RC-6 remote

BrotherBear
Apprentice

I like the RC-6 remote I bought for my 60D several years ago. Now having both the 60D and an 80D, I wanted a remote to carry with the 80D so that I didn't need to keep switching back and forth. I now have bought two more RC-6 remotes. Neither of them has the range the older one has. As a matter of fact the two newer ones are about worthless. The older one works well with either camera. Canon's phone tech support is as worthless as the two later RC-6s. Anyone got any ideas as to what ot do? Might these 2 newer ones (I bought them on eBay) be cheap knock-offs claiming to be Canon? Thanks.

8 REPLIES 8

kvbarkley
VIP
VIP

Did you replace the batteries?

Yes! different battery does not help. Thanks!


@BrotherBear wrote:

Yes! different battery does not help. Thanks!


If the newer remotes were knockoffs, you might be facing the problem with the battery not making the contact.  Try the next larger battery size...

 

I don't have my equipment with me at the moment.  I'll give you more info on the batteries after I get home tonight but I accidentally installed a larger battery than specified and my remote became very reliable.  Turned out the specified battery was too small and half of time failed to make contact.  

================================================
Diverhank's photos on Flickr


@diverhank wrote:

@BrotherBear wrote:

Yes! different battery does not help. Thanks!


If the newer remotes were knockoffs, you might be facing the problem with the battery not making the contact.  Try the next larger battery size...

 

I don't have my equipment with me at the moment.  I'll give you more info on the batteries after I get home tonight but I accidentally installed a larger battery than specified and my remote became very reliable.  Turned out the specified battery was too small and half of time failed to make contact.  


Coin battery model numbers are based on the physical size of the battery.

 

An RC-6 takes a CR2032 battery.  

 

 

 "CR2032" means it's a Lithium battery, Round, with a 20mm diameter, and 3.2mm thick. 

 

The leading letter "C" denotes a "Lithium" battery... which is confusing because a leading letter "L" denotes "Alkaline" batteries.

 

The "R" simply means it's a "round" battery

 

The number "20" means it has a diamter of 20mm (±.25mm tolerance)

The number "32" means it is 3.2mm thick.

 

 

 

But I'm wondering where you got these batteries.  I have had major problems with some sources.  There are loads and loads of fake batteries sold on Amazon.com (I would venture to guess that most batteries are fake if they are sold by an Amazon marketplace merchant).  I managed to find ONE supplier on the Amazon marketplace that I trust (and only one).  So these days... I either buy it from that specific seller (because they've never sent me a bad battery yet) -or- I make a 30 minute one-way drive to a "Batteries Plus" retail store (across town from me) anytime I need to buy a battery that I cant easily get locally.

 

Anyway a new/fresh CR2032 will probably read 3.4 volts on a multi-meter but it will definitely read a MINIMUM of 3.3 volts.  If you get anything less than that... you've been sold bad batteries.  

 

If you own a multi-meter, test any new battery to make sure you are getting the correct voltage.  The way I knew the batteries I was getting from Amazon were fakes was because they were all testing as dead or severely below the capacity that a fresh battery should have.  I'm told Amazon is constantly trying to shut these sellers down... but as soon as the close them, they just pop up as a new seller with a new name.  Amazon is basically playing the game of "whack a mole" and never really seems to get ahead of the problem with fraudulent marketplace sellers.

 

Amazon's reviews made it tough to figure out who I could trust (which is why I ultimately gave up trying).  Basically if two different sellers (call them "seller a" and "seller b") are both selling the same product (or at least they claim to be selling the same product ... will call it "Popular Brandname CR2032", then any review from a customer who purchased "Popular Brandname 2032" from "seller a" will have their reviews showing up on the "seller b" product listing.  They do this because Amazon thinks the review is for the same product... and since both products are supposed to be the same, then why not tell any perspective buyer what the other buyers thought of that product.  But this assumes they really ARE the same product that one isn't a fake.  So you'd see ... in the very same set of reviews, some buyers claiming the batteries were great... while others claimed they received dead batteries.  And there's no way for you to know which seller sent out the dead batteries because they combine the reviews as long as the product name matches.

 

Just because the battery is in what appears to be new retail packaging  doesn't mean it isn't a fake or dead.  You've got to test them.

 

 

 

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

I'm coming to the conclusion that my two newer RC-6s are knock-offs themselves. They claim to be Canon, but they use 2025 batteries rather than the 2032 of the older one. A 2032 battery can be made to go in the newer remote, but doesn't enhance its operation. I have Energizer CR-2025 batteries that I purchased from Home Depot locally in these units.

 

I think I'm going to check the local camera shop's RC-6 and see what it is.

 

Thanks for the replies!

They are likely to be counterfeit remotes and although the webpage may be out of date the specs I see for the real RC-6 shows CR-2032 batteries are still used and it is unlikely Canon would change that spec.

 

I recently went through the counterfeit avoidance after I found that I don't like the Canon E-2 hand strap compared to the older E-1 style.  I have had a 1D Mark II for years with the E-1 strap and I bought a 1DX MII a few weeks ago and ordered the currently available E-2 hand strap which is narrower and doesn't have the same nice feel as the older model.  I found a bunch of new supposed Canon produced E-1 straps available on ebay but close examination of the feedback shows that they are counterfeit and I was fortunate to find a "real" Canon from a store here in the U.S.  Manufacturing a hand strap isn't rocket science but it does require reasonable material and build quality and I don't want a $5K camera having an accident due to a knock-off strap.

 

A couple of years ago I ordered a pair of 64 GB Sandisk SD cards to use in the data recorder of my new Corvette.  I ordered them from Amazon and when they arrived the labels weren't on straight and weren't attached properly and were clearly counterfeit so I returned them.  As Tim noted you have to be extremely careful with Amazon in the way they lump sellers and reviews together.  Lithium coin cells are highly counterfeited items and I now buy the Panasonic brand through Mouser which is where I buy other electronic components.  Amazon and Ebay both require great caution to avoid getting stuck with counterfeit products.

EOS 1DX M3, 1DX M2, 1DX, 5DS R, M6 Mark II, 1D M2, EOS 650 (film), many lenses, XF400 video


@BrotherBear wrote:

I'm coming to the conclusion that my two newer RC-6s are knock-offs themselves. They claim to be Canon, but they use 2025 batteries rather than the 2032 of the older one. A 2032 battery can be made to go in the newer remote, but doesn't enhance its operation. I have Energizer CR-2025 batteries that I purchased from Home Depot locally in these units.

 

I think I'm going to check the local camera shop's RC-6 and see what it is.

 

Thanks for the replies!


Try the 2032.  This is a thicker battery and it will work better.

================================================
Diverhank's photos on Flickr

Thanks folks! The 2032 battery does not fit the later RC-6s that I have well and does not seem to make them work any better. After visiting with Canon's online chat, I've decided just to order a new RC-6 direct from Canon and consider that I've learned my lesson about buying things labeled Canon OEM on eBay!

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