Canon LP-E17

Short answer: the three common sources for an LP-E17 T series, a power bank, a phone charger, and a car charger, all supply 5V, so the difference in charging time comes mainly from output current rather than from the type of source. At 5V/2A a full charge usually takes between two and three hours; at 5V/1A it takes three to four. A car charger tends to land in the upper part of the range because its voltage is less stable. These are working ranges, not lab figures: swap the charger on the same battery and the time can change by half.

What follows breaks down the variables behind those times, then covers how to pick each of the three sources and what to watch for.

Why only a range is honest

Charging time is set by four variables. First, the charge already in the battery: starting from half versus from empty nearly halves the time. Second, the current the charger can actually deliver, since a unit rated 2A tapers to a trickle as the battery fills. Third, the cable, where a poor USB-C cable with high resistance drags the available current down. Fourth, temperature, with charging noticeably slower below ten degrees Celsius as a protection measure.

So a claim like “this battery fills in X hours and Y minutes” is meaningless unless it names the charger, the cable, the starting charge, and the room temperature. The practical approach is to remember the ranges and leave yourself margin before you go out.

Source	Typical output	Approximate full charge	Stability	Best for
Phone charger (5V/2A)	Around 5V 2A	About 2-3 hours	High	Hotel, home, cafe
Phone charger (older 5V/1A)	5V 1A	About 3-4 hours	High	Overnight charging
Power bank (5V/2A output)	Around 5V 2A	About 2-3 hours	Moderate to high, falling as it drains	Outdoors, commuting, no outlet
Car charger	5V 1-2A, depending on the vehicle	About 3-4 hours or longer	Lower	Driving between locations, location work

The table gives ranges from nearly empty to full. If you are only topping up, say from half, the time shortens roughly in proportion, but the constant-voltage tail in the last ten-odd percent cannot be skipped, so it will run slightly longer than a linear estimate.

Power banks: work out the charge count before the speed

It is easy to shop on the milliamp-hour number and forget the voltage conversion. A bank rated 10000mAh is usually 3.7V cell capacity, about 37Wh of energy, while an LP-E17 at 1050mAh is about 7.6Wh. That is nearly five charges in theory and usually three to four in practice once boost and cable losses are counted. By the same logic a 20000mAh bank gives roughly six to eight.

On speed, look for a model that supports 5V/2A output; there is no point chasing wattage. A unit with a numeric display is more useful, since you can see how much is left and whether it is working. A bank around 10000mAh is relatively light, and paired with a spare battery it is a sensible light-travel configuration.

Phone chargers: will a PD unit damage the battery

No. A PD charger falls back to its 5V default when connected to a non-PD device, and that is exactly the voltage the T series accepts. What to avoid is a poor-quality supply rated above 5V that cannot negotiate protocols, since it may simply output its rated voltage.

Another common misconception is that more wattage charges faster. With the T series the bottleneck is the charging circuit inside the battery, and anything above 5V/2A goes unused, so a sixty-watt laptop charger will not be faster, only more compatible and cooler. For business travel, one multi-port PD charger that tops up the phone and the battery together is a convenient arrangement.

Car chargers: two easily overlooked traps

The first is voltage fluctuation at startup. When the engine turns over, the accessory socket voltage dips briefly and can even spike. A decent car charger protects against this, but repeated exposure is not good for the battery. The usual habit is to unplug before switching off, or to choose a unit with regulation and over-voltage protection.

The second is inflated output. A cheap charger rated 2A may deliver only 0.8A under load, doubling the charging time. The test is simple: after half an hour, feel the charger body. If it is uncomfortably hot while the battery is only warm, efficiency is low and it should be replaced.

A car charger is better for topping up on the move than for filling a pack. Plugging in for half an hour while you stop to eat buys a hundred or two hundred frames, which is far more realistic than expecting a full charge on the road. For how the tiers differ, see the LP-E17 capacity and compatibility guide; if you are still weighing direct charging against a dock, the T series category covers it in more detail.

FAQ

Is it normal for the battery to get warm while direct charging?

