Possible to use a 2 pins power cable to save weight?

Hi,

I just received 6D. Its a huge upgrade in every department (feel, grip, vf, silent shutter) from 550D! Loving it. I'm bringing 6D to to 8 day vacation. Coming from 550D, i find that the new charger cable is rather heavy and bulky for travelling.

Qn: Can I safety switch the 3 pins head from 6D for 2 pins head from my old 550D?

Hope there is no safety issue

If the same charger is sold with either cable depending on region, then the charger is designed to be safe without a protective earth wire.

Yes, it is a non-metalic charger that has no earth connection. (There is only a two wire plug connecting to the actual charger)

If you are that worried about weight, chop a load of cable off the other lead

thank you for straight forward answers guys

Assuming you are in the UK then the 6D is an offical UK import as it has the correct UK spec power lead, as required by UK law. Your old lead and I guess the camera with it is a grey import. It is illegal to sell a product with that type of lead in the UK unless it has been fitted with a permament non removable adaptor by the importer. The problem is that if that is say an American lead plugged into a product designed for the USA just plugging it in to a simple plug converter and plugging in to the UK mains supply could have unfortunate consequnces as a 110V device won't like 240V at all. The other way round might not be too good either, but too little is normally better than too much.

The charging unit though is a universal multi voltage type, so is ok for use anywhere in the world, with a suitable plug adaptor.

Alan

Here in the UK its normal practise to use 13a plugtops because thats the most common socket outlet available. So it will mean possibly having to carry an extra adaptor if its changed. I'd say the weight difference was marginal but if you wish to do it, it will do no harm. The double wound transformer (no electrical connection between the primary and seconday windings) is perfectly safe on an earth free system.

BigAl007 wrote in post #15438198
It is illegal to sell a product with that type of lead in the UK unless it has been fitted with a permament non removable adaptor by the importer. The problem is that if that is say an American lead plugged into a product designed for the USA just plugging it in to a simple plug converter and plugging in to the UK mains supply could have unfortunate consequnces as a 110V device won't like 240V at all.

Are you really sure about the UK laws?

You see, most switched equipment sold now are "all voltage", i.e. they support 100-250V. So they don't care if they get connected to 110V, 115V, 220V, 240V or something in between.

I would expect that there could be special laws when importing 110V-only equipment since they would represent shock and fire hazards if they could have their cable switched to allow them to be connected to 230V.

But UK is a 230V country, and the Europlug is designed for 220-250V countries. It's just UK and some few other European countries who decided that the Europlug is too practical.

I am curious as to how much weight has been saved by going from 1 cable to the other...

couldn't you save further weight by cutting down that cable's overall length?

BigAl007 wrote in post #15438198
Assuming you are in the UK then the 6D is an offical UK import as it has the correct UK spec power lead, as required by UK law. Your old lead and I guess the camera with it is a grey import. It is illegal to sell a product with that type of lead in the UK unless it has been fitted with a permament non removable adaptor by the importer. The problem is that if that is say an American lead plugged into a product designed for the USA just plugging it in to a simple plug converter and plugging in to the UK mains supply could have unfortunate consequnces as a 110V device won't like 240V at all. The other way round might not be too good either, but too little is normally better than too much.

The charging unit though is a universal multi voltage type, so is ok for use anywhere in the world, with a suitable plug adaptor.

Alan

You sure about that? Many electronics I order (from Amazon etc) often have a UK and an EU plug...

Anyway it will work fine, I have taken my chargers abroad using the relevant country lead with no issues. It's pretty rare nowadays for electronics to have voltage specific transformers, as it is cheaper to just produce one suitable worldwide than varying by region, and supply the relevant lead which probably costs 10p to make

You are correct. On the back of my LP-E6 charger it is rated for 110-240v.

OP- I use the 2 prong plug on my charger with no problems. In fact, that's the only one that comes with the camera here in Thailand.

If you want to save space and weight when travelling, get an American style charger and 1 or 2 adapters. I find most hotels have the standard American plug in the bathroom for shavers and I rarely need to use the adapters.

The reason for the UK plug isn't that the Europlug is too practical, or anything else like that. It's instead the fact that UK outlets are regularily fused too high for safe use with most mobile appliances. To handle that, the plug itself contains a 13 A fuse, to limit the possible load on the connection cable.
This very peculiar install practice in the UK is a reminder from WVII, when the circular feed model was invented to save some rare copper. The UK won the war, but is still suffering... BS 1363 is the designation of the British standard for the plugs. The plugs can be used without the ring circuit, but not the other way around.

Anders,

I was unaware of the historic reasons behind the introduction of the 13a ring main. As someone who spent most of my working life in the industry in many different roles, a great many thanks for the information.

I hate these new chargers Canon are using. Here in Canada we were being supplied with the US style fold away 2 pronged charger, but since the T2i, T3i, and T4i hit the shelves they all have the detachable power cable style.
I started using the Apple style adapters as they take up little space and don't have a cord .. see below:
US & Canada plug adapter
European plug adapter
UK plug adapter

londonbairn wrote in post #15438614
You sure about that? Many electronics I order (from Amazon etc) often have a UK and an EU plug...

Note that you say UK AND EU cable. They are allowed to just add the UK lead to the box and leave the other cable in there. If they use an adaptor to change from the EU plug to the UK one then it must be of a non removable type. Of course as this is the EU if the product is shipped to you from another EU country, then you may not find a UK cable in there. UK specific law only applies in the UK after all.

The problem is that you can if you try hard enough get the pins of the EU style plug into the live and neutral of a UK 13A socket. This will though eventually permanently damage both the plug and socket, if it doesn't do so immediately.

EU trade regulations can lead to some perverse situations. For example there are items which are illegal to be sold by Mail Order/Internet and (by way of trade as they call it) sales must be made on a Face to Face basis at licensed Trade Premises. However it is perfectly legal to order, and receive those same goods by Mail Order/Internet from any other EU country (where those products are legal).

Alan