LP-E6N Backwards Compatible

[unfocused]

Has anyone seen any information from Canon as to whether or not the new LP-E6N is compatible with older model cameras, such as the 5DIII and 7DI?

They made a point of saying the 7DII can use the old batteries, but other than one video preview from a camera store, I have not found anything saying if the new batteries can be used in the older cameras.

 

[Jim Saunders]

They are, but they aren't of any greater capacity; the only difference is their being manufactured to more recent safety standards. That in itself might be worth money if airlines publish rules about that and you fly a lot, but otherwise I see no reason to spend the extra money.

Jim

 

[millan]

I asked the same question at Photokina fair in Germany last month and was told it is backwards compatible. Anyway, advertised higher capacity is negligible in my opinion (1850 vs 1800 mAh) and not worth the money.

 

[Marsu42]

I asked the same question at Photokina fair in Germany last month and was told it is backwards compatible. Anyway, advertised higher capacity is negligible in my opinion (1850 vs 1800 mAh) and not worth the money.

An in-depth test might reveal that there are other benefits, maybe more recharge cycles or faster recharging?

Knowing Canon, there might be another agenda: the new battery type might have a much more elaborate counterfeiting prevention, and with newer cameras or 7d2+ fw upgrades the old lp-e6 might be disabled by Canon.

They showed how important battery sales are to them with the latest 6d/5d3 fw upgrades that adds warning messages and chargers that don't accept detected 3rd party batteries anymore.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I asked the same question at Photokina fair in Germany last month and was told it is backwards compatible. Anyway, advertised higher capacity is negligible in my opinion (1850 vs 1800 mAh) and not worth the money.

An in-depth test might reveal that there are other benefits, maybe more recharge cycles or faster recharging?

Knowing Canon, there might be another agenda: the new battery type might have a much more elaborate counterfeiting prevention, and with newer cameras or 7d2+ fw upgrades the old lp-e6 might be disabled by Canon.

They showed how important battery sales are to them with the latest 6d/5d3 fw upgrades that adds warning messages and chargers that don't accept detected 3rd party batteries anymore.

+1 you can bank on the counterfeit protection. It has only a skight additional capacity, nothing worth bothering with.

 

[wyldeguy]

I asked the same question at Photokina fair in Germany last month and was told it is backwards compatible. Anyway, advertised higher capacity is negligible in my opinion (1850 vs 1800 mAh) and not worth the money.

Depending on how much power the camera uses to take a single picture, which I assume is very low but possibly significantly higher than the original 7D, the addition of 50mAh could translate into 50 more pictures than the standard battery. Major components combined you're probably looking at a power draw in the 50-100mA range and it's only for the duration of the shot being taken, so maybe at most like 1 minute, which means it's probably more like 0.83mAh per picture. If you're taking pictures in a burst then you are probably looking at a smaller value per picture but given you have more draw from the shutter in burst it would probably still be in the 0.5mAh area. At best you are looking at 100 more pictures on this battery than the old one. If that means getting the shot instead of changing batteries i would say that it's worth it.

 

[Sabaki]

Scott Kelby mentioned he needed to change out batteries at half time for the one football game he shot. I immediately thought, does the camera require more power or whether the new batteries are weaker.

I keep thinking, Canon sells battery grips, why on Earth don't they sell chargers that can charge two batteries simultaneously?

Just thinking

 

[old-pr-pix]

... why on Earth don't they sell chargers that can charge two batteries simultaneously?

Just thinking

Because you are supposed to buy a charger with every battery... come-on, get with the program!

Kelby changed batteries at half time as a precaution to avoid dead battery during the typical post game shooting frenzy. Half-time is just a good break when most sideline photogs aren't so busy.

 

[Loswr]

I keep thinking, Canon sells battery grips, why on Earth don't they sell chargers that can charge two batteries simultaneously?

They do...for the 1-series bodies.

For other Canon dSLR batteries, check out the hähnel ProCUBE.

 

[AvTvM]

Yes. http://www.canon-asia.com/snapshot/eos-7dmk2-579/

Q: Can we continue to make use of the existing battery model
A:“Yes.” The new LP-E6N (1,865mAh) has a larger capacity, while maintaining the same shape as the LP-E6 (1,800mAh). The existing battery charger also remains usable, so equipment that you have purchased for the EOS 7D will not go to waste.

as far as "50 or 100 more shots" are concerned .. forget it. At least with the 7D II.
Battery performance is poor compared to e.g. Nikon D750 [1200+ shots/CIPA] and D810 - using same sized, 1900mAh EN-El15A.

Q: What is the maximum number of shots that can be taken when the battery is fully charged?
A:“During viewfinder shooting at a temperature of 23°C and at AE 100%, the maximum number of shots is 800. When using 50% of the built-in flash, the maximum number is 670 shots. Under the same conditions during Live View shooting, the maximum numbers are 270 and 250 shots at AE 100% and flash 50% respectively.” These are the numbers when the LP-E6N battery is used.

