Charging the Canon EOS RP with USB Power
Charging the Canon EOS RP (and the EOS R) with an USB power bank is easy, but you need the right kind of charger.
There is a lot of chatter on camera forums and YouTube saying that you have to buy the overpriced USB charger from Canon to be able to recharge the battery inside the EOS RP – this is not true.
Mirrorless cameras are a lot more battery hungry than their DSLR predecessors but newer mirrorless cameras have the ability to be charged with USB power. Gone are the days of carrying a camera specific charger, right? Right!
Before buying a new battery power bank, I tried all chargers I had at hand. Fast charging cell phone charger? Nope! iPad charger? Didn’t work! Computer USB-A port? Another nope!
Enter Power Delivery (PD) USB Charging
After consulting a popular search engine website, I came to the conclusion that a Power Delivery (PD) power bank (or charger) would work with the EOS RP. The Anker PowerCore 10000 PD seemed to fit the bill. This power bank has a small form factor, comes with a USB-C to USB-C cord, and Anker has great reputations for making long-lasting products that just work. I have to say, this Anker model is a little pricier than other brands offerings but still cheaper than an original Canon battery.
Only the USB-C port is used for charging the unit but both ports can power other devices. The smaller USB-C port is equipped with PD technology, which is capable of powering devices that demand more juice. This is also the charging port that works with the EOS RP. Although the larger USB-A port is not able to power the EOS RP, it is capable of charging other devices, like a GoPro
So, there you go, as long as you have a charger or a power bank or a charger with Power Delivery technology, you don’t have to buy Canon’s proprietary USB charger.
Computer USB Charging the Canon EOS RP
Some people might say that true USB charging means you can charge a device through a USB port on your computer. Again, many people have claimed that the EOS RP can’t be charged by a computer. I am happy to report that computer charging does work if you use a USB-C port. Here you can see my computer is actively charging the EOS RP.
As always, I have spent my own money on this stuff. If you feel like supporting the site, you can buy something using any of the affiliate links embedded in this article or through the suggested links below – it doesn’t cost anything extra to you.
Thanks for sharing! I would try the same power bank on my R.
Nice Fractal Design case 😉
Thanks! Should work on the EOS R also.
Is it possible to use the rp with an accu dummy and an powerbank, for timelapsing?
Hi Sebastian, I believe you mean a dummy battery and a powerbank. Yeah, technically, it is possible. You would have to hack it together though. This might be my next project.
Hi, the green light does not come on when I connect USB c on the camera to normal USB on my computer ( Mac ), with the camera turned off. If the camera was on it would simply go into download mode ( dont want that )
So, do I have to have a computer with USB c input also, in order to get charging as you show in your pic?
Cheers John
Hi John, that’s right, it needs to be connected to a USB C port on your computer.
Hi, how long did it take to charge the RP using this Powerbank? Thanks.
Does anyone know? Thanks.
I used it quite a few times during my last vacation trip but I have not timed it yet. I want to say less than a couple of hours but I’ll test it this weekend and add to the post.
Hi Adele, I timed it this weekend. The camera battery was completely empty and the Anker 10000 PD was completely full. It took 1:45 to charge the battery inside the camera back to full. Not bad!
1hr:45mins or 1mins: 45sec ? which One Please?
Definitely 1 hour and 45 minutes.
That’s great to know, thanks so much!
Where can we buy Canon Rp dummy battery ? Search every where?
Hi Shey,
I’m not entirely sure if this is what you are looking for, but here you go: https://amzn.to/2pj6j81
This is a dummy LP-E17 battery, which is what the RP uses. I should add that I have never used this product.
thanks this what am talking about. has anyone use or tested the E17 dummy battery with canon RP or R? does it work well?
Hi, Is it possible to run the RP using the USB power? I am into timelapse photography. I need to run the camera continuously for two three hours. Thanks.
Hi Eranga, it does not. When you turn on the camera, it stops charging through USB. You would need a dummy battery to achieve continuous power – I have this as the next item on my hack list.
Thank you…
I have been looking for a power bank to use with my EOS R while in the wilderness for weeks at a time. Do you know if you can charge the power bank with a solar panel, or if you can plug USB-A into USB-A to charge from another power bank that has a solar panel? No wall outlets in the wild 😛
Hi John,
You would have to find a power bank with passthrough feature to allow it to charge your camera and have the power bank be charged at the same time. I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to use a solar panel to charge any power banks – that’s what a lot of the solar panels out there are designed for. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of experience using solar panels.
I know it been a year since this question was asked. But when i go camping i use a solar panel with a inverter that i got for my car, it has a usb port on it which i can use to charge my portable batteries with!
Hi Scott, thanks for the insight.
When I used the USB-C to USB-A cable connected to a powered USB-A port, I do see the green light and I think its charging. So with the new EOS utility to use as a WebCam I do see that the battery is not getting depleted when I use it. I do feel the heat though on the battery side
Thanks for sharing. That’s pretty awesome. I’ll be testing the new Webcam utility shortly.
I’d love to know which cable specifically you’re using, if you know. I got my first USB-A 3.0 to USB-C cable and have tried it in both my computer’s USB 3.0 port and the charger for my Mavic Mini (which supplies up to 3 amps), and still haven’t gotten the green light to turn on to show my Canon RP charging. I’ve now read that USB-A cables need to be specifically rated to provide PD (Power Delivery), whereas the USB-C to USB-C cables apparently provide that as standard. So now I’m looking for a PD-rated A-to-C cable and not finding much in the wild. Thanks!
Hi Chris, I used the USB-C port on my computer and a USB-C to USB-C Cable. I do have a USB-A to USB-C cable that came with my Anker power bank that works fine on my PD enabled chargers.
Is it possible to charge the EOS RP and use it as a webcam with USB C from camera to computer? I’m trying to figure out if I need to buy the dummy battery or not.
Hi André, is anything new about timelapse virtual battery? 🙂
Haven’t tried it yet, but this looks promising: https://ebay.us/OOzu9l
I own an EOS-RP and this works. I have an Anker charging brick with PD (power delivery) displayed on the front. Just connect a USB-C to USB-C cable from the brick to the camera port. A light illuminates on the back of the camera (lower right) to indicate it’s charging. Nice!