topic Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

Summersond — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 17:02:07 GMT

My question is this: I am getting a dummy battery to plug into the camera so I can use an external larger battery source. I want to also use an ac adaptor to feed 7.5v to the camera but don't know how much current the camera draws. I need to know so I can get a large enough adaptor to supply the camera. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

ezpop — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 18:00:40 GMT

Camera hacker Chris Winter used a XTP power 10000mAH on his canon dslr. (of course with a dummy battery)

You may check it out from the youtube channel. The battery is available on Amazon fo only $50 (after $30 off)

Also, I find this one from the Ebay, which is a bit cheaper but seems to have the same spec.

AC adapter AC E-6 (8V 3A)can be have for less than $13 on the ebay. (plus shipping)

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

Summersond — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 18:01:30 GMT

Thank you very much! I will check them out.

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

TCampbell — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 18:09:57 GMT

Canon makes an accessory called the "AC Adapter Kit ACK-E6" -- which does exactlyl what you want (slipts into the battery compartment but allows the camera to run on AC power.)

Although the Canon site lists this as a $180 accessory, all major stores seem to sell it for $120 (still not cheap.)

There are LOTS of knock-offs (many of which are $25 or less) but READ REVIEWS because I found the number of negative reviews to be extremely high with many claiming that they either didn't work at all, worked only for a few minutes, or were very flakey (camera would lose power in mid session.)

As such, I'm not sure I'd want to roll the dice on a knock-off.

I have a 60Da (a special version of the 60D produced by Canon specifically for astrophotography) and astrophotography tends to eat through batteries very quickly due to the extremely long exposure times involved. As such, Canon includes the ACK-E6 with the camera (so I own one but I didn't have to buy it seperately). The ACK-E6 does work extremely well.

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

Summersond — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:08:35 GMT

I ended up ordering this one. It is not Canon, it it has a 3 amp output like the Canon and unlike the other knock off's that have only 2 amp. We'll see how it performs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171620396051?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thanks!

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

ezpop — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:17:00 GMT

It seems pretty neat and with 3 years warranty at least.

Please report back.

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

Skirball — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:53:11 GMT

Yeah, let us know how it works out, please. I'd probably pick one up at that price.

These accessory electronics are always a pain in the ass. The name brand manufacturers gouge you on the price. And they're such low volume that usually the only alternatives are the super cheap Chinese knockoffs; which are a complete crap shoot. Finding a decent third party option, from a company with actual quality control is always a journey.

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

Summersond — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:57:10 GMT

I will report back when it comes in later this week (Friday or Sat I Think). I will plug in and let the camera run for several hours and see how warm the PS gets.

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

ezpop — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 02:08:45 GMT

Watch out : the cameras sensor was not designed for extended video usage.

The sensor will overheat after about 10 mins of straight video which will incur severe grainy artifacts in the video.

I quoted the above from the following link :

http://dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?192601-Sensor-overheating-while-shooting-video

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

ezpop — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 02:12:12 GMT

Heating may be caused by battery. I heard that with a battery grip or external battery pack, thing may improve. With a dummy battery, I am not sure.

But you have to be careful with the temperature issue which may cause severe consequence to your camera.

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

Skirball — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 16:21:45 GMT

@ezpop wrote:
Heating may be caused by battery. I heard that with a battery grip or external battery pack, thing may improve. With a dummy battery, I am not sure.

But you have to be careful with the temperature issue which may cause severe consequence to your camera.

You never know what you're going to get with electronics, but theoretically, the AC/DC conversion takes place in the powerpack, outside of the camera. The battery part of the adapter is nothing more than an oversized plug, it's not going to generate any (notable) heat. Much less than a battery produces due to the chemical reaction.

All that assumes a properly designed electronic, of course.

Re: Using a dummy battery in a EOS 70D

Summersond — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 00:20:09 GMT

Got the device and plugged in. Haven't had a chance to use it yet but the battery level shows 74%. That is good as it doesn't seem to be dumping too much voltage to camera. This is the unit I linked to earlier.