Short answer: it fits and it works, but it should not be your only pack for an R5. The EOS R5 ships with an LP-E6NH (2130mAh/7.2V), and an LP-E6+ is a compatible substitute. Everyday stills and ordinary video are fine; the moment you move into 8K, long high-frame-rate 4K takes or cold conditions, the limits show up.
Start with the name. LP-E6+ is not a Canon designation — it is how some third parties (YO included) label an enhanced version, and Canon’s LP-E6 family consists of only four packs, LP-E6, LP-E6N, LP-E6NH and LP-E6P. So what follows is not “Canon’s support list for the R5” but what actually happens when a third-party enhanced pack goes into one.
1. The R5’s load profile is nothing like a DSLR’s
The EOS R5 is mirrorless: it meters from the moment it is switched on, with the sensor, EVF and image processor all working. Its power profile has three characteristics — high idle draw, high peak current and heavy sustained load.
- High idle draw. Being on and metering costs power, and that is the most fundamental difference from the 5D series. A pack of the same capacity therefore has a naturally shorter usable time in an R5.
- High peak current. 8K recording, high-frame-rate 4K and 20fps electronic-shutter bursts are sustained high-current loads, not the brief pulses of a DSLR.
- Heat and throttling are linked. During long recordings the body warms, pack internal resistance rises with temperature, terminal voltage falls further, and the effect feeds on itself.
That is precisely why Canon introduced the LP-E6P in 2024 alongside the EOS R5 Mark II, positioned as a high-discharge pack. It also says something about how Canon views heavy-load shooting: capacity is not the only variable, and discharge capability matters just as much.
2. It is compatible, but there are four limits
| Limit | What it looks like | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| Long high-bitrate recording | Early low-battery warnings or thermal protection during long 8K or high-frame-rate 4K takes | High |
| Burst runtime | Visible voltage sag at 20fps, with runtime clearly shorter than a Canon pack of the same capacity | Moderate |
| Gauge accuracy | Percentage jumps; readings recover after a power cycle | Moderate |
| Cold conditions | Internal resistance rises sharply below 0°C and usable capacity shrinks further | High |
Of the four, the first two come from discharge capability, the third from gauge calibration, and the fourth is common to all lithium-ion packs — Canon does not escape it either, it simply has more margin.
One point deserves special mention: the LP-E6+ has no USB-C charging port. Many people assume an enhanced third-party pack can be charged by cable; it cannot. The R5 body accepts USB-C PD input for power or charging, but that is a body-side capability, and whether the battery has a port of its own is a separate question.
3. Scenario by scenario, the answer becomes clear
Fine to use: still photography, travel, portraits, event coverage, short clips of a few minutes. Single-session load is modest in these settings, an LP-E6+ has enough discharge margin, and the cost advantage is real.
Use with caution: full wedding or conference recording, 8K short-film work, drone ground monitoring — anything that cannot be interrupted. Not because failure is certain, but because the cost of failure is too high.
Not advisable: extreme-cold shoots, entire 8K long takes, and projects that depend on precise power planning, such as scheduling shots by percentage. The first two are physical limits; the last is a readout issue.
A practical arrangement is to keep a Canon LP-E6NH in the primary slot and an LP-E6+ in the backup slot. Use the backup between takes and switch back to Canon for the important shots. That controls cost without concentrating risk in one place.
To understand how Canon’s high-capacity and high-discharge models differ, see the LP-E6NH category and the LP-E6P category; general questions about enhanced packs are collected in the LP-E6+ category.
4. Three checks to run once it is in the camera
- Confirm recognition. Insert the pack, power on and see whether the level appears promptly and stays stable. A long stretch of odd readings or repeated warnings means the communication or gauge does not match — do not take it out on a job.
- Run a burst. Shoot a sequence on the electronic shutter and watch for a mid-sequence cutoff or a jumping gauge. This quickly exposes protection-board current limiting.
- Record a long clip. Record ten minutes or so at the highest specification you actually use, and see whether a low-battery or heat warning arrives early. This is more direct than any specification.
If all three pass, the pack is usable at your working intensity. If any one fails, demote it to backup rather than forcing it.
FAQ
Is the LP-E6+ a model Canon made for the R5?
No. Canon has no LP-E6+ model; the official LP-E6 family is LP-E6, LP-E6N, LP-E6NH and LP-E6P. The R5 ships with an LP-E6NH, and the R5 Mark II that followed in 2024 is paired with an LP-E6P.
Will an LP-E6+ make the R5 throw errors or lock up?
In most cases it will not lock up and works as soon as it is recognized. A particular product may show an odd gauge reading or a message about a non-Canon battery; that is a difference in communication and gauging. It does not affect basic power delivery, but it does affect planning shots by percentage.
Can an R5 shoot 8K on an LP-E6+?
Short clips usually work; long continuous recording is not advisable. 8K is the R5’s heaviest scenario and makes the greatest demand on sustained discharge, which is where Canon’s high-capacity or high-discharge models have more margin.
Can I charge an LP-E6+ through the camera’s USB-C port?
Not directly. The LP-E6+ has no USB-C interface and needs a dock. The R5’s USB-C input is a body-side capability that can power the body or charge a pack inside it, subject to the body manual, but that is not the same as a charging port on the battery.