3rd party better damaged my 70D

[balf]

Hello there.

The other day went for a shoot and wanted to use my 70D as a B camera to my c100Mk2. My 70D was functining perfectly and it had been used not that much anyway.

As it was a long shoot I borrowed last minute a battery from a friend a Hahnel extreem HLX-E60 as my friend has a 5D Mk3, so though it was a good 3rd party battery.

First part of the shoot went well using my original canon battery.

Then I used the Hahnel extreem and after a few minutes I noticed some vertical lines (noise) apperaing on the screen of the 70D.

At the end of the interview the camera was frozen and had to take the bettery off to switch it off.

To cut the story short now the camera even with the original battery inserted is not working.

There are vertical lines on the screen all the time, it does not record footage anymore and when taking photograps it says error 70.

Basically as far as I can see it's well gone!

I think I have the answer. But do you think that this is the result of using the 3rd party battery?

Any experience with 3rd party batteries, positive or negative?

Thank you!

Alfredo

[Ray-uk]

It is very unlikely that the battery caused the damage. The only way you could damage a camera through the battery contacts would be if you applied too high a voltage and a battery just cannot do that. Error 70 is related to the image and very likely to be related to a faulty memory card.

I have used various third party batteries, some of unknown origin and never had a problem. The only troubles you are likely to get from a third party battery is that it doesn't hold as much charge or has a shorter life. There have been a few reports of batteries catching fire but that can happen with batteries of any make.

[wq9nsc]

I have only used one aftermarket battery and it functioned OK except trying to shoot at the maximum rate of my 1D Mark ii it would cause the camera to lock up. I suspect this was because it didn't have the ability to source as much current as the original battery and during a sustained heavy draw the voltage dropped causing the error.

The only way a replacement battery would damage your camera is if the output polarity was reveresed via a manufacutring error (not the case with your setup because the battery wouldn't have worked at all and your friend wouldn't have even been able to charge it) or if the output voltage is much higher than specified which would not be the case since this is determined by the number of individual cells in the battery.

I expect that the problem with your 70D occurred due to overheating from sustained operation in video recording mode.  These DSLR cameras get hot recording video and they are supposed to go into protective shutoff before it gets too hot but your camera likely had a component which failed at a lower temperature than specified. 

Although I think it is better to use Canon batteries because many of the aftermarket batteries are constructed with lower quality cells I don't believe the battery is what killed your camera.  It probably got too hot and the same would have happened with a Canon labeled battery.

Had you been shooting with an aftermarket AC adapter instead of a battery the power source would have been suspect but even when batteries fail suddenly (i.e. shorted cell) they won't cause camera damage.  Outside of the problem of Li-on batteries sometimes catching on fire due to recharging (or too rapid discharge) issues they aren't going to damage the equipment.

On edit-as Ray states if you haven't already tried another memory card do so because it could be at fault. 

Rodger

[ebiggs1]

"Any experience with 3rd party batteries, positive or negative?"

Nobody here can say with any certainty whether the battery caused the problem or it did not.  Personally I never use them and I advise folks to never use them.  I get it. I know real deal Canon batteries are more expensive but in the long run, are they?

From what the  guys I know that routinely use 3rd world batteries tell me, they don't last as long.  Either in a single outing or lifetime.  So, you do get what you pay for.

[BurnUnit]

The 70D seems to have issues related to prolonged video shooting as mentioned above. There are plenty of other references to these problems on the forums here and elsewhere. It's probably best to consider that a DSLR is primarily designed to take take still photos and treat any video capability as an "added on" secondary feature.

I've had a 60D for several years with no issues but I've shot very little video with it. The video results have been quite good. But early on I became aware of just how warm the camera became when shooting video. The back of the body, in the recess where the swivel LCD screen folds away, puts off a surprising amount of heat.

As a result I bought a Canon refurbed video camera for more frequent or prolonged video shooting. I can't help but think that doing so will extend the life of my 60D.

[ebiggs1]

" I can't help but think that doing so will extend the life of my 60D."

My thinking exactly.  The electro-magnets that work the shutter are designed for split second movements.  Not prolonged minutes.  There is always the debate on whether a high number of clicks or long video use is harder on the camera.

I tend to lean towards the prolonged video since heat is also a factor besides the excess demand put on the shutter mech.

[shadowsports]

To add, I do not discount the benefits of using OEM.  But, I have used 3rd party batteries in all of my Canon cameras for the last 11-12 years and the two I have in an old sd870 still take and hold charges like they were new.  (Amazing)  These batteries are 10+ yrs old and I've cycled them more times than I can count.  I've even charged them and put them on a shelf for over a year and they still got me through a morning of shooting before dying.  Obviously I don't use this camera any longer but battery life with all of my 3rd party batteries has been great.

I also agree with the guys assessment regarding the stress shooting video puts on a DLSR.

I suspect your 70D failed because the PCB in a large number of these camera's have failed.  There's like a 15 page thread on it somewhere here, and I just sold a lens to a guy with a 70D and he just suffered the camera is on, but nobody's home fate.  I hope this is not your issue, but chances are...   

[balf]

Thank you so much for all your contributions!

I've used my 70D for short 5 minutes interviews type os filming a few times only before as I normally use my canon C100 MK2 which is great.

I've email to the manufactures of the battery, well more previsely to a seller of the brand based in Ireland and was told by one engineer there that it is impossible to get spikes of energy from a battery as to blow the camera circuitry. 

So basically it looks like that using it in video mode for a relatively long time might have helped a dodgy circuitry to give up.

Lesson learned. DLSR are for still only. Saying that, people have used the 5D for countless hours and non problems.

Anyway, I will never buy a DSLR for video purposes again unless for some reason I  need a Panasonic GH seriens which it's made with video capability in mind. 

Thank you very much!

Alfredo

[ebiggs1]

"...one engineer there that it is impossible to get spikes of energy from a battery as to blow the camera circuitry. "

So, what did you expect him top say?  "Yeah, our batteries spike all the time and burn up cameras right and left."

[ebiggs1]

"But, I have used 3rd party batteries in all of my Canon cameras for the last 11-12 years ..."

All this proves is, you haven't had any issues with 3rd world batteries.  For that, I am happy for you. 

  But it doesn't prove there aren't problems with them in general.  You need a much greater sample for that.