Obviously Canon is doing something very wrong regarding battery drain.

And lastly: LP-E6 sell at about 55 Euro a piece, LP-E6N sell at 100+ Euro.
Any more questions? ;D

 

[unfocused]

Yes. http://www.canon-asia.com/snapshot/eos-7dmk2-579/

Q: Can we continue to make use of the existing battery model
A:“Yes.” The new LP-E6N (1,865mAh) has a larger capacity, while maintaining the same shape as the LP-E6 (1,800mAh). The existing battery charger also remains usable, so equipment that you have purchased for the EOS 7D will not go to waste.

That wasn't my question though.

Has anyone seen any information from Canon as to whether or not the new LP-E6N is compatible with older model cameras, such as the 5DIII and 7DI?

I think the consensus is that the new batteries will be compatible, but I still wish Canon would simply say that somewhere.

 

[tailslides]

Hahnel do the ProCube dual charger, looks good and has received favourable reviews, I have one being delivered today so I will see.

 

[meywd]

as per the website it should be compatible

 

[Steve Balcombe]

... check out the hähnel ProCUBE.

This looks like a great travel solution, as it also charges 4xAA and has a USB port, and it comes complete with US, Europe and UK plugs and a car lead.

One thing to be aware of is that for Canon it supports LP-E6 and LP-E8 batteries only, so it can't be used for the 50D and earlier, 5D1, 1000D-1200D and 100D. I can imagine a lot of people having one or other of those as a backup. But this is a minor niggle.

 

[tomscott]

I have the pro cube.

Its a fantastic device. But if your charging 1 or 2 batteries the 2.1A USB doesn't work on the back. The USB only works on its own when not charging any batteries. Annoying when you want an all in one charger. The hot swappable tops are good too if you have multiple camera systems or have rechargeable AA. The swappable plug system is also very useful when traveling.

To solve this problem with USB I bought the Duo traveler to charge my iPad, iPhone and RavPower 14.000mAh battery while I'm traveling. It also has the hot swappable plug system but they aren't comparable with each other which is annoying, so if your traveling across different countries you have to double up on both. (I'm traveling South America and North America for 5 months and having to take Type A, C and I type plug converters from my native Type G in the UK.

http://www.hahnel.ie/index.cfm?page=xtrasforipod_usb&id=148&pId=148

 

[dgatwood]

I keep thinking, Canon sells battery grips, why on Earth don't they sell chargers that can charge two batteries simultaneously?

They do...for the 1-series bodies.

For other Canon dSLR batteries, check out the hähnel ProCUBE.

Or, for a more flexible two-battery charger, take a look at the Delkin dual universal battery charger. You can get various charging plates for different batteries. I have plates for the LP-E6 (for my 6D) and for the NB-2LH (for my old XTi backup body). I could even get a plate for my 300D's BP-511 if I wanted one.

And no idiotic chip checks.

 

[AvTvM]

... Delkin dual universal battery charger ...
And no idiotic chip checks.

Unfortunately neither the Delkin nor the Pearstone/Watson dual chargers seem to be able to (reliable) charge Original Canon LP-E6 (or other Canon batteries) - just read the user reviews on BHPhoto or amazon.

I would love to get a compact universal dual charger with plates for LP-E6, LP-E6N, LP-E10 and NB-6L type original Canon batteries plus USB-Out to simultaneously (!) charge various mobile devices. RELIABLY. Would be willing to pay up to € 100.

Unfortunately there seems to be no such product on the market. Canon chipping their LiIon original batteries seems to have done the trick. So I need to lug around 3 to 5 diferent chargers plus cables.

 

[dgatwood]

... Delkin dual universal battery charger ...
And no idiotic chip checks.

Unfortunately neither the Delkin nor the Pearstone/Watson dual chargers seem to be able to (reliable) charge Original Canon LP-E6 (or other Canon batteries) - just read the user reviews on BHPhoto or amazon.

I've been using the Delkin as my primary charger with LP-E6 batteries for almost a year now. I basically never use the factory charger, because it charges only one battery, and my grip contains two. I haven't had any problems whatsoever with it.

I can't imagine what could cause the problems described by the one review, other than perhaps the battery's charge indicator not getting recalibrated as the cells degrade (in which case the problem would be purely cosmetic—the battery really *does* have less capacity, and the Canon charger's recalibration would just hide that fact).

The complaint I've seen about the plates being a little loose is a valid one. I'm tempted to add a layer of electric tape to make it more snug. But charging failures? No. Maybe with really early LP-E6 batteries, but not with the 6D version or later versions.

 

[AvTvM]

@dgatwood: thanks!

 

[dgatwood]

Also, I bought mine shortly after I bought my 6D, so there's some possibility that Delkin fixed a bug in the hardware's handling of certain cells during the 1.5 years between when that review was written and when I bought mine.