Firmware: Canon Updates Pretty Much Every DSLR

JonAustin said:
ashmadux said:
Better check to see if third party batteries are locked out too.

No guinea pigs here, canon!

Anybody checked this yet? I have a 5DIII and one 3rd party battery. No intentions of upgrading firmware to support a lens I'll never buy if it locks out my spare juicer.
If you do not need to get an obviously not stellar non L lens then I would suggest that you do not upgrade anyway. I have left it to 1.2.3 so as to run Magic Lantern. There were no useful firmware updates after that anyway...
 
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JonAustin said:
ashmadux said:
Better check to see if third party batteries are locked out too.

No guinea pigs here, canon!

Anybody checked this yet? I have a 5DIII and one 3rd party battery. No intentions of upgrading firmware to support a lens I'll never buy if it locks out my spare juicer.


The 3rd party batteries that were working before the update on Canon 5D4 and 70D are still working after the update. There were two batteries (Watson brand) that had an issue before the update and still have an issue after the update on the 5D4. They work perfectly fine in the 70D. (In fact, I used a 3rd party battery to update one of the camera bodies.)

I own many 3rd party batteries that have been purchased throughout the past several years. By product of doing video work and needing to swap semi-frequently throughout the day between camera(s), monitor(s) and sometimes and LED light. Have several Canon, Watson, Wasabi Power, and Kastar branded LP-E6 and LP-E6N's.

Watson's are labeled as three different types:
LPE6 7.4V/1750mAh/12.95Wh (x5)
LP-E6N 7.2V/1900mAh/14.7Wh (x2, most recently purchased)
LP-E6N 7.4V/2000mAh/14.8Wh (x2)

The two Watson batteries labeled LP-E6N 7.4V/2000mAh/14.8Wh are the ones with an issue. They display the "Battery communication error. Does this battery/ do these batteries display the Canon logo? No / Yes" menu.

The Wasabi Power were purchased at different times, but they are all labeled as:
BTR-LPE6-JWP 7.2V/2600mAh/18.7Wh (x9)

The Wasabi Power are great 3rd party batteries but no where near the advertised specs. In fact, they are identical to the newest model Watson LP-E6N 7.2V/1900mAh/14.7Wh batteries and available at a much lower price.

The Kastar batteries are all labeled as:
LP-E6 7.2V/2950mAh and no mention of Wh (x12)

I would not purchase these ever again unless you only want to charge them in an OFFICIAL Canon charger. Out of the twelve I currently own, at least 5 must be charged ONLY in a Canon branded official charger. At least two (probably four) have been recycled.
 
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tron said:
JonAustin said:
ashmadux said:
Better check to see if third party batteries are locked out too.
Anybody checked this yet? I have a 5DIII and one 3rd party battery. No intentions of upgrading firmware to support a lens I'll never buy if it locks out my spare juicer.
If you do not need to get an obviously not stellar non L lens then I would suggest that you do not upgrade anyway. I have left it to 1.2.3 so as to run Magic Lantern. There were no useful firmware updates after that anyway...
The advertised purpose of the firmware is of no interest to me, either, but frequently, firmware updates likes these may include other, lesser changes, bux fixes, etc.
 
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JonAustin said:
@BSBeamer: Thanks for your helpful and informative reply. My 3rd party battery is a Pearstone, so I may go ahead and install the firmware the next time I'm feeling adventurous...

No problem.

Pearstone has been re-branded as Watson and is B&H's "house" brand for many 3rd party accessories. I would take a look at the battery specs and compare to the old listing on the battery page on B&H's website. They SPECIFICALLY updated the page for the Watson battery with 5D4 issues on their website, noting they are incompatible. I could have had a case for free replacement since they were under a year since original purchase, but they updated the page immediately after I inquired and am now out of luck.

Maybe want to email [email protected] - that is who is behind the Watson & Pearstone brands, in addition to a TON of others: http://www.gradusgroup.com/?page=brands
 
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