Anker PowerCore+ Portable Charger

My review is a tad specific, but I suspect others might be wondering the same. So here it is. The Canon EOS R8 is a professional grade mirrorless camera with some intentional feature gaps to keep the price reasonable enough for a hobbyist to jump into professional-grade mirrorless photography, w/out breaking the bank (and also to keep the camera delightfully light and easy to carry.) One painful "feature gap" for the EOS R8, was the choice to require the small & light low-capacity Canon LP-E17 lithium-ion battery, which can quickly drain out under heavy shooting or video. Most R8 owners will opt for a 2nd (or 3rd) battery, which I did, but I wanted a solution that would allow me to setup 12 hour time-lapse video captures, or film extra long videos where stopping to change the battery is just not possible. Enter the Anker PowerCore+ 26800mAh. Once charged it can be connected to the Canon EOS R8 (on Firmware 1.4.0) via USB-C AS LONG AS the camera is loaded with A GENUINE CANON LP-E17 Lithium-Ion Battery pack. In this configuration, if the camera is powered OFF the Anker PowerCore+ will CHARGE the LP-E17 in the camera body. (So YEA!, I now have a way to charge my camera batteries in the field away from a power outlet!) But even better, if you turn the camera ON the battery meter in the viewfinder will turn grey and the camera will draw exclusively from the externally connected Anker PowerCore+. In this configuration you can shoot hours or days long time-lapse videos or shoot extended video; your only limit being space on the SD card, or the camera's operating temperature. But there is more: The Anker PowerCore+ 26800mAh came WITH a USB-C 60w switching AC adapter to charge the PowerCore, which takes about 2-3 hours to fully charge. (Personally, I use a lower wattage AC adapter, to gently slow-charge it. AND I ever charge above 80% or allow it to drain below 20% to preserve the PowerCore's design capacity. Read online regarding the proper care of all Lithium batteries if you want to learn more.) Once charged, I was able to fully recharge my 13" laptop and still had enough left over to charge my smartphone. PLEASE NOTE, neither my laptop or smartphone had particularly large capacity batteries, so your mileage may vary. But I still found this impressive. Lastly, I discovered I was ALSO able to connect the included Anker 60w USB-C switching AC adapter, directly to my Canon EOS R8 (on fw 1.4.0), and as long as a genuine battery was loaded, I could either charge the camera battery on the OFF position, run the camera straight from the 60w switching adapter plugged into an electrical outlet INDEFINITELY when the camera was powered ON. CAUTION/PRUDENCE But please to all the Canon Camera owners out there. Even though the online Canon Answer 1043209 (Document PI624) indicates that "Operation of the following products has been verified." (Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD 45W*1,2) --- To be on the safe side, it is NOT my intent to use it regularly as a primary power solution. I'm sticking with a couple Canon LP-E17 batteries charged via the Canon wall-charger. But when need demands, the PowerCore+ is going to offer options I would have not had otherwise. Charging and operating the Anker PowerCore is pretty simple, and the included AC charger and USB-C cable shows that Anker wanted to provide a powerbank that would be useful straight out of the box. The meshed carrying bag was a nice touch; it hangs perfectly from my tripod hook. I am very pleased. So that's my review. Great product. It solved a power problem for me, and I suspect it will will be very helpful for other on-the-go device charging scenario's. If you are on the fence, I encourage you roll the dice on this. I suspect it won' disappoint. (An while I have your attention) GENERAL LITHIUM BATTERY CARE TIPS: This is a great powerbank. But it was an investment, and its requires special CARE, which very few folks think about when it comes to Lithium rechargeable battery packs. This goes for cellphones, laptops, and even Electric Vehicles: When it comes to this battery pack, I recommend you store it half-drained when its not being used regularly, and to be careful to USE it while ONLY if its charged between 25% and 95% charge. Though although its not THAT big of a deal to occasionally charge it fully to 95-100%, "deep draining" this battery pack below 20% even once WILL cause the physical structure of the internal lithium cells to change: the lithium cells will begin to re-organize into crystals that grow into sharp crystal dendrites that puncture the walls of the cells. Once this happens, some of the internal cells short-circuits causing PERMANENT loss of some of its design capacity. 26800mAh may fall to 25300. The next time it may fall to 22900. And over time deep draining will make it impossible for the bank to store a meaningful amount of power, even at full charge. Remember, PREVENT lithium rechargeables from "deep draining" below 20%, and they will likely preform like brand-new for numerous charge cycles for many years.