Among many exciting new features, Canon’s new EOS 5D Mark II brings with it a totally new compact battery pack called the LP-E6. Far from just a more powerful power supply, this new battery teams up with the camera in new ways to give photographers a precise outlook on remaining strength of a battery, as well as managing multiple batteries.

The new lithium-ion LP-E6 battery pack is approximately 30% more powerful than the previous BP-511A – with 1800 milliamp-hours capacity, vs. 1390 mAh for the previous-generation BP-511A. Even though the new EOS 5D Mark II is a substantially higher-resolution camera than the previous EOS 5D, and in spite of the added performance of its DIGIC 4 processor, the LP-E6 powers the camera for 850 shots at normal temperatures (vs. 800 for the EOS 5D), based on CIPA-compliant tests performed at Canon Inc.