Continuous shooting and autofocus, WiFi functionalities, Zooming, and Previewing every image are certain functions that kill the battery. Basically, the more you put the camera to work, the faster your battery will drain. 

Auto-focus is the essential thing in photography and videography and you have to use it. So, how to overcome the issue of battery draining too fast? Let’s read further to know the simple steps to make the battery healthier. 

How long does the Canon M50 Battery last?

When in continuous 4k mode without any focusing and zoom functions, it gives a maximum of 100 minutes of continuous footage. So, compared to the charging time, discharging time lasts fewer than it.

I have tested this 4k video shoot without changing the direction and continuously focusing on a single object and I didn’t touch anything throughout the shoot. I just want to know the run time when there is no additional pressure. 

The overall battery performance is not bad because the 4k takes more battery. Being such a small capacity in the battery, it does a better job. And when you want to adjust the ISO, focusing points, you would get even lower battery life than this.

LPE12 Li-ion Rechargeable Battery (You can check the Amazon store for the current price, it was $30 when I ordered) is a decent battery for Canon M50 and it has 1100 mAh capacity. For continuous shooting, this would not be expected in the price range but to make the camera compact, that’s what we get. 

The average shots per the full charge are 200. It’s decent and if you are relatively changing ISO and aperture, and focal lengths, you would get around 180 shots. Changing lenses continuously also takes an extra battery life and also ca affect the sensor. I recently published an article on ‘Can you change the lean while the camera is On? And you can check. 

Why does the Canon M50 battery drain so fast?

Not only M50, but all the mirrorless cameras also consume more battery power because the circuitry is constantly running. Both the sensor and LCD Screen have to be powered continuously. DSLRs have a viewfinder and the connection is not electrical. 

DSLRs viewfinder requires no power and views made of displays consume virtually no power. Electronic ViewFinder (EVF) contains millions of pixels and colors combined to give you a live view. Because it doesn’t have mirrors, sensors and chips need more power. 

Battery life also depends on the capacity of the battery. The LP-E17 has a 1050 mAh battery and the NP-FW50 have a 1020 mAh battery capacity. Whereas, Nikon’s EN-EL15 battery has 1950 mAh and Canon’s LP-E6N powered with 1865 mAh respectively. 

That’s the reason why DSLR cameras last about twice as mirrorless cameras. Mirrorless cameras and short in size and manufacturers want to keep them compact for easy carrying and handling. Mirrorless cameras cannot make the big sized batteries to compromise in the size of the body. 

If the mirrorless camera’s display is active during the entire period, the battery power is being consumed at a high level. You will get far fewer than the 250 shots per charge if you do a  lot of careful composition and image review in the LCD. 

Some other functions like zooming in or zooming out, aperture control, focusing settings can suck down the battery even more. And when the flash is used, it makes it even worse. The numbers go down further and the expected time would die easily. 

Many mirrorless cameras have Image stabilization built into their bodies and you don’t need a lens for image stabilization. This in-built image stabilization also needs a battery which further degrades the overall battery life.

How to Improve the Canon M50 battery capacity?

Now before knowing some easy tips to improve the battery life let’s know the charging and discharging time of the Canon M50 battery. So, from 0 to 100%, it takes 110 minutes. And when in 4K mode continuously it lasts around 100 Minutes. 

Here are some simple yet effective tips to solve the draining issue of M50. Especially if you are a travel vlogger and shooting outdoors. You will hardly find power sockets to charge the batteries. It will kill your original time and suppose if you are making documentaries, or short films, the delayed time affects the color change. 

1 Use the Echo Mode

The M50 has the Echo mode which most beginners might know about. This beautiful option darkens the LCD screen immediately after taking the shot or after locking the focus which helps to prevent the extra battery drain. Here is how you can turn on the Echo mode on Canon M50. 

Steps: Go to the Menu button and Find Function settings.

Click on it and jump to the number ‘2’ and you will find Echo mode at the top options and just turn ON if it’s OFF. This is a great feature that helps to boost the battery performance if you are taking it outside and especially for photos. 

You can notice the big difference and the number of shots per charge will jump to 320 if it is in Echo mode. But it doesn’t help in solving the video shooting mode and you need some more techniques to save the battery for video shooting. 

If you are working on the Manual mode, you can choose the options to display on the screen. So turn off the live view and choose to display the basic information. Now, if you have a tripod, you can slow the shutter speed settings. 

The other thing is the frequency of On/Off intervals that can Impact the battery life. If you continuously turn off the camera immediately after taking the snap when you are taking pictures frequently, you can get around 500 shots per battery. Most of us, keep the Camera ON even when we are not shooting. So it’s better to turn off the Camera at regular Intervals.

2 Give Continuous power with AC Adapter

I use this AC adapter frequently whenever I am outside. You can stream, shoot the videos for longer than usual. You have to replace the original battery in the Camera with the DC coupler. 

