If you’ve ever wondered if it is possible to power your Canon DSLR camera via mains DC adapter, then this article is for you. I needed a consistent power source for my Canon 550D because I wanted to shoot a long time lapse video spanning over 8 hours per day.

Although I have 3 x battery packs, these still won’t be enough to power the camera perhaps for 5000+ shots per day. I also didn’t want to keep an eye on the battery throughout the 8 hours of my timelapse shoot. This will have also meant that I’d need to stop the timelapse, swap batteries, and then restart my interval timer again – all of these amounts to loss of time, but also disturbance to the framing of the photographs in the timelapse sequence.

Therefore, I decided to look for a way to power the camera directly using an adapter instead of the battery. Luckily, a quick Google search returned lots of results on Amazon and eBay for Canon DC power supply adapters. So I decided to write this post to cover some of the basics and also how the adapter connectors work. This I am hoping will give you a head start if you are looking for a Canon DSLR camera power supply mains adapter.

Video of the Canon DSLR mains DC adapter

Here’s a video of the DSLR mains DC adapter and how to connect the adapter to your Canon camera below:

How the Canon DSLR mains power supply adapter works

Most of the entry level Canon DSLR cameras such as my 550D/Rebel T2i/700D do not come with a power input port for direct mains adapter connection. It may be the case for other Canon DSLR cameras but I am not quite familiar with many other DSLR line ups. 

So this poses a slight problem, if you want to shoot long time lapse sequences or want to record long interviews or events. To address this, Canon already sell DC power supply adapters for some of their camera line up including some DSLRs too. Here’s a link to Canon’s official online shop for DC power adapters – https://store.canon.co.uk/camera-power-adapters/

The DC mains power supply setup has 2 key components: 

• DC Coupler, 
• And the adapter itself that connects to the coupler and supplies the power to the camera

How Canon DC couplers and power adapters work

The battery couplers are essentially an exact but empty frame/shell replica of the battery packs. These couplers will slot into your camera just like your camera battery will. The only difference is that these DC couplers will have an input port where you connect the mains DC adapter power supply. And just like that, your DSLR camera will be hooked to unlimited power supply and not be dependent on batteries any longer. You will be able to carry out extended periods of shooting as long as you are near mains power supply.

If you decide to buy your Canon DSLR camera battery coupler and DC mains power supply adapter from Canon’s official website – then make sure you check the compatibility mentioned in the product pages. At the time of writing this post, a DC battery coupler with E8 type connector (compatible for 550D, 700D, 600D, Rebel T2i etc) costs £26.99.

Complete adapter + coupler kit start at around £70 on Canon’s official website.

Buying aftermarket DSLR DC power supply adapters

If you are not ready to fork out £70+ on a DC mains power supply for your DSLR camera, then there are cheaper aftermarket cheaper alternatives too. You can buy DC coupler + adapter from Amazon/eBay for as little as £15 ($22)! 

However, there are risks associated with this cheaper route such as unstable adapter voltage ratings, and lack of surge protection etc which may end up damaging your DSLR camera permanently.

At the time of writing this post, you could easily pick up a power supply from Amazon compatible for most Canon DSLR cameras including 90D, 80D, 70D, 5D Mark III, 7D Mark II, Rebel T5i, T4i, T3i, T2i, 700D, 650D, 550D and more as per picture below:

I found that some of the aftermarket DC adapters have different output voltage ratings ranging from 7.4V to 8.4V. 

Since I couldn’t quite figure out the output voltage rating for original Canon DC adapters, I decided to go for the lower end of the spectrum – 7.4v to be on the safe side. My Canon DSLR camera battery voltage rating was 7.2V so this felt closest.

How to connect the DC power supply adapter to Canon DSLR camera

The set up process is really straightforward and took just a few minutes from unwrapping to switching the camera on. Conveniently, there is a slot next to the battery cover sealed with removable rubber flap which allows for the adapter cable to route out easily whilst keeping the battery cover/lid function intact. 

The DC coupler, being exactly the same dimensions as the battery packs, can easily be slotted in an out without any difficulties.  

Thank you for stopping by and do leave a comment below if you purchased a DC power supply adapter for your Canon DSLR camera or have any suggestions.

Thanks again and speak soon!