Bad LP-E4 Battery?

[Waddizzle]

I recently bought a used 1Ds Mark III, mainly because I wanted a new battery for my 1D Mark IV.  The battery in the 1D Mark IV had begun to give me "calibrate" messages.  A battery calibration would [not] clear the message.

The battery that came with the 1Ds Mark III is on top.  It is different from the "bad" battery that I received with the 1D Mark IV.  Also, there three symbols that are totally illegible to me stamped in the grey box on the "bad" battery.  I think they are related to how not to dispose of the battery.

But, why are these batteries so diffferent?  Is one from a USA camera and one from a grey market camera?  I had bought both cameras used from reputable dealers.  The "bad" battery is actually a replacement they shipped to me because the original battery that shipped with the camera would fail to charge.

I really don't think the "bad" battery is counterfeit, but it is a possibility until this mystery is solved.  Thanks, guys.

[wq9nsc]

I suspect the label change is something that happened over the production life of this battery.  My 1DX "no stripe" LPE-4N and later 1DX II and III LPE-19 batteries have labels that are similar to your "bad" battery (the LPE-4N used a  gold label to differentiate it) while the NP-E3 battery packs for my much earlier 1D Mark II have lables more in the style of your "replacement" battery.

Doesn't the 1D Mark IV accept the LPE-19 battery also?  I know the older charger doesn't charge to the same capacity but the newer battery is usable with the older charger.

Rodger

[Waddizzle]

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@wq9nsc wrote:

Doesn't the 1D Mark IV accept the LPE-19 battery also?  I know the older charger doesn't charge to the same capacity but the newer battery is usable with the older charger.

Rodger

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That was my next question.  I know the LPE-19 battery should fit mechanically.  I did not know if the older chargers can properly charge it.  

For less than the cost of a new LPE-19, charger, and AC Adapter, I picked up a 1Ds Mark III with all of the above accessories. It looks like I may need to still replace the failing LP-E4.  It keeps reporting that it needs a calibration.   

[Waddizzle]

B&H still sells the LP-E4N, so I may pick up one of those.  

BTW, the 1D Mark IV works just great with the WebCam Utility Beta.  I was totally surprised by that because it uses EOS Utility 2, instead of EOS Utility 3 like all of the supported bodies do.  It works great with my Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cinema Lens, which has a very short hyperfocal distance, about 3-4 feet.

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

So, after the time consuming process with using each charger, in turn, to calibrate my batteries.  I just may have a bad/weak charger.  I guess it was a good thing that I bought the entire battery and charger combo.  But, that was the plan, anyway.

I did it twice with each charger to make sure the suspect battery was good, and were consistent each time..  But, I will probably run the batteries down through normal use and do the tests again.  But, this time my eye will be on the chargers, not the batteries.

Thanks, for listening.