AA batteries For The Win

E

Eddy Robinson

Well-known member
Adorama is asking a reasonable $220 for the BG-E7 battery grip - you can put 2 Canon batteries in it for double the shooting, or use 6 AAs.

These won't yield as much battery life (I see talk of 3-400 shots with alkalines, dunno what that means for video - I'd guess 90 minutes max) but you can get AAs anywhere, and good rechargeables are constantly getting cheaper. I like Sanyo Eneloops - they last about 3-4x longer than alkalaines and recharge quickly and consistently.

The Canon-branded batteries are about $65 and people are talking about needing 3-4 of them (plus maybe an extra charger) for a full day of shooting. But battery sizes and capacities are constrained by the laws of physics - ie there's no special manufacturer juice that magically ups the capacity - so I'm optimistic about 6x NiMH AAs from a good manufacturer.

If this turns out to be the case, then this unit would be a great deal since there's a big consumer market for rechargeable batteries - lower prices, greater availability, all kinds of chargers (solar, bulk, international) and so on. I would definitely rather run off AAs than use proprietary batteries & chargers.
 
Interesting idea. It would definitely be a nice failsafe to have when shooting in remote locations.
I've dodged a few bullets running out of battery power in the past when in the middle of nowhere on a job.

Just a thought - it's also possible that using the Lithium AA batteries would give you a bit of an edge over the NiMH batteries.
I'd be really curious to see what kind of runtime you could get out of that.
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Just a thought - it's also possible that using the Lithium AA batteries would give you a bit of an edge over the NiMH batteries.
Click to expand...
However, rechargeable lithium batteries don't exist in AA. This is apparently due to electrochemical and safety reasons.
 
mhood said:
They're $20 for an eight pack. Go through three packs and you've bought a Canon battery.
Click to expand...

True.
I wouldn't want them as a main source of power - but given that I have other things in my pack that require AA batteries - I pretty much always have some on hand regardless, so its not like I'd be carrying them specifically for the camera.

I'd look at running the camera off AA's (if it's feasible for video use) as a backup in case of emergency, not as an alternative to using Canon batteries.
I've had camera batteries fail on me before, or lose charges due being on the plane (either due to temp or pressure, I'm not quite sure)...
I've also been left without batteries and not enough time to charge a new one, having to use a half charged battery...etc.
Point is, things happen... having a backup for every part of your production chain is never a bad idea.
 
I would be pretty lost without my battery grip in my still setup, I've gotten so used to it. Having two batteries means it never runs out during a shoot, no need to change, and while I have never actually used AA batteries I very much appreciate having the option. Just in case. It also makes the camera much easier to use. The release button for portrait orientation is great, and it feels better in the hand. That's why I'm always saying smaller is not better in camera; I actually have extra equipment to fight the camera being too small to use well, at least in professional still photography situations.
 
I'm thinking the DC Coupler makes sense when there is A/C around a stationary camera set...

(p 234 of the manual)
 
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Good point Luis. Carry some in your bag to hold you over when your batteries are all dead and charging, or when you are out of juice and have no AC sockets to rely on.

They do sound like a nice back up.
 
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