Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
I was also thinking that it's very heavy on the batteries.
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Canon 7D Mk II is announced and available for pre-order (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Ashraf Kotb
- Start date
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
I've just had an 'interesting' experience with battery charging.
I noticed that the battery in my MkII was low (down to one bar, but not yet flashing) when I made my post earlier this evening so I decided to give it a recharge.
When I took it out of the camera I noticed it was the generic battery that I mentioned the other day (charge performance three green squares according to the camera) and I put it in the new MkII charger. I've also had the new MkII battery through a charge cycle as well as the old 7D battery in the week since I got the camera, so that's two and a half batteries in a week (the generic was 53% cahrged when I started to use it in the new camera).
That was about 5.45 pm. Much later I noticed that the charge light was still rapidly flashing, so I waited a while for it to go green while I watched some television. It kept flashing rapidly throughout the programme I was watching. By then it was almost 9pm and the battery had been charging over 3 hours, so thinking it would be full or nearly full I put it into the camera expecting that to be the case. The time for a full charge is supposed to be two and a half hours.
I was surprised when the battery condition meter told me that the charge was only 17% - after 3 hours - and this was a battery that wasn't discharged when I started to charge it.
I put it in the old 7D charger for a couple of hours and when the light turned green I put it in the camera - 100% charged, according to the meter.
Just for daftness I put it back into the new MkII charger, expecting it to show a green light, or if not for the green light to appear after a few minutes. It didn't show green. It flashed rapidly orange so I left it for a while - about half an hour and went back to find it still rapidly flashing.
I put it into the camera and the meter told me that what had been a 100% charge was now only 90% - after half an hour in the new charger.
If the camera readings are to be believed it appears that half an hour on the charger not only didn't confirm the full charge - it actually partially discharged the battery. It's back on the old charger now getting that 10% back (edit - just put it back in the camera after getting a green light and it's reading 99% again).
It appears that the people at Canon don't want us using batteries that cost less than £70 a pop and this time they are doing something to ring-fence their position.
I noticed that the battery in my MkII was low (down to one bar, but not yet flashing) when I made my post earlier this evening so I decided to give it a recharge.
When I took it out of the camera I noticed it was the generic battery that I mentioned the other day (charge performance three green squares according to the camera) and I put it in the new MkII charger. I've also had the new MkII battery through a charge cycle as well as the old 7D battery in the week since I got the camera, so that's two and a half batteries in a week (the generic was 53% cahrged when I started to use it in the new camera).
That was about 5.45 pm. Much later I noticed that the charge light was still rapidly flashing, so I waited a while for it to go green while I watched some television. It kept flashing rapidly throughout the programme I was watching. By then it was almost 9pm and the battery had been charging over 3 hours, so thinking it would be full or nearly full I put it into the camera expecting that to be the case. The time for a full charge is supposed to be two and a half hours.
I was surprised when the battery condition meter told me that the charge was only 17% - after 3 hours - and this was a battery that wasn't discharged when I started to charge it.
I put it in the old 7D charger for a couple of hours and when the light turned green I put it in the camera - 100% charged, according to the meter.
Just for daftness I put it back into the new MkII charger, expecting it to show a green light, or if not for the green light to appear after a few minutes. It didn't show green. It flashed rapidly orange so I left it for a while - about half an hour and went back to find it still rapidly flashing.
I put it into the camera and the meter told me that what had been a 100% charge was now only 90% - after half an hour in the new charger.
If the camera readings are to be believed it appears that half an hour on the charger not only didn't confirm the full charge - it actually partially discharged the battery. It's back on the old charger now getting that 10% back (edit - just put it back in the camera after getting a green light and it's reading 99% again).
It appears that the people at Canon don't want us using batteries that cost less than £70 a pop and this time they are doing something to ring-fence their position.
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I thought the chargers were the same, they look exactly the same. We already had 3 (from the 7D and my wife's 60D/6D). The only difference I can see is that the new one has "Model: DS510101" on the back and the old ones don't...................
A bit sneaky of Canon if what Barred Wobbler is saying turns out to be true. I hadn't noticed that behaviour as I've only been using OEM batteries in the 7D2, my 2 generic batteries are now with my 7D.
A bit sneaky of Canon if what Barred Wobbler is saying turns out to be true. I hadn't noticed that behaviour as I've only been using OEM batteries in the 7D2, my 2 generic batteries are now with my 7D.
Roy C
Occasional bird snapper
An interesting post, I think you may well have 'hit the nail on the head' with your last sentence.
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
I'll keep an eye on how many shots I get out of the charge and I'll test it again in the same charger when it runs down. I won''t be taking any shots today. Very heavy cloud and rain.
The battery in question is stamped on the casing and label 'Li-ion' and 'Fits CAN. LP-E6' I think I bought it from 7dayshop in 2011.
The battery in question is stamped on the casing and label 'Li-ion' and 'Fits CAN. LP-E6' I think I bought it from 7dayshop in 2011.
