7D None of my 3rd Party LP-E6 batteries charge.

[analog_addict]

I recently found out that none of my LP-E6 batteries charge anymore. The official Canon charger flashes constantly and they don't seem to actually charge beyond 10% or so. My genuine Canon battery had the same problem but I followed those instructions floating around and it fixed it. http://nofilmschool.com/2013/10/canon-product-advisory-lp-e6-dslr-battery/

I tried the instructions with my 3rd party batteries and it didn't work after many tries on any of them. I bought a cheap 3rd party charger off Ebay and after about 30mins I heard a pop sound and smelt burning electronics. The charger was dead.

Any ideas why this has happened. I havn't used the batteries in quite a while but not that long really. I used to use these on a 5Dmk2 a year or two ago and they always worked fine.

PS: I've also tried cleaning the small contacts with no luck.

Also I never had any problems with the charger that came with my 5Dk2 (now sold) but I am having problems with the charger that came with my 60D.

 

[analog_addict]

I've managed to charge a couple all the way to green (on Magic Lantern) using another 3rd party charger. This one hasn't died yet but has made some strange electrical noises.

I truly believe the newer Canon chargers refuse to charge 3rd party batteries due to an update and I think they even mess them up slightly in the process.

 

[lyrov]

Thats strange...I have two genuine canon chargers and they re charging normally my 3rd party batteries...so far! The one came with my 70D so it should be from the latest parts...

 

[Bruce Foreman]

Third party batteries are often a crapshoot. I had good luck with Oteka for the Canon T1i, T2i, and T3i, but Wasabi batteries for the Olympus Pen E-P3 were a disaster with one dying completely after the fourth charge cycle, and the other swelling up inside the camera at about the same time (Took me 4 hours to pry it out of the camera!). The pair of Wasabi batteries for my Panasonic GH2's never really gave trouble but never got me even half the runtime of genuine Lumix batteries.

After almost having the E-P3 ruined I flat won't take a chance. I "bite the bullet", pay the OEM price, swallow hard a time or two, and move on.

 

[deltoidjohn]

The Canon LP-E6's are the one battery I've never had 3rd party success with. All my 550D's spare batteries were 3rd party and they worked great. Before that all my Sony L batteries and Canon XH-A1 batteries were 3rd party too, and I never had a problem with any of them.

With the 3rd party LP-E6's most of the ones I've bought have failed. I've seen all sort of defects from split shells to loss of charge to smoking on the charger. After the smoke incident I promptly threw all my 3rd party Canon batteries in the bin and swore to only buy the genuine ones from now on.

 

[ROCKMORE]

The Canon LP-E6's are the one battery I've never had 3rd party success with. All my 550D's spare batteries were 3rd party and they worked great. .

I got 3rd party LP-E6 for 60D worked great 1 year than could not be read by camera still dead . I had E8 for the 600D worked great 6 months suddenly failed. Get what you pay for.

 

[Lensmith]

Forgive me...I am not trying to be insulting or disrespectful.

I simply don't understand the logic of trying to save a few bucks buying a third party battery.

In the end...what was saved?

Aren't you just positioning yourself for either failure or, bottom line, throwing money away and having to spend even more to "fix" this kind of decision.

In the end, no money is saved along with plenty of self-inflicted headaches.

What is the payoff you get from making a purchase like this?

Sorry,I just don't understand this kind of decision.

Again, I ask all of this respectfully.

 

[ROCKMORE]

I simply don't understand the logic of trying to save a few bucks buying a third party battery.
.

I agree, and had failures, but I just bought another E6 3rd party, because the original was 2 times the price and I didn't have enough cash in my pocket. I wouldn't have bought it but the 3rd party has a 1 year guarrantee while the original Canon has none at all. I thought I'd give it a go because I sell these camera bodies sometimes in a shorter time than that. No logic.

 

[Lensmith]

I wouldn't have bought it but the 3rd party has a 1 year guarrantee while the original Canon has none at all. I thought I'd give it a go because I sell these camera bodies sometimes in a shorter time than that. No logic.

Actually...I can understand and appreciate that kind of decision!

 

[deltoidjohn]

Forgive me...I am not trying to be insulting or disrespectful.

I simply don't understand the logic of trying to save a few bucks buying a third party battery.

It's not always only "a few bucks" that you save.

Back in my Sony days the 970 L series batteries cost about $600 here in Australia. I could get third party ones that worked perfectly and never failed me once in 5 years for about $40. If you're running multiple cameras, you could save enough money buying 3rd party batteries to afford an extra camera.

When I first dabbled in DSLR's with the 550D, I picked up a bunch of 3rd party batteries for about $8 each, because I'd had nothing but good experiences with 3rd party batteries so far. They all worked perfectly and I saved a few hundred dollars overall.

Then I moved up the the 5dmkII & 60D and had a completely different experience, and swore off ever buying anything other than genuine LP-E6's for my Canon DSLR's. And seeing as the decent 3rd party ones are only about $20 cheaper then the genuine ones, I can see your point in this case.

It's worth keeping in mind that the situation varies from camera to camera and battery to battery. In the example I gave of the Sony L's they were around for decades, were some of the most common camera batteries around and were used in all sorts of production equipment like monitors and lights, so the third party manufacturers had plenty of time and reason to get it right. These days with the RED cameras I know a few people who use 3rd party batteries exclusively rather that the extortionate RED batteries. Broadcast cameras too, are commonly powered by 3rd party V-mount batteries. So 3rd party batteries have their place, you just need to know when to bother. And from everything I've seen with the LP-E6's, I now tell people not to bother with them.

 

[ROCKMORE]

Then I moved up the the 5dmkII & 60D and had a completely different experience, and swore off ever buying anything other than genuine LP-E6's for my Canon DSLR's. And seeing as the decent 3rd party ones are only about $20 cheaper then the genuine ones, I can see your point in this case.

I know, one of the final deciding factors why I got another 60D instead of a second 600D is because I sold the camera body for only $300 but kept the extra original Canon battery. But of course the 60D is a way better camera.
I bought the extra 3rd party battery for my b cam 600D because it came with a 1 year warrantee and I needed to keep extra money for a case of beer that day. That was also a logical choice.

 

[analog_addict]

An update to the thread:

I think I am correct and *some* newer Canon chargers refuse 3rd party batteries (even 'chipped'). I got a generic 3rd party charger off ebay and the batteries work as they always have. LED goes red and then green once they're charged.

To people saying 3rd party batteries are a crap shoot. I have never had problems with 3rd party batteries. I have Sony F, Nikon EL20, LP-E6 and Panasonic batteries. I have 18 batteries for all my kit and only 2 are genuine. I've never had a battery fail and run times are usually about 70-80% of a genuine battery.

Before you buy 3rd party batteries check the reviews on Amazon, if they are poor quality you will find out. Batteries are not that complicated and you're being ripped off for genuine batteries.

If you are so worried about faulty or dangerous 3rd party batteries then buy Duracell or Energizer 3rd party batteries.

The one thing that causes major problems are 3rd party chargers that are very poorly made and soldered. Charge using genuine chargers or spend a little on a good 3rd party charger.

 

[deltoidjohn]

Charge using genuine chargers or spend a little on a good 3rd party charger.

I no longer trust 3rd party LP-E6 batteries, especially on a genuine charger. My Canon charger went up in smoke thanks to a 3rd party battery, and the cost to replace it was far more than a few genuine batteries would've cost. It's the only battery type I've ever had problems with (and I had several different problems, from several different brands).