12VDC powered battery replacer?

[Ettu]

Hello,

I need a recomendation for a battery replacer (if that's the right term?) for my 6DM2.

I only have a (nominal) 12vdc power source available. (my supply voltage is actually 13.8-14.1)

I have found the following, described on ebay as

12V power cable ACK-E2+BP-511 DR-400 dc coupler for canon EOS

Which claims 12-24vdc input 

with 8.15-8.4 vdc out to the battery replacer-insert-substitute. 1.5 amps capacity

I use power hungry features such as live view, and live view shoot, with wired (USB-3) interface via the EOS Utility.

I want an adaptor that won't suffer from surges, or cause harmfull spikes or drops to the camera.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

[Ettu · Accepted solution]

Well, thanks to some of my fellow Canon DSLR AstroPhotography buddies from the Cloudy Nights forum, It was suggested I consider the following

Pegasus Astro DSLR Buddy Controller, plus the correct for your camera dummy battery.

Seems solid, adequate, and stable, and apparently has been used for a number of years by a number of photographers and their cameras with powered lenses.

I would like to see more info about it in the manufacturer's tech area, but a call to them might fill that in to satisfaction.

The unit has a port for a lens dew chaser/heater, which for anyone who's done any amount of night time photography in non dry climate environs knows, you'll often need one.

[kvbarkley]

It might be safer to get an inverter and the canon AC Adapter.

[wq9nsc]

I agree with KV that you would be much better off using an inverter along with the proper Canon AC adapter rather than products of unknown parentage from ebay. 

Quite a few of the automotive "jump packs" have inverters built in and with their large either gel cell or lithium batteries you will have power for your camera for a long time and the jump pack can be charged from either AC or a vehicle power port.  It is also useful for a lot of things other than just jump starting a car.

You are wise to be concerned about voltage spikes and other glitches from a poorly engineered DC to DC converter; when prices are cut the first components designed out are those to protect the connected device.

Rodger

[ChrisPBacon]

Not an expert here:  if you're using this unit in the field and want to power the AC side from an inverter, for every step in the process of recharging a battery, you lose some power. Taking 12 VDC from your car and converting it to 115 VAC, then putting it through a transformer-rectifier and stepping it down, you lose power in three different steps.  [Many new cars like Honda and Acura (according to their Service departments) are incurring severe electrical system damage as a result of charging cellphones, dashcams, radar detectors, battery chargers, and inverters to run stereo speakers.]  If you're using a lot of batteries during a shoot, why not use a battery grip and have some extra, freshly-charged batteries?  Has to be much less expensive than burning up a camera or a vehicle's electrical system.

If you're faced with how to recharge the batteries once in the field, it's a better solution to use a DC system to charge a battery directly than using an add-on system like an AC inverter, transformer/rectifier.  It takes more time to use a DC system as batteries charge slowly: keep in mind while using an AC system with your car that vehicle electrical systems running power to a charging port (the old cigarette lighter) use very light gauge wire which is easily overheated from too much power demand: overheating wire causes cumulative (permanent) increases in wire resistance, which decreases the voltage carrying-capacity of the wire, thus increasing resistance.  Nasty cycle.

While using any electrical device, your vehicle's battery is providing power to the using unit, and despite the best efforts of the voltage regulator, the battery is in a constant state of discharging and charging to provide any electrical power with fluctuations in voltage, especially during extremes of ambient temperatures: DC-to-DC systems aren't bothered by voltage changes, but it is potentially damaging to a car to use DC-to-AC.  Chances are that your vehicle's electrical system may not be built for sustained high loads — with every cellphone, tablet, laptop, dashcam, radar detector, and battery charger you've hooked up to it.

Stick with DC-direct battery chargers.

When I'm doing landscape, wildlife, or astrophography and know that I'm going to need to recharge camera batteries in the field, I'll load into my vehicle a large lithium battery (400, 1000, or 2700 watt-hour capacity) which has several USB ports for charging cellphones, etc; 12-volt power ports; and 2 AC receptacles for any AC-using units: the battery connects to 2 different 100-watt solar power panel systems so I can charge the battery during the day; or trickle-charge the batteries while I'm driving.  True, the batteries are expensive, but so is having a car re-wired or replacing burned-out components of an electrical system.