Warm is normal, especially during the high-current first half. If it is too hot to hold comfortably, or heats up noticeably and then stops partway, disconnect and check that the charger and cable match.

Can I charge the camera body from a power bank?

That depends on whether the body supports USB power delivery and is a separate matter from the battery charging discussed here. The T series has its Type-C port on the battery, so the pack must come out of the camera to charge.

What happens if I leave it connected after it is full?

The charging circuit normally stops output once full, so leaving it briefly does little harm. Long-term connection is not good for longevity and makes the state harder to judge; taking it off when full is the better habit.

Why does mine take longer than someone else’s at the same 5V/2A?

Usual causes are a high-resistance cable, a lower starting charge, a colder environment, or a different capacity tier. A 1050mAh naturally takes thirty to forty percent longer than a 750mAh.

Short answer: for light to moderate shooting in a day, a 10000mAh power bank is enough; for heavy shooting or when you also need to top up a phone, 20000mAh is the safer choice. That conclusion comes from watt-hours rather than milliamp-hours. An LP-E17 at 1050mAh holds about 7.56Wh, while a power bank’s milliamp-hour rating is measured at 3.7V and the energy passes through two boost stages, so what actually reaches the battery is usually around sixty percent of the nominal figure. A 10000mAh bank therefore gives roughly two to three charges, not a simple division of capacities.

Why you cannot just divide milliamp-hours

A power bank rated 10000mAh is specified at a cell voltage of 3.7V, which comes to 37Wh of energy. The LP-E17 runs a 7.2V system, and 1050mAh corresponds to about 7.56Wh. On the numbers alone, 10000 divided by 1050 is about 9.5, which sounds promising, but that calculation ignores the difference in voltage.

The correct comparison is watt-hours to watt-hours: 37 divided by 7.56, about 4.9 in theory. That figure is still optimistic, because two losses sit in between.

The first is the bank boosting 3.7V to a 5V output, typically around ninety percent efficient before you count voltage drop in the cable and connector. The second is the battery boosting 5V up to 8.4V to charge its two series cells, which loses more. Stack the two, add cable heating and the constant-voltage tail of the charge, and overall efficiency commonly lands between fifty-five and seventy percent.

At sixty percent, 37Wh delivers about 22Wh into the battery, and 22 divided by 7.56 is roughly three. That is where two to three charges from 10000mAh comes from.

Rough charge counts by capacity

The table assumes sixty percent efficiency; real results vary with bank quality, cable, and temperature. The counts refer to filling a completely drained 1050mAh pack. If your pack is 750mAh, add thirty to forty percent to the counts.

Power bank rating	Energy (approx.)	Full charges of 1050mAh	Best for
5000mAh	18.5Wh	About 1-1.5	Half-day outings, one top-up
10000mAh	37Wh	About 2-3	A day of light to moderate shooting, plus a phone
20000mAh	74Wh	About 5-6	Two or three days out, or heavy bursts
27000mAh	About 100Wh	About 7-8	Multiple bodies and packs, team trips

Note the airline rules: lithium batteries carried in the cabin normally must not exceed 100Wh, anything above needs carrier approval, and they are not permitted in checked baggage at all. The 27000mAh tier sits right at that line, so confirm you actually need it before buying.

Work back from your shooting volume, not from a guess about days

1. Count how many packs a day actually consumes. Recall the last outing and count in packs, not frames.
2. Subtract the packs you carry. If a day uses three and you carry two, the shortfall is one.
3. Multiply the shortfall by 1.5. That is your safety factor, covering cold, lower efficiency, and the bank’s own aging.
4. Look the number up in the table. A shortfall of one points to 5000-10000mAh; two points to 10000-20000mAh.
5. If you also need to top up a phone, a microphone, or a monitor, add their watt-hours and move up a tier.

The benefit of this method is that it turns “I don’t think this will be enough” into a number you can check. Plenty of people buy 20000mAh and use a fraction of it, while others set out with 5000mAh and run dry by noon. The difference is whether they counted first.

Factors that reduce the real count

Temperature comes first. Outdoors in winter the bank’s own output falls and a cold battery will not accept much charge, so the energy that actually gets in may be only sixty or seventy percent of the room-temperature figure. Below freezing, keep the bank warm against your body rather than in an outer pocket.

