"Power related problems" with the LP-EL battery for my EL-5

stu t · Mar 15, 2024

HI If this helps My EL5 Experiences.
I have two el5 one drains the battery when switched off the other doesn't I have 4 batteries and found it is down to one EL5.
Haven't sorted this yet, I always take batteries out of the El5s and put them in at the start of a shoot.
Not ideal but stops the ordeal of starting a shoot with no battery.
The EL5 is ok but it's tricky to use it as remote flash WHEN combined with other Flash models (Elinchrom Skyport system) as the Hotshoe is a 15pin and physically won't fit, also no Flash input sync socket to trigger manually.
There is a lot of hassle to set up to get these little flashes to help out with other flash systems, I have found.
The E10 transmitter is easier to read from R3 screen unlike the old STE 3 rt, BUT I haven't found away to scan for clear frequencies which you could with the ste3rt. Anyone figured that out?
Also you don't know which flash is ready unlike the STE 3rt.
I also think the 15 pin can get dirt in it so you have to give the socket a blow otherwise the flash doesn't fire, or it has a weak /blocked signal but I can't check as it has no frequency scanner!
I use the simple Godox S types to hold the flash guns and they are a very fiddly fit withthe el5 you have to reverse them in! I like these, they are cheap reliable, easy to put my Elinchrom kit on and when they fall over they take the hit normally instead of a flash. Not found a better speedlight holder system yet.

OK nice to hear if any one else agrees or fixes battery drain.

BVaulter25 · Jun 2, 2024

Jeffrey Meyer said:
Hi everyone. It’s been a while. I’m curious to know if anyone else has experienced a similar issue as me? In sum, my LP-EL battery for my EL-5 is simply not holding its charge while in “storage”. My flash is less than two months old (55 days to be exact), and by storage, I mean less than 24-hours between speedlite off and on usage.

Situation details:

Step 1: My LP-EL battery becomes empty after a fun day of using it. When the flash is working, I've been happy with it.

Step 2: Charge LP-EL battery with LC-E6 charger — that did not come with the product, and is a detail that's become hard for me to forget being an R3 user.

Step 3: Place fully charged LP-EL battery in flash.

Step 4: Turn on flash, battery appears fully charged.

Step 5: Turn off flash, store away for the night, so that I'm ready for tomorrow.

Step 6: Next morning, turn on flash, no power in battery.

Step 7 (optional): Panic, because I only have the one battery my flash came with, and photoshot starts in less than an hour.

Step 8 (non-optional): Order a second battery.

Step 9: Reach out to my friends on Canon Rumors for insights.

But seriously, this has now happened to me three times in the past week.
On page 28 of the “Speedlite EL-5 Advanced User Guide” (CT2-D256-A) there are several statements that have just caught my concern. Canon notes:

“Charge on the day of use, or the day before. Batteries gradually lose their charge while in storage.”

“When the Speedlite is not in use, remove the battery. If the battery is left in the Speedlite over extended periods, the trace amount of current that continues to flow may lead to over-discharge and reduce the life of the battery […] Note that storing the battery when it is fully charged may reduce its performance.”

Ok, with reasonableness, I understand (and respect) the notion that all batteries “gradually” discharge over time, but in my case, we’re talking a complete discharge in less than 24-hours (and yes, the flash is turned off). And while I’m guilty of not removing the battery when the speedlite is not in use over night, with reasonableness, I would not consider 24-hours an “extended period of time”. Is anyone else experiencing this?

I'm really hoping I just have a defective battery, and that this is something Canon will replace. I need to check the warranty info. But if the above instructions need to be treated religiously (charge on the day of use), that's just nuts. For what it's worth, I never had this kind of rapid discharge issue with any of my four 600 EX-RTs and PowerEx rechargeable batteries (some of which lasted years, and never once did I remove them nightly). Your thoughts and experiences welcome.