I agree with the experts: stay away from non-Canon gear that connect electrically as a power source for your camera. Use a battery grip; get some extra batteries; use DC-to-DC charging systems.

[kvbarkley]

You are correct in the general sense, but power conversion is so efficient these days - above 95% - that this is not an issue.

You did not address the reason that I suggested AC inversion: That it is much much better to have whatever actually hooks up to the camera be Canon equipment.

[Ettu]

Thanks to all who replied.

I really was hoping there was something out there, 12vdc to LP-E6 equivalent: that might be commonly known and used to work without worry or issue.

I just can't find one.

Hutech, a Canon facory authorized modifier at one time had such a converter, but no longer seem to.

I actually had one of theirs for my 5DM2, but it has a large bulky, inconvenient enclosure for the electronics, which I was hoping would have been reduced in size by something newer these days. sigh....

I use my camera for astrophotography, and it often runs continuously all night long, remotely, at my observatory, as I sit or take naps in my nice warm house. Unfortunately the 2 battery grip, or changing batteries as needed is not tenable.

For the $16-$18 the above noted converter costs, I may get it and do some carefull testing. Yes' I'll have to get the correct dummy battery for it. I'll test First with a genuine LP-E6 as the power source, and to get a base line, and then the converter with some dummy simulator loads, all before I'd put it to the actual camera. I'm kind of a need to know geek about these things. And I do want a solution.

The 12vdc, to 120vac, to the genuine Canon AC/DC power converter is perhaps the simplest, surest, solution, although the round about excess power consuming way of doing it. And just goes against what I think it aught/need be.  At home these inefficiencies are not a problem, but when I go afield, adequate all night battery capacity is a must. Not to mention recharging, in the boonies, for the next night. One nice thing, the pure sine wave converters these days, watt for watt, are about the price today of the pulse width approximations of just a few years ago. Not much use for those anymore, no matter how cheap.

[Ettu · Accepted solution]

Well, thanks to some of my fellow Canon DSLR AstroPhotography buddies from the Cloudy Nights forum, It was suggested I consider the following

Pegasus Astro DSLR Buddy Controller, plus the correct for your camera dummy battery.

Seems solid, adequate, and stable, and apparently has been used for a number of years by a number of photographers and their cameras with powered lenses.

I would like to see more info about it in the manufacturer's tech area, but a call to them might fill that in to satisfaction.

The unit has a port for a lens dew chaser/heater, which for anyone who's done any amount of night time photography in non dry climate environs knows, you'll often need one.

[Ray-uk]

---

@Ettu wrote:

Pegasus Astro DSLR Buddy Controller, plus the correct for your camera dummy battery.

---

Looks good although quite expensive, for that sort of price I would have expected it to include a rechargeable battery.

I suppose you could easily power it up with a few 18650 Li-ion cells in an external box.

If you buy one let us know how well it works.

[Ettu · Accepted solution]

Well, my  $16  Ebay 12vdc to 8vdc adaptor arrived the other day
This one

[link removed per forum guidelines; screenshot from link provided to aid discussion]

I've put it through it's paces, connecting it to Canon's DR-E6, and it works just fine.
Tried it on first with dummy loads, then my 10yr old 5DM2, and when that passed all tests, to my brand new 6DM2.
Never dropped below 8v output no matter how I pushed it, never spiked over 8.2, including when switching the 12vdc power supply on and off, with the camera switch pre set to "on". (something the Canon camera tech's told me you CAN do, without harm)
The heaviest use of power is when doing continuous shooting (click click, click, - not movie), about 1.5 amps, 1.7amps for the 6D,
otherwise never more tan 0.6 amps, and that was with a lens attached, drawing power for auto focus, auto aperture, anti shake, and tethered live view and live view shooting.
I bought the DR-E6 dummy battery (yes pricy) because it had a long cord (which I wanted), a ferrite choke to absorb spikes, and the Neg wound around the pos wire like a shield which enhances current flow. It also turns out to not be just be a  battery shell. There's at least a capacitor to no doubt absorb or fill short spikes or dropouts., what else might be in it I don't know. The contacts on the dummy aren't exactly like a battery, which is maybe why the camera recognizes and reports it all as being DR-E6 live powered.

[ebiggs1]

I would not let that thing even in the same room my camera was in.  Let alone hook it up.