And now, because the battery compartment is at the bottom side of the camera, you have to plug the DC coupler through the tiny hole on the battery compartment door. As you can see in the picture, replace the battery with the DC coupler and then close the cap. You can even use a piece of tape to secure the connection. 

Most of the Adapters are not compatible with mirrorless cameras. So, before you are buying an Adapter, make sure it works with the M50 model. So, here is the one on Amazon, that works well with the Canon M50 camera. You can check HY1C A.C Adapter’s current price on Amazon by clicking here. It is affordable and one of the best adapters.

This adapter has the Type C input pin and you can attach it to any power bank. But what if you need a more Universal solution to this. Here is the one that comes with the USB cable at one end and it’s my most favorite solution. 

3 Using USB Drive Cable DC Coupler

Similar to the second method, this also has a battery you can insert in the camera, and then you can take the power from any power bank, smart outlet, or any reverse charging devices. So, this is the best Adapter because you no need to worry about Type-C or Micro USB sockets. 

You can attach this USB cable end to any power adapter or any portable charger. This is the most convenient method to have for better productivity and there would be no issues. You can even shoot while charging because the power bank will go into the Pocket and still you have the charging. 

Again, find the compatible DC coupler before purchasing, and here is the RAEISUSP ACK-E12 power supply and DC coupler from Amazon available under $25, and has a dummy LP-E12 battery for Canon M50. It has a lot of positive opinions from the users and you can take a look. Just click on the link and it will take you to Amazon to check the current price.

If you only have a pair of DC couplers or dummy batteries then you can take a look at this most beautiful portable power bank from Anker. You can click here to check the current price on Amazon but I guess it is available under $20 which is the wisest investment you can make.  

4 Turn off Some Power-consuming Features

Beginners are not aware of the functions and features of the Camera. M50 has WiFi, IS, continuous AF, EVF display, and more. You can find videos on YouTube to turn off each function. Follow those steps to turn off these functions until you need one. 

Turing these OFF might result in extended battery life. So after turning on the Echo mode, turn off these functions as well. Start every day with full batteries. I don’t know how many times I forgot to charge the batteries before using them and it was there on camera only. So, before starting a day with your camera, fully charge the batteries. 

5 Extra Batteries are LUB

Yes, if you don’t want any power banks or Adapters to avoid cables, you must need some additional batteries. If you have additional batteries you can easily continue your day without waiting for the charging time. 

I would suggest getting 3 or 4 batteries if you are a full-time photographer. There wouldn’t be space in your camera bag for Power banks and Adapters, so getting extra batteries fit your camera gear perfectly. 

I also ordered extra batteries from Amazon and my friends told me to be cautious when ordering online because of the fake products. So here are BM premium Lp-E12 batteries for your Camera and the price is also under the budget. You will get two batteries and one Dual battery charger for only $25. You can check the current price on Amazon by clicking here.

Here is a quick tip for you, check the battery health frequently, and change the batteries when the battery in the Camera is around 10%. Do not wait until the battery drains completely because it will impact the overall battery life. 

A Canon charger will not charge the third-party batteries sadly because it has to detect the chip they have in the OEM batteries. The third-party can charge the OEM batteries so the problem is solved and you just need an extra Charger. I would say to completely replace the Canon charger with the One I mentioned and there would be no issues.

Most of the old Cameras don’t have any Chips in batteries to detect but when I tried to Charge the extra batteries with the Canon charger, it didn’t work well. Yours might be different and try before getting an extra Charger only to charge the third party batteries. 

6 Get a Fast & Reliable Charger

For mirrorless cameras, I would recommend a dual battery charger and four batteries in total. You can have one in the Camera and you can charge two batteries simultaneously. 

After some research and taking reviews from customers, here is the one with the most reasonable price for all L & M series batteries on Amazon. So Undoubtedly, it fits best for the Canon M50 batteries.

Always protect your lens and batteries with caps. So, I recently wrote a detailed article on Can Sun damage Camera Sensor and lens, you can check to secure your camera. So, do not store batteries with little or no charge. Once the work is done, take your batteries from the Camera and store them in a dry cloth in a cool environment. 

Conclusion

While the battery life is the weak point of the Canon M50 Mirrorless camera most people are thinking to go with the DSLRs but remember, as a photographer, the compact size must be your priority over battery life. 

You can try any of the above-mentioned techniques to boost the battery life of the Canon M50. LCD screen and small battery capacity is the main reason for the battery drain problem and you have solutions to fix it. As a beginner, you must carry some best batteries and a charger to charge the batteries but remember you must fully charge all the batteries when you are starting the day.

If the budget isn’t your concern, the Sony Alpha A6600 Mirrorless Camera is the best battery life with 800 shots without any power-saving mode. Sony A6600 is available on Amazon for around $1.5k If you cannot spend over $1500 for a Mirrorless camera, then Sony Nex 3 has a better battery life than the M50 with 400 shots per single charge.