I made the mistake of buying a Speedlight EL-5 when they first available. I fully charged the battery, and, with almost no use, the battery was completely dead in three days. B and H immediately replaced it and the second one did a little better but it still self-discharged very quickly. I contacted Canon US Support and they replaced the battery. It still discharges very quickly, and I absolutely don't trust it.

What amazes me is that Canon, with their reputation on the line, acts like there is nothing wrong. The unreliability issue is worthy of a recall, or at least a firmware upgrade, yet they do nothing. I paid $399.00 for that flash and it is almost worthless to me. I have four Godox flashes and they hold a high charge for months.

Last evening, I tried to use the EL-5 and the battery was completely dead. I charged it and placed it in the flash two hours ago. It was 99% charged. In two hours it is already down to 93% and dropping.

spotmatic · Aug 20, 2024

I have 2xEL-5, one of which completely discharges itself within 27 hours. It's _not_ the batteries, it's the device. Canon Germany says: "A discharge of 2-4% / hour (device switched off) is within the tolerance range and is therefore normal. We recommend removing the battery after use and storing it. This can prevent it from discharging when not in use." My EL-5 also heats up considerably in the area of the display, i.e. current flows where none should flow. The EL-5 is therefore only of limited use to me. Canon hasn't exactly made a big splash with the EL-5. (sorry, Google Translate, I'm not very good at English)

neuroanatomist · Aug 20, 2024

spotmatic said:
I have 2xEL-5, one of which completely discharges itself within 27 hours. It's _not_ the batteries, it's the device.

This has been reported by others, and it certainly does seem to be a hardware problem with some units. Canon rarely admits such things until they become common enough to initiate a product recall. My EL-5 doesn't drain the battery faster than expected (it will drop over a period of weeks, not hours). I only bought one, the four 600EX-RT flashes I have are still working fine.

koenkooi · Aug 20, 2024

I've kept the battery ejected in my EL-5, I only have one battery, so depleting it would suck. OTOH, if my unit is defective, replacing it should be done sooner than later.

BVaulter25 · Aug 20, 2024

I have an EL-5 Speedlight. I got a "first round" model from B and H. The first one completely discharged in three days. It wouldn't even turn on. B and H quickly replaced it and the second one was just a little better. Canon US then replaced the battery. The battery still discharges quickly when installed. Out of the flash, a fully charged battery discharges to 84% in just four days. This is unacceptable performance and Canon is doing nothing, I think it is a defective battery and an extremely defective flash. I have several Godox flash units and they don't discharge noticeably whether the batteries are installed or not.

I am disappointed in the flash but, even more, I am very disappointed in Canon. They used to be a great, upstanding company that had a reputation for great, reliable, top-quality products.

Now, I am reluctant to buy any newly introduced Canon product. I will wait a few months until the product is fully evaluated by others. Meanwhile, My EL-5 will probably just sit around unused while I use my more reliable Godox products.

David Hull · Dec 9, 2024

FWIW: Here is a recall notice from Canon:

https://www.usa.canon.com/support/canon-product-advisories/To-Users-of-the-Flash-SPEEDLITE-EL-5

I just bought two of these things and one of them has a serial number in the affected range. However, I have done testing similar to that done by the OP and it works fine. I knew about the problem and bought them anyway. Figuring I would send them back if I saw problems.

I charged up both of my flashes as well as a spare LP-EL Batt that I bought at the same time. All three batts are at 90% after 5 days which seems reasonable to me. Definitely better than what the OP was seeing with his. There is a bit of electronics in each battery, so they do burn a bit of power just sitting around.

Here is another article I found.

Canon recalls the Speedlite EL-5 due to faulty batteries

www.diyphotography.net

Good luck.

Jeffrey Meyer · Dec 12, 2024

David Hull said:
There is a bit of electronics in each battery, so they do burn a bit of power just sitting around.