Charging while shooting is second. If you charge a pack while still shooting, the load offsets part of the input and you may even lose ground. The right approach is to charge the pack you have pulled, off the camera, while the one in the body does the work.

Inflated ratings and aging in the bank are third. Products sold as 10000mAh vary widely in usable capacity, and capacity falls further after a year or two. When choosing, look at rated energy and supported output protocols rather than the milliamp-hour headline.

One more: some power banks go to sleep on low-current loads. Direct charging a battery draws little, which can fall into that window, and the symptom is a disconnect a few seconds after plugging in. Choose a model with a low-current mode or a wake button.

The T series decouples replenishment from the wall socket, and the price is accepting this arithmetic. If you are still deciding whether direct charging suits you, start with the scenarios in the T series category, then confirm fitment in the capacity and compatibility guide.

FAQ

How many LP-E17 packs can a 10000mAh bank fill?

About two to three for the 1050mAh tier, and about three to four for the 750mAh tier. Temperature, cable, and bank efficiency all affect it; in winter expect sixty or seventy percent of the room-temperature figure.

Why is the result so far from dividing the two capacities?

Because the voltages differ. The bank is rated at 3.7V and the battery is a 7.2V system, and energy passes two boost stages, each with losses. You have to convert to watt-hours before comparing, or the milliamp-hour figure will mislead you.

Can a power bank power the camera directly?

The T series charges the battery, not the camera. Charging while shooting depends on whether the body supports the relevant USB power protocol, and most bodies restrict burst or recording specifications in that state. Check the body manual.

The bank stops halfway. Why?

Most likely it entered low-current protection, or the cable has a poor connection. Try a short cable first, then a bank with a low-current mode. It can also be the battery’s own protection tripping because it is too hot or too cold.

Short answer: the cells in the T series and the standard version are close, and what actually separates them is how they charge. The T series puts a Type-C port on the battery itself, so one cable and any 5V source will do. The standard version depends on a dock charger, but you can fill a whole row at once and see every status at a glance. For light travel and a single spare, take the T series; for rotating several packs at a fixed location, the standard version is handier. If you travel and also shoot paid work, running both is often better value than picking one.

Below is a point-by-point comparison, focused on what you have to carry, since that usually shapes the experience more than any specification.

Point by point: where the difference actually is

Item	LP-E17 T series (direct charge)	LP-E17 standard
Charging method	Type-C on the battery body, 5V direct	Requires a dock; the original is the LC-E17
Accessories you must carry	One USB-C cable, shareable with your phone	Dock plus power cord, usually proprietary
Full charge time	About 2-4 hours, depending on the charger	About 2-4 hours, depending on dock input
Charging several at once	Needs multiple power ports or banks	A multi-bay dock fills a whole row
Weight per pack	Slightly above the standard version at the same capacity, but marginal	Slightly lighter at the same capacity
Best for	Travel, location work, top-ups	Home, studio, batch rotation
Price feel	Usually a little above the standard version at the same capacity	More economical at the same capacity

The weight and price gaps are written as slight because the exact difference moves with capacity tier and batch, and hard numbers would mislead. The two rows worth your attention are the first two: what you have to bring is either one cable or a dock plus a cable.

The packing difference is item count, not weight

Take a two-day, one-night light trip. The two packing lists differ in a very visible way.

1. Standard setup: one body, two packs, one dock, one dock power cord, one power bank for the phone. Five items, and the dock and cord are only used in the evening.
2. T series setup: one body, two packs, one USB-C cable, one power bank. Four items; the cable doubles for the phone, and the bank serves the phone by day and the battery at night.
3. Mixed setup: one body, one T series pack for emergency direct charging, two standard packs, one dock. The most items but the most coverage, suited to trips that include important shooting.

On weight alone, a dock is usually a few tens of grams and with its cord around a hundred, hardly a burden. The real gain is the certainty that comes from fewer items: one less thing to remember, one less connector standard to match, less chance of leaving something behind. That is most obvious when you are carrying only a small bag.

