GPS Battery Drain: I've been hearing about how GPS can really drain a battery so I decided to find out for myself. I went on a trip a few weeks ago with my camera. I brought along 6...

skingfong Loc: Sacramento

I've been hearing about how GPS can really drain a battery so I decided to find out for myself. I went on a trip a few weeks ago with my camera. I brought along 6 batteries and I use a battery grip which holds 2 batteries. I turned on the GPS at the beginning of the day and turned it off at the end of the day. I shot about 500 pictures in a 3 day period off of 2 fully charged batteries in the grip. I still had one bar left on the battery indicator.

I've concluded the GPS is not that much of a battery drain if you turn it off at the end of the day. You don't have to worry about how much it's going to drain the battery. Don't be afraid to use the GPS. It will not drain the battery unless it's left on all the time. This is the experience I had on my 6D.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Thanks! I wonder what is the experience of 7DII users? - I've hesitated to leave mine on for any extended period.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

skingfong wrote:

I've been hearing about how GPS can really drain a... (show quote)

I have used the GPS feature on occasion with both my 6D and 7D II without excessive battery drain over short periods of time. I don't use it often enough to know how it would be for longer periods. I did forget to turn it off the first time I used it and wondered why the battery was stone dead the next morning. I wish it shut off when the camera went to sleep or was shut off. I might use it more then. I believe you will find that how often you have it set to update will also make a difference in battery life.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

LFingar wrote:

I have used the GPS feature on occasion with both ... (show quote)

You'd think Canon would address this in a firmware update.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

DWU2 wrote:

You'd think Canon would address this in a firmware update.

I've never checked into it, but there may be a technical reason why it stays active once it has been turned on. It would be interesting to hear from owners of other makes as to whether or not theirs shut down when the camera does.

skingfong Loc: Sacramento

DWU2 wrote:

You'd think Canon would address this in a firmware update.

That would be nice. Until then, I'm going to continue to use the GPS like I have been making sure I turn it off at the end of the day.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

skingfong wrote:

I've been hearing about how GPS can really drain a... (show quote)

I have two cameras with GPS, a Canon SX510 and a Panasonic ZX30.
I always leave the GPS switched on so the locations are kept upto date, both cameras will last all day although the Canon needs a fresh battery sooner than the Panasonic.
So to some extent GPS battery drain does depend on the make of camera.

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

skingfong wrote:

I've been hearing about how GPS can really drain a... (show quote)

The problem most people experience is that they think that turning off the camera turns off the GPS. It doesn't. You have to go into the menu and turn it off. Also, there should be a menu setting for how frequently you want the GPS to contact a satellite. The more frequently it "polls" the satellite, the more it will drain your battery. Do you need to know where you were every 5 minutes, or will every 15 minutes or half hour be sufficient?

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

LFingar wrote:

I've never checked into it, but there may be a technical reason why it stays active once it has been turned on. It would be interesting to hear from owners of other makes as to whether or not theirs shut down when the camera does.

The GPS is capable of tracking where you've been on a trip, not just where you actually took a picture. That's why it doesn't shut down when you turn off the camera. You can track your entire route with the GPS turned on, even if you never took a picture. It's a trade off. If it turns off when you shut down the camera, you can't track your route. By having to turn it on and off in the menu, it leaves the choice of how and when to use it up to you.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

skingfong wrote:

I've been hearing about how GPS can really drain a... (show quote)

Do you consider that good? The LP-E6 battery when used on the 6D is rated to 1090 images per charge on average. Many people get far more depending on how much chimping they do. You indicate you shot around 500 images, draining one battery, and most of a second one. If you extrapolate, that can't be more than around 250-300 shots per battery which is actual a dismal number of shots for that camera and battery. Most people would have gotten at least 1500 to 2000 images. If the GPS wasn't the cause of this extreme drain on your batteries, something else sure was.

Ralloh Loc: Ohio

Here is a good work around for those who do experience excessive battery drain and are only interested in the location of specific photos. Take a quick photo of the same shot with your smartphone. Then you can plug the coordinates into your image information in post processing.

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

Ralloh wrote:

Here is a good work around for those who do experience excessive battery drain and are only interested in the location of specific photos. Take a quick photo of the same shot with your smartphone. Then you can plug the coordinates into your image information in post processing.

It's the same difference. You still have to have your location finder turned on in your phone. I only turn mine on when I need it - I don't like leaving it on 24/7. I realize some people do leave it on, and for those people your work around is good.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

lowkick wrote:

The GPS is capable of tracking where you've been on a trip, not just where you actually took a picture. That's why it doesn't shut down when you turn off the camera. You can track your entire route with the GPS turned on, even if you never took a picture. It's a trade off. If it turns off when you shut down the camera, you can't track your route. By having to turn it on and off in the menu, it leaves the choice of how and when to use it up to you.

That makes sense. Just the same, for those people who want to tag their photos without plotting their every move, a menu option to allow it to turn off when the camera shuts down would be nice.

Ralloh Loc: Ohio

lowkick wrote:

It's the same difference. You still have to have your location finder turned on in your phone. I only turn mine on when I need it - I don't like leaving it on 24/7. I realize some people do leave it on, and for those people your work around is good.

The difference is, all I have to do is tap the GPS icon on my home screen and it acquires the signal in seconds, then just tap it again to turn it off. With the camera I have to go into the menu to find GPS, turn it on, then wait quite a bit longer for it to get the signal.

Fotoserj Loc: St calixte Qc Ca

Depending on the purpose of running your GPS, tagging every picture or recording all you're trip, used mine on recent trip to and from Florida over two weeks time and didn't notice any significant drain on the batt pack, mind you I shot 8 or 10 hours a day, mostly bird, and also used 4 pair of batt in rotation,