Canon recalls the Speedlite EL-5 due to faulty batteries

Canon recalls the Speedlite EL-5 due to faulty batteries

www.diyphotography.net

Hi David,

In my case, the power issues that I was experiencing were 100% attributed to something faulty within my EL-5 flash units, and not in my LP-EL batteries.

For those seeking to test their flashes, or communicate their experiences with Canon, below is the evaluation methodology that I applied to better understand the issue, because at the time, I did not know if the problem was due to:

a) my battery?
b) my flash?
c) or a combination of both my battery and my flash?

From this evaluation, I learned the fault that I was experiencing was most certainly being caused by something within the flash, and not within the battery.

Evaluation findings of my EL-5 Speedlite with its LP-EL battery

Table 1: Tombstone data

	Flash #1 (Faulty)	Battery #1	Purchase Date	Vendor
Serial Numbers	0200001431	Date: 202210 07A1849	July 28, 2023	Vistek
	Flash #2 (OK)	Battery #2
Serial Numbers	0400000717	Date: 202211 16A4069	September 21, 2023	Canon Canada

The data in Table 2 sought to see if the issue was with my flash.

It clearly shows that one of my flashes (#1) was faulty, while the comparator (#2) was not (or, not at the time of data collection).
It also shows that my faulty flash basically and completely drained my batteries within 32-hours — with zero flash use, and the flashes only being turned on to record battery information.

Table 2: EL-5 Test

Battery Capacity (While Stored in Flash, Zero Flashes)
Battery Information “Remaining capacity”	(Faulty) Flash #1	(Faulty) Flash #1	(OK) Flash #2	(OK) Flash #2
	Battery 1	Battery 2	Battery 1	Battery 2
Fully charged – 0 hour	100%	100%	100%	100%
2-hours later	92%	93%	96%	96%
4-hours later	80%	81%	95%	95%
8-hours later	69%	68%	95%	95%
12-hours later	57%	58%	94%	94%
16-hours later	45%	48%	94%	94%
20-hours later	32%	36%	93%	93%
24-hours later	20%	25%	93%	93%
28-hours later	8%	14%	93%	91%
32-hours later	0%	3%	93%	91%
36-hours later	-	0%	93%	91%
40-hours later	-	-	93%	91%
44-hours later	-	-	92%	91%
48-hours later	-	-	91%	90%

The data in Table 3 sought to see if the issue was with my battery
This data shows at least two things:

a) All of my LP-EL batteries kept their charge when not stored in the flash, and
b) they all shared a near similar discharge rate when not inside my flashes.

Table 3: LP-EL Test

Battery Capacity (While Not Stored in any Flash*)
Battery Information “Remaining capacity”	Battery #1	Battery #1	Battery #2	Battery #2
	Flash #1 Info	Flash #2 Info	Flash #1 Info	Flash #2 Info
Fully charged – 0 hour	100%	100%	100%	100%
12-hours later	97%	97%	96%	95%
24-hours later	95%	95%	95%	95%
36-hours later	95%	95%	95%	95%
48-hours later	93%	93%	93%	93%

* Battery placed in both flashes for gathering unique information, then removed.

Note 1:
My second flash (which I used as a control group) eventually became faulty a few months later, yet at the time of my first evaluation, it was working OK. So, whatever the issue was, in some cases it immediately impacts the flash unit, while in other cases it derives over time, or as some have claimed, not at all.

Note 2:
I regret not having shared this data sooner with the forum, as some life events impacted the ambition. Yet, I did share it with Canon, and with content perhaps it helped move the needle in establishing the recall notice. A big thanks to the people who also run and positively contribute to this forum — having a place to share and learn from others with similar gear can make a difference.

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"Power related problems" with the LP-EL battery for my EL-5

stu t

BVaulter25

spotmatic

neuroanatomist

koenkooi

BVaulter25

David Hull

Canon recalls the Speedlite EL-5 due to faulty batteries

Jeffrey Meyer

Canon recalls the Speedlite EL-5 due to faulty batteries

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