Choosing capacity: bigger is not automatically better

Both versions come in tiers, and the T series likewise offers several capacities. For light travel, one high-capacity pack plus one mid-capacity pack usually makes more sense than two high-capacity ones: similar total weight, but you can put the heavy one in the camera and the light one in a pocket. For how the tiers compare in practice, the LP-E17 capacity and compatibility guide has the full table.

Body construction matters too. Small bodies like the R50 and R100 are compact, and a thicker pack barely shifts the overall balance, but bursts and long recordings concentrate heat more, so higher capacity does not mean you can extend continuous shooting indefinitely.

What to avoid is buying the highest capacity for the sake of direct charging. Direct charging solves convenience of replenishment; capacity solves single-session runtime. They are different problems. If you shoot two or three hundred frames a day and can charge at the hotel, a mid capacity with direct charging is entirely sufficient; if you shoot a thousand or more, capacity deserves priority over the connector, because carrying an extra pack always saves more time than charging one more time.

When mixing makes sense

The first case is a trip with important shooting folded in: use the T series for top-ups during the day, charge the standard packs on the dock at the hotel overnight, and set off the next morning without the power bank. The second is anyone who already owns a dock and several standard packs: add one T series pack for emergencies rather than replacing the whole kit.

YO labels capacity the same way across both lines, so mixing does not lead to miscounting because of different naming. To look at the direct-charge specifications, see the T series category; to compare capacity tiers, see the 950mAh category.

FAQ

How much heavier is the T series than the standard version?

At the same capacity it is usually slightly heavier because of the Type-C port and its circuitry, but the difference is negligible. What you feel depends far more on the capacity tier than on whether it direct-charges.

Can a direct-charge pack still be charged on a dock?

Usually yes, since the contacts match. A dock works as a backup method; you simply give up the main advantage of carrying one less accessory.

With only one battery, which should I get?

If you are often out and about with a power bank nearby, take the T series. If you mostly shoot at home or in a studio, the standard version plus a dock is sufficient and more economical.

Can the two types be rotated in the same body?

Yes. As long as both are LP-E17, the dimensions and contacts match and alternating them does not affect the camera. The gauge may read slightly differently depending on pack age, which is normal.

Short answer: yes, you can mix them, and it will not damage the camera. The LP-E17 is a 7.2V, three-contact design, and the body reads voltage and temperature signals without caring whose name is on the label. The original at about 1040mAh and the T series tiers sit in the same range, so there is no electrical obstacle to using them together. What needs managing is not safety but the gauge jump that comes from two different discharge curves, and the rotation confusion that follows.

The physical boundaries of mixing

The body and battery communicate over three contacts: positive, negative, and a data line. The data line carries temperature and identification, and the body uses it to set charging current and the low-battery threshold. If a third-party pack is recognized normally, that communication works and the voltage is within the allowed range.

The protection board is a second layer. A reputable product guards against overcharge, over-discharge, short circuit, and over-current, and those protections are the battery’s own last line of defense, independent of the body. In a mixed pair each pack looks after itself; there is no circuit path by which one drags the other down.

Chargers can be shared. The original LC-E17 judges the charging stage by voltage, so any pack of the same form factor can use it. The T series supports USB-C direct charging and needs no dock at all, and the two replenishment routes do not conflict. Whether a dock is needed or can be shared is a matter for the product documentation and the charger markings.

So the claim that mixing damages the camera does not hold when voltage matches, contacts match, and the protection board is intact. The cases that genuinely go wrong are mostly unbranded products that omitted the protection board, or contacts with loose dimensional tolerances causing poor connection. Those are quality problems, not mixing.

Basic rotation principles

The core tension in mixing is that the remaining-charge number shown by the body does not mean quite the same thing for both packs. At the same two bars, the original might still deliver two hundred frames while the T series has eighty. Rotation should be designed around that difference.

