Canon 5D MK ll grip with AA's

[rlarsen]

Does anyone have experience using AA's in the 5D MK ll grip instead of two LP-E6 batteries.
I'd like to use 6 Powerex AA's and recharge as needed instead of ordering a 2nd LP-E6.
Any comments ?
Thanks
Rex

[neuroanatomist]

Depends on the AA battery used.  Alkalines will be terrible (far fewer shots than even a single LP-E6).  The Powerex NiMH will be ok, although you may have issues as the batteries get low (Li-ion has a slower but very stable discharge rate, whereas NiMH have a faster discharge rate, but put out less power when their charge gets low).  A pair of LP-E6 batteries will last substantially longer than 6 NiMH AA cells.  The other disadvantage to the AA's is that you'll have no battery status indicator to know when you need to recharge - the camera will just suddenly stop working at some point.

All things considered, I'd be inclined to get the second LP-E6, or just run with a single LP-E6 in the grip, and use the AA cells in 'emergencies' only.

[flanniganj]

Depends on the AA battery used.  Alkalines will be terrible (far fewer shots than even a single LP-E6).  The Powerex NiMH will be ok, although you may have issues as the batteries get low (Li-ion has a slower but very stable discharge rate, whereas NiMH have a faster discharge rate, but put out less power when their charge gets low).  A pair of LP-E6 batteries will last substantially longer than 6 NiMH AA cells.  The other disadvantage to the AA's is that you'll have no battery status indicator to know when you need to recharge - the camera will just suddenly stop working at some point.

All things considered, I'd be inclined to get the second LP-E6, or just run with a single LP-E6 in the grip, and use the AA cells in 'emergencies' only.

Agreed. I keep the carriage and extra AAs with me for emergencies only. Otherwise, its strictly the Li-Ion batteries.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

If you get caught with no charged li-on batteries, you can buy AA's.  Thet will have a short live, but better than nothing at all.  I would not plan to use AA rechargables due to the shorter life, and its expensive to carry two dozen around for years just in the event you might need them.

[vbi]

I use the grip with just one LP-E6...works perfectly.

[Del]

I've been using the new Sanyo Eneloop AA Ni-mh rechargeables in my 7D grip for the last two weeks and was amazed at just how long they lasted, especially compared to Alkalines which just dropped 50% of their power after 30 mins.

I got several hundred pictures + a lot of live view + a lot of chopping n' changing with camera/menu settings (as I was shooting mainly indoor with flash + some outdoor painting with light and stroboscopic 'Matrix-movie' type stuff) before the Eneloops died and they did so without any warning as Neuro said.

I kept checking the Battery Info every day to see if the charge display changed and it always read 'full' right up to a short while before the power went off and it read 50% full, so there was some warning.

Just FYI, I fully charged the Sanyo's before use and even though they're rated 1.2V 2000 mAh, I had them all at 1.48V to 1.5V with 2100+ mAh. Immediately after they died I put them into the battery charger and they still had about 20% capacity, but the critical factor was the Voltage - they'd all dropped below 1.18V.

By the way I have 5 x LP-E6 battery packs, but I wanted to see how the new low self-discharge AA cells fared and I have to say they stack up pretty well, lasting as long as the LP-E6 as far as I can make out.

From a cost-benefit perspective, they're a lot cheaper than multiple LP-E6s, I mean 16xAA's on Amazon cost me less than 24 British Pounds (a little more than US$32 or 2 bucks a piece), so 6 Eneloops cost me about the same as 1 x LP-E6 clone. That ain't bad.

[takoman46]

I haven't used the AA battery carriage because the first thought that came to me was the increased weight of 6 AA batteries compared to running 2 LP-E6 batteries.  I also use Sanyo eneloops AA's for my speedlites and their performance was  big improvement over the NiMH Energizers I was using before so I can see that they might last decently to power the body.

[TexPhoto]

I've shot 2000+ photos on a single LP-E6 more than once, it's tough to wear one out on a single shoot.  I'd just use the AA's as a back-up, or better yet, get a second LP-E6.

[Del]

+1 on using the AAs as a back-up.

The big problem with LP-E6 is whether to go for genuine Canon @ US$120 each in my local store (see link below)

http://www.connscameras.ie/canon-lpe6-lithium-ion-battery/4960999627472pd.html

...or go for cheap Chinese knock-off clones that may or may not be good (are they really 1.2V 1800 mAh??)

...or opt for extremely reliable well known brand of AA Nickel-Metal Hydrides for a fraction of the cost?

I use the Sanyo Eneloops in my flashgun + my TD-381 battery pack and they're simply unbeatable, plus I've lots of them in little easy-to-carry slim plastic cases (4 x AA per case) that slot into side pockets of my camera bag.

If price is not an issue then by all means get more LP-E6 packs, but if you're shooting documentary videos you will burn through 2 x LP-E6s after 2 hours continuous shooting. I tried 8 hours of shooting in a hotel conference room that I'd booked for the day and my 5 x LP-E6s ran out (couldn't charge them fast enough). A dozen AA Alkalines got me across the line.

Bottom line: I now use AA Ni-mh in my camera grip (LP-E6 as back-ups) as well as my Zoom H4n audio recorder, my Sony mics, my flashgun, my flash battery pack, my emergency pack for my iPhone etc. All are interchangeable - the LP-E6 packs only work in my camera.