Can Lithium AA Size Batteries be Used with Canon BG-E2 grip on 30D?

[joelh47]

I recently purchased a BG-E2 grip for my Canon 30D, and had hoped to use AA

Lithium batteries with it as a backup to the BP511A's because of their low

temperature capabilities in our cold Maine winters. However, the instructions

that come with the grip say to not use Lithium AA's because "Lithium batteries

do not operate with this camera." Trying to get some clarification of this, I

contacted Canon's tech support, and their response was "Because Canon does not

manufacture single use lithium batteries they may exceed the peak power needed

for the grip or camera and thus should not be used." However, since the

nominal voltage of AA size alkaline batteries (1.5 volts), which they do

recommend, is the same as for Lithium AA's, I couldn't see an obvious

technical reason why this would be so. So I was wondering if anyone had

actually used them successfully with the BG-E2/30D combination, or if anyone

knows a specific reason why they shouldn't be used.

 

I am an electronics technician by profession, so I understand that the

internal resistance of a power source can affect the current through a load

(the camera in this case) for a given voltage. This is why some power sources

perform better under load than others. The thing is, I am not really familiar

with the load characteristics of Lithium vs. Alkaline AA batteries. If anyone

who is can give me a better explanation than Canon did, or can confirm my

theory about Lithium batteries being able to supply more current under the

load of a 30D camera, then I would appreciate hearing from them.

 

Joel Holcomb

[User_1172872]

The key word is "nominal." I believe the output of a new AA lithium is 1.6 to 1.7 volts under the load imposed by a typical camera.

[bobatkins]

I think the voltage is the issue. It's very had to make a Li cell with a 1.5v output.

 

As an example, if you use AA lithum cells in a flashlight using a tungsten bulb, you may find the bulb life can be measured in minutes rather than hours.

 

The fact that they can also supply high currents (low internal resistance), doesn't help when combined with the higher terminal voltage.

 

If Canon say don't do it, don't do it! They are in the best position to know if there's a potential problem.

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

I've had good luck using Everready Lithiums until recently. I bought a new Garmin GPS and tried using two AA lithiums. The unit turned on and then shut down. I pulled out the batteries and they were reading 1.8+ volts each. These new ones seemed a bit "hotter" than previous units. If you put four to eight of these together in a camera it would certainly be getting a good deal more voltage than what's needed. That said, they work great in the 580EX. No problems there. AA lithiums are light weight and work well in cold. Also, they're affordable if you purchase them (in USA) at Sam's Club--about $1.50 a battery, packaged I believe in 4X4 packs. What I use to do with my Nikon N90 was to use slightly used (from strobe) AA lithiums, where some of the charge had been taken off the battery by use.

[PuppyDigs]

Run them down in your flash until they hit 1.5v. They'll be okay then. Of course it's probably

easier to just keep a couple spare 511 toasty in yo drawers. Also cheaper...

[rodney_gold1]

I have had NO luck whatsoever using ANY type of batteries in the grips other than the big ones. Whatever I have tried has given me at best 2-5 shots or none at all often just alowing the cam to power up but not to let me take a shot.

Fresh alkalines , normal batts , rechargeables whatever , nothing seemed to work.

To me this "emergency" facility is totally useless and the battery trays of my grips are relegated to their boxes. (I must qualify this tho , never ever tried on my 30d , but they didnt work on my 20d or my 5d - so didnt really bother)

[joelh47]

Thanks to everyone for information on this. Bob's advice is probably the best - "If Canon say don't do it, don't do it!" (Except maybe for sensor cleaning, I think.) John's information about Lithium battery voltage was right on the money. I decided to buy a set of Energizer Lithium AA's just to satisfy my need for a quantitative answer on this, and all four cells were 1.8 +/- .01 volts. While at it, I checked the no-load voltage on Alkalines and NiMH cells, as well as a fully charged Canon BP511A. Here are the results:

 

Single cell Volts:

Lithium AA -- 1.80,

Alkaline AA -- 1.62,

NiMH AA -- 1.37,

 

Volts/6 AA Cells(Number used in BG-E2):

Lithium AA -- 10.80,

Alkaline AA -- 9.72,

NiMH AA -- 8.22

 

Single BP511A -- 8.36

 

With the voltage from six Lithium cells being more than a volt higher than that for Alkalines and almost 2.5 volts higher than a BP511A, I can now understand why Canon doesn't recommend using Lithium's in the BG-E2 grip. That said, however, it would be fairly easy to modify the BGM-E2 magazine to use five cells instead of six. Then the voltage would be a much more reasonable 9 volts. Of course that would probably void any Canon warranty for either the grip or the camera, so I don't expect to try that any time soon.

 

Joel Holcomb

[arni_kjartansson]

You wouldn't need to modify it at all to use 5 cells instead of 6, one dummy AA cell would do the trick.