1. Charge both fully before you leave. Do not start with one full and one half. Inconsistent starting points are the worst thing about mixing, because every later judgment is distorted.
2. Fit the smaller-capacity pack first and keep the other in the bag. That way the second half of the day runs on the pack with more headroom, and the finish is calmer.
3. Do not wait for auto-shutdown. Swap at one bar and treat the remainder as a buffer rather than usable quota.
4. Mark the pack you just pulled immediately so it cannot be confused with a charged one. A rubber band, a sticker, or simply inserting it the other way round all work.
5. Charge both fully before storing them after the trip. Mixing makes “I thought it still had charge” misjudgments more likely, and standardizing on full removes that variable.

If the two capacities are far apart, say a 750mAh paired with a 1050mAh, adjust the plan again: put the small pack in the low-intensity stretches such as travel between locations, scouting, or around meals, and save the large one for the main scenes where you know you need output.

Why the gauge jumps, and how to read it

The gauge usually runs two logics at once: one reads voltage, the other uses a coulomb counter. The voltage method is simple but crude, and the reading changes as soon as the load does. The coulomb counter is accurate but needs several full cycles to learn a given pack’s real capacity.

Fit a pack the body has not seen before and the counter starts blank, so the body falls back to voltage estimation and the reading is conservative. It converges over a few uses, but alternating two packs keeps interrupting the learning, so the reading never settles as well as with a single pack.

What that looks like: three bars on insertion, two after a few dozen frames, back to three after a power cycle, and a low-battery warning that arrives without much notice. None of this is a fault; it is the estimator switching between two batteries.

Symptom	Cause	What to do
Drops fast right after insertion, then steadies	Voltage estimation; sag under load is pronounced	Normal; watch the trend
Gauge recovers after a power cycle	Voltage rebounds when the load is removed	Trust the low-battery warning, not the bars
Shuts down abruptly at one bar	High internal resistance; fast sag under load	Move that pack to backup duty
The two packs lose bars at clearly different rates	Differences in capacity and curve	Rebuild the rotation around capacity

A useful rule: when mixing, do not trust the bars, trust how much you have already shot. Set yourself a threshold such as swapping after a certain number of frames, and it will be far more reliable than watching the gauge.

Three situations where mixing is not advised

A one-off shoot you cannot redo. Wedding ceremonies, product launches, single-event coverage: tolerance for error here is zero. Using packs of the same model, batch, and cycle count pushes the variables to a minimum. The money saved on a battery is not worth one extra risk.

Cold conditions. Below freezing, usable capacity is already reduced, and two packs on different curves will lose capacity by different amounts, which makes rotation judgments more error-prone. For cold-weather location work, standardize on one model and carry an extra.

Long video takes. Video is a continuous load that demands voltage stability at the tail. If the pack with higher internal resistance happens to be in the camera, it may cut out while the gauge still shows charge, leaving the file incompletely written.

Conversely, for street shooting, travel, and family recording, anything you can redo, mixing is entirely fine and lets you use both packs down. The most common pairing of an LP-E17 T series with an original is the original as primary and the T series as the runtime and recharge fallback, and the T series category covers those scenarios in more detail.

FAQ

Does mixing shorten the original battery’s life?

No. The two packs are electrically independent and there is no path for current to flow between them. The original’s life depends only on its own cycle count, temperature, and storage state.

Can the body tell a third-party battery from an original?

Most bodies read voltage and temperature and therefore work and charge normally. Some omit the genuine-battery notice for non-original packs, or do not show an exact percentage. That does not affect shooting; it just means less information on screen.

Can one charger handle both capacities?

Yes. A dock judges the charging stage by voltage, and capacity only affects how long a full charge takes. With USB-C direct charging the two are entirely independent. Check the markings on both charger and battery for specifics.

With long-term mixing, is periodic calibration needed?

It helps to give each pack a full cycle on its own every few months so the body’s coulomb counter can relearn it. It is not mandatory maintenance, but it keeps the display accurate. More on capacity and fitment is in the capacity and compatibility guide.

Short answer: one EOS R50, one LP-E17 T series pack, and a 10000mAh power bank will cover a day of light travel shooting, roughly five to seven hundred frames, with one top-up at lunch or in the car. But if the itinerary includes long recordings, cold outdoor locations, or all-day heavy bursts, that single pack will be tight and a spare is worth adding. The value of this kit is not that it holds a lot of power. It is that you can recharge without a dock charger.

