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RoryOD
11th of September 2009 (Fri), 13:39
just wanted to know if it was normal for a 3rd party battery to always show empty on the lcd?

bought a 3rd party battery for the MKIII on ebay, its a Maximal Power 11.1V 2800mAh li-ion. first charge (left it on overnight) and went to try it out and!! wont fit :rolleyes:
its close but it wont go the last few mm to allow the lock to turn. studied the build and i found a few places where the rubber weather sealing stuck out more than the origional LP-E4's. Gave them a trim with a blade and success.

The only thing is that the camera asks "Can not communicate with this battery. continue to use?" and a yes no selection. choose yes. camera starts up and takes shots ok BUT the battery display is empty and if you go to battery info, it says "Can not communicate with this battery" the other thing is that the drive icon [] for single frame shooting flashes??

any MKIII users know if it is normal for a 3rd party battery to show empty in the display? i have 2 gunuine cannon batteries so this is only a "use in emergency battery" and it only cost like $35 but i just wanted to know if it was normal for a 3rd party battery to always show empty?

thanks
Jon
11th of September 2009 (Fri), 14:06
Well, since Canon built electronics into the batteries to communicate with the camera and charger regarding battery health and number of shots fired, among other info (see Battery Info under the second Tools menu; p. 187 on your manual), without that capability in the third-party battery the camera doesn't know the battery state. In fact Canon states that if the camera can't communicate with the battery, it'll display the "empty" icon.
RoryOD
11th of September 2009 (Fri), 15:18
cool so will be ok to use..but i wont know when its going to run out?? but like i said its my 3rd battery, so it will only ever need to be uesd a few times ever when im waiting for the other two to charge if needed.

thanks
Jon
11th of September 2009 (Fri), 15:31
cool so will be ok to use..but i wont know when its going to run out?? but like i said its my 3rd battery, so it will only ever need to be uesd a few times ever when im waiting for the other two to charge if needed.

thanksWell, neither Canon nor I said it will be OK to use. Canon specifically warns that third party batteries may damage the camera (but then they say that about BP511s as well). It all depends on the third party battery and its maker. I'm getting 1300 or so shots per battery anyhow on my 1D3, so the 2 Canon batteies I have strike me as plenty.
RoryOD
11th of September 2009 (Fri), 18:45
Cheers Jon. na just thought i lost one of my batteries, hence buying it...then found my battery! so have 3 and thats enough to do a week on the go or two days full hard shooting. but i was just wanting to know if it would be ok, i have plenty of bp511s for my 50/40/30D's and never had any bother. well my two genuine canon batterys should cover me for anything. so the 3rd its just a safety net.

thanks again.