Does mains adapter also charge 2nd battery in grip (10D)

PCPics · May 8, 2011

Does the ACK-E2 (BP511 battery mains replacement) also charge the second battery in the BG-ED3 grip on a 10D?

I'm leaving the camera for six weeks unattended (half-hour timelapse of construction inside a warehouse in Europe) and would like to find out if anybody has experience with using the mains adaptor (ACK-E2) in the 2-battery grip (BG-ED3) together.

Questions I have are related to keeping the camera powered up continually:

1. Will the mains power also top-up the second battery in the grip? If the mains go off at any point, the second battery will be powering the camera - and would ideally then be recharged when the mains come back on. Not sure if this is the case? The mains will most likely be on 24/7, however there is no absolute guarantee.

2. If the mains go off and the second battery goes flat - will the camera automatically start-up again when the mains come back on? Or must the camera be physically switched off and back on? If the latter I'm guessing I will need a more robust backup power supply to guarantee uninterrupted supply (car battery/charger/invertor)...

Any comments, suggestions or ideas will be gladly accepted!

MisterPootieCat · May 8, 2011

PCPics said:
Does the ACK-E2 (BP511 battery mains replacement) also charge the second battery in the BG-ED3 grip on a 10D?

I'm leaving the camera for six weeks unattended (half-hour timelapse of construction inside a warehouse in Europe) and would like to find out if anybody has experience with using the mains adaptor (ACK-E2) in the 2-battery grip (BG-ED3) together.

Questions I have are related to keeping the camera powered up continually:

1. Will the mains power also top-up the second battery in the grip? If the mains go off at any point, the second battery will be powering the camera - and would ideally then be recharged when the mains come back on. Not sure if this is the case? The mains will most likely be on 24/7, however there is no absolute guarantee.

2. If the mains go off and the second battery goes flat - will the camera automatically start-up again when the mains come back on? Or must the camera be physically switched off and back on? If the latter I'm guessing I will need a more robust backup power supply to guarantee uninterrupted supply (car battery/charger/invertor)...

Any comments, suggestions or ideas will be gladly accepted!

A quick check of the user's guide shows the AC adapter replaces the battery in the camera. And the battery grip if used would extend into the camera body battery compartment. In other words, you cant install the AC adapter and the battery grip at the same time.

Why would you need a battery grip anyway? From what I'm reading you're going to have AC available for this project. I would be looking at a small UPS designed for a PC and plug the camera into that. It would also provide some protection from sags and surges from the AC source.

And it would be fairly easy for you to test to see if the camera comes back on after a power outage. As long as power saving options in the camera are turned off it should work.

PCPics · May 9, 2011

Thanks for the feedback...

The grip can accept the mains adapter and has the second slot for a regular battery - hence the questions. However the UPS option may be the simplest and safest option.

MisterPootieCat · May 9, 2011

PCPics said:
Thanks for the feedback...

The grip can accept the mains adapter and has the second slot for a regular battery - hence the questions. However the UPS option may be the simplest and safest option.

Can you close the battery door on the grip when the AC adapter is installed? I know the camera has a small notch under the battery door for routing the power cable to the source. I don't own any battery grips, but that would be a nice feature to have.

Shorthand · May 9, 2011

Our battery grip for the 300D has the little tab to let the cord for the A/C adapter as does the one for our 500D. If requested, I'll take pictures tonight.

As for charging - it might work some, but I bet its not officially supported.

MisterPootieCat · May 9, 2011

Shorthand said:
Our battery grip for the 300D has the little tab to let the cord for the A/C adapter as does the one for our 500D. If requested, I'll take pictures tonight.

As for charging - it might work some, but I bet its not officially supported.

Thanks for the info, that's kind of cool that the AC adapter will work in the grip like that. Do you still have the manual for the grip? There's almost nothing in the way of information on grips.

Shorthand · May 9, 2011

You mean like this?
http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/Manuals/280/280BGE5.PDF

Google search used: [canon "bg-e5" manual filetype

df]

Happy hunting.

MisterPootieCat · May 10, 2011

Shorthand said:
You mean like this?
http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/Manuals/280/280BGE5.PDF

Google search used: [canon "bg-e5" manual filetypedf]

Happy hunting.

No mention of using the AC adapter and the battery at the same time. Have you tried it with yours?

PCPics · May 10, 2011

The BG-E2 definitely accepts the mains adapter - there is a little tab on the left side of the battery cover flap and the mains adapter goes into the left hand slot, leaving the right hand slot free to install a regular battery (BP-511).

I've modified an old battery by soldering fine wires to the + and - tabs, then using a 7.5v mains input have made it all work. The camera has been running for about two days with no glitches - and it appears that the second battery is accepting a low level of re-charging. If the mains is interrupted, it looks like the battery in the second slot keeps the camera all running for many hours (just checking that scenario out at present).

Note: This is a tatty second back-up camera that I'm experimenting with and I do not endorse this method nor accept any responsibility for others blowing up their cameras!

Shorthand · May 10, 2011

I don't have an A/C adaptor. Honestly I can't run the batteries down, especially with two in the grip.

PCPics · May 11, 2011

Agreed - two in the grip can power the camera for upwards of 2000 images, however the camera will be left unattednded for six weeks shooting a shot every half hour (aprox. 2000 shots). I can't take the risk of it falling flat halfway through.

I'm setting it up early next week and will report back and/or post the vid when it's done.

Thanks all for your input.

Shorthand · May 11, 2011

Hmm, if your Intervalometer can do it - a half button press before the full shutter release will wake the camera up from sleep mode as long as the switch is in the "on" position.

You might be able to set up a short auto power-down time (and put the LCD on min illumination / turn it off) and do the whole thing on batteries.

I think that the one battery and one AC adapter is probably a good plan, but a more bulletproof one would be to have the AC adapter plugged in to a small UPS - which costs less than the Canon AC adapter anyhoo.

I haven't looked in a while, but I assume there are still no 3rd party A/C adapters for a reasonable price? (I'd probably use it with my G9 for CHDK motion detection stuff.)

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