If this is all correct those of us without old 7D chargers are stuck with Canon batteries or buy another charger as well. Hopefully one of the 'other' suppliers will suss the problem quickly. I would be very wary of only having 1 battery for a good day out and £70 is a lot of money for one.
tdodd
Just call me Tim
<Big snip>
This might help explain the situation, if the symptoms match - http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e024809ed436
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
The rain cleared and the weather broke enough to encourage me to go down to the beach this afternoon for an hour. Unfortunately the heavy cloud came back just after I left the house, so I messed about in dull conditions taking flight shots of stuff like sanderlings and redshanks against breaking surf. The autofocus was most impressive in comparison to the old 7D, which would have struggled under similar conditions. I got lucky when a lone little auk came flying along the beach at eye level - too quick to find in the focus, but it settled on the surf just past me and I got a few shots.
What was less impressive was when I checked the battery usage of the generic battery (which until last week was performing well in the 7D).
59 shots taken this afternoon on manual exposure with brief views of playback of images (say a dozen times) just to test focus.
The fully charged battery that I put into the camera late last night is now showing a remaining charge of only 63%.
I'll put the dedicated battery in when I go out tomorrow and I'll see how that performs. I need to collect some data for Canon to support my email that I sent them last night. They replied to it today and offered such gems of wisdom as 'check that the WiFi' is turned off' and 'use the viewfinder rather than the rear screen'.
I've just replied to that, pointing out to them in terms which some might consider unkind that the camera has no WiFi and the viewfinder and rear screen are not interchangeable in use (I'm not into live view). I also pointed out that one of the first things I did when I got the camera was to disable the GPS to avoid unnecessary battery drain (another of their suggestions) .
A selection of shots from this afternoon below - all in very poor conditions and the last two in particular a little underexposed because I hadn't appreciated how thick the cloud was getting. Not the greatest shots in the world.
1st shot ISO 800, 1/1600 sec F.6.3, the others ISO 1000, 1/1250 sec F6.3.
What was less impressive was when I checked the battery usage of the generic battery (which until last week was performing well in the 7D).
59 shots taken this afternoon on manual exposure with brief views of playback of images (say a dozen times) just to test focus.
The fully charged battery that I put into the camera late last night is now showing a remaining charge of only 63%.
I'll put the dedicated battery in when I go out tomorrow and I'll see how that performs. I need to collect some data for Canon to support my email that I sent them last night. They replied to it today and offered such gems of wisdom as 'check that the WiFi' is turned off' and 'use the viewfinder rather than the rear screen'.
I've just replied to that, pointing out to them in terms which some might consider unkind that the camera has no WiFi and the viewfinder and rear screen are not interchangeable in use (I'm not into live view). I also pointed out that one of the first things I did when I got the camera was to disable the GPS to avoid unnecessary battery drain (another of their suggestions) .
A selection of shots from this afternoon below - all in very poor conditions and the last two in particular a little underexposed because I hadn't appreciated how thick the cloud was getting. Not the greatest shots in the world.
1st shot ISO 800, 1/1600 sec F.6.3, the others ISO 1000, 1/1250 sec F6.3.
Attachments
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Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
Yes indeed it might.
As an experiment I've just put that battery back in the charger. The orange light started blinking about once per second as it should and I thought I'd got away with it, but after about 10 blinks the rapid blinking set in again.
It looks like the new charger just doesn't want to speak to the non-Canon battery.
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Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
More battery info. I went out with a fully charged 7DII battery this morning, Normal use with the 400 prime.
70 photos taken, some in bursts. Almost no 'false focussing' (ie using autofocus without taking a shot), and only brief occasional playback.
Battery charge down to 81%.
The manual suggests a fully charged battery should be good for 760 shots in low temperatures (0°) to 800 shots at room temperature.
I'll be checking.
70 photos taken, some in bursts. Almost no 'false focussing' (ie using autofocus without taking a shot), and only brief occasional playback.
Battery charge down to 81%.
The manual suggests a fully charged battery should be good for 760 shots in low temperatures (0°) to 800 shots at room temperature.
I'll be checking.
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GYRob
Well-known member
I wonder if they are going on say a 50 f1.8 as it would not take as much power to focus as a larger tele.
Just a thought.
Rob.
Marcus Conway - ebirder
Well-known member
redeyedvideo
It's like water off a duck's back!
Is it me or do you need earplugs to view those images?
Roy C
Occasional bird snapper
Marcus,that 5d3 shot is mega noisy for ISO 1600 even if it is a 100% crop - I routinely shoot my 5D3 at ISO 1600 (and even higher) and have never seen noise like that at that ISO, was it under exposed and pushed in processing or something?
Marcus Conway - ebirder
Well-known member
Straight from the camera
Imported via light room cropped in photoshop.
The 7d2 imported via DPP cropped in photoshop.
No processing applied to either
Imported via light room cropped in photoshop.
The 7d2 imported via DPP cropped in photoshop.
No processing applied to either
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Roy C
Occasional bird snapper
Did you have the DPP NR set to zero and applied (it is turned on by default)?
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BodyResults
Well-known member
I tried out the 7DII today with the 600 f4 is ii. Regarding the battery I took about 400 shots and the battery level read 68% at the end.Later I did some review and deleting of about 1/3 of the photos and the battery dropped to 52%.
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
Another 48 shots this morning, bringing the count on this charge to 118 photos. Minimal replay, very little unnecessary focussing.
Remaining charge now 71%.
Remaining charge now 71%.