What follows breaks the budget down along a real itinerary, gives a packing list, and explains when this setup stops being enough.

Why the R50 is the typical case for this kit

The R50 takes the LP-E17, and its small, light body makes it the main camera for a lot of travelers. It does not have the generous battery compartment of a larger body and is not suited to a grip or an external supply, so the power strategy really comes down to either carrying more packs or recharging along the way. The T series’ direct charging answers the second option: no outlet to find, no dock to pack, just a power bank.

The R10 and R100 in the same family also take the LP-E17 and suit the same approach. The EOS M50, M100, and M200 use the LP-E12 and are outside this discussion. If you are unsure which you have, check the compatibility list in the LP-E17 capacity and compatibility guide.

The day’s budget: where five to seven hundred frames comes from

The R50 frames mainly on its screen, and a pack in the 1050mAh class typically delivers five to seven hundred frames at normal temperature, shooting intermittently, with light review. The spread is wide and depends on four things:

• How you frame. Using the electronic viewfinder throughout draws more than the screen, and the gap can be a third.
• Stabilization and autofocus. Body and lens stabilization plus continuous autofocus draw power continuously.
• Screen and wireless. High brightness, Wi-Fi left on, or Bluetooth image transfer all speed up drain noticeably.
• Temperature. Outdoors below ten degrees Celsius usable capacity falls; plan on about seventy percent for winter travel.

By that logic a relaxed day of three hundred frames is easily covered by one pack, while a heavy day of eight hundred or more needs a top-up or a second pack. On the road the biggest draw is often not shooting at all but frequent reviewing, transferring, and long idle periods.

Packing list and top-up rhythm

1. One body, one pack in the camera. Charge it before you leave and confirm the gauge reads full.
2. One USB-C cable. A short one, half a meter to a meter, that you can share with your phone to keep the item count down.
3. One 10000mAh power bank. 5V/2A output is enough; that is about 37Wh, theoretically three to four full charges for this pack.
4. One top-up at midday. Pull the pack and connect it to the bank over lunch or on the train; half an hour returns roughly thirty percent, enough to reach the evening.
5. Full charge overnight. Direct charging takes about two to four hours, so plug in as soon as you are back rather than waiting until bedtime.

The key to this rhythm is splitting charging into a little at midday and a full one at night, instead of hunting for power once the pack is empty. Lithium-ion cells accept charge efficiently in the middle range and are not subjected to the wear of deep discharge.

When one pack stops being enough

The first case is long recording. Vlogging or time-lapse on a trip draws far more than stills, and one pack often covers only an hour or two. The second is cold: skiing, a summit at dawn, or a winter city at night all qualify, and the gauge will fall faster than it reads; keep the spare in an inside pocket. The third is burst-heavy subjects such as markets, performances, or animals, where more shutter presses mean more work for the motor and the buffer writes.

In all three cases the practical answer is a second pack, not a bigger power bank. However large the bank, moving energy into a battery takes time, and the shooting will not wait. Two packs plus a power bank is the steadier travel configuration.

In this setup the LP-E17 T series plays the recharge-anywhere role: capacity stated honestly, a standard Type-C port, and no extra cable to buy. To compare weight and runtime trade-offs across tiers, see the T series category and the 1050mAh category.

FAQ

Can the R50 charge the battery through its USB port?

Whether a body supports USB power depends on the model and firmware; check the manual. The T series puts the charging port on the battery itself, so the pack must be removed and connected to power, independent of the body.

How many charges will a 10000mAh power bank give?

By energy conversion, theoretically three to four; allowing for boost and cable losses, usually about three in practice. Fewer in winter or with poor cables.

Is one pack plus a power bank enough for a full day?

For light to moderate shooting, usually yes, provided you top up once. If the day exceeds eight hundred frames, includes long takes, or happens in the cold, bring a second pack.

Can the battery charge inside a backpack?

Not advisable. Charging generates heat, and an enclosed space traps it. Leave the pack in the open or in an outer pocket, and stow it once full.