WARNING!! 5D MK3 refuse update from 1.2.1 to 1.2.3 if powered with third party battery

Hi,

Despite the fact that the 5D MK3 can run on third party battery, once you have bypassed the error message, it does refuse to update to the new firmware 1.2.3 when equipped with such battery.

I had some bad feelings this morning when I saw the black screen, no message, nothing after having clicked OK to update 1.2.1. Usually, after that, the camera shows up a new windows where you select the new firmware. Here nothing happened and the screen left dark.

I had to turn the camera off, retire the third party battery and put in the genuine Canon battery.
After that everything worked well and I could update normally.

Be careful. USE A GENUINE BATTERY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO UPDATE TO 1.2.3

RogerWS said:

Hi,

Despite the fact that the 5D MK3 can run on third party battery, once you have bypassed the error message, it does refuse to update to the new firmware 1.2.3 when equipped with such battery.

I had some bad feelings this morning when I saw the black screen, no message, nothing after having clicked OK to update 1.2.1. Usually, after that, the camera shows up a new windows where you select the new firmware. Here nothing happened and the screen left dark.

I had to turn the camera off, retire the third party battery and put in the genuine Canon battery.
After that everything worked well and I could update normally.

Be careful. USE A GENUINE BATTERY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO UPDATE TO 1.2.3

Click to expand...

A black screen doesn't seem like a refusal but rather the update process is getting hung due to an unanticipated state. Most firmware updates require that the battery be close to fully charged so to prevent any possibility of a shutdown during the update which would very likely cause the camera to turn into a pumpkin. The error message you observe when a 3rd party battery is installed is telling you that the camera cannot measure the charge state of the battery?

The third party battery was fully charged. FYI, The message error I get each time when I swap to a non genuine battery, is something like " cannot communicate". In fact, once I agree with the message and click OK, the battery starts to communicate perfectly and I get the charging level as with every genuine Canon battery.

Furthermore, before trying to update I changed the running battery which was at 50%.

I agree when you say "hangs" in opposition to "refuse". But in fact, the result is the same. Even with a fully charged third party battery, you CANNOT update to firmware 1.2.3. The camera will hang on a black screen.

RogerWS said:

The third party battery was fully charged. FYI, The message error I get each time when I swap to a non genuine battery, is something like " cannot communicate". In fact, once I agree with the message and click OK, the battery starts to communicate perfectly and I get the charging level as with every genuine Canon battery.

Furthermore, before trying to update I changed the running battery which was at 50%.

I agree when you say "hangs" in opposition to "refuse". But in fact, the result is the same. Even with a fully charged third party battery, you CANNOT update to firmware 1.2.3. The camera will hang on a black screen.

Click to expand...

Some third party batteries are better than others... The newer aftermarket batteries have updated chips that don't give the "cannot communicate" error that older batteries give on 1.2.1 and higher. Presumably they are still OK with the firmware update process and the new firmware. Having said that, I haven't tried yet. I'm still on 1.1.3 because I want Magic Lantern.

So, why would you cheap out to save a few dollars (pounds, euros, etc.) by using an off-brand battery?

DotCom Editor said:

So, why would you cheap out to save a few dollars (pounds, euros, etc.) by using an off-brand battery?

Click to expand...

Here's one way it happens: you have a large gear collection including various accessories, some of which shipped with off-brand batteries. E.g, the Zacuto EVF Pro (even though it cost $1000) ships with an off-brand Canon-compatible battery. While they usually work, if an off-brand battery gets into your circulating battery pool, it can end up inside a camera and eventually cause a problem.

In this case you didn't intentionally *purchase* the off brand battery, it was supplied with other gear.

The problem could be as simple as an incompatibility with a Canon charger, so when you pull it off the charger it's dead. You don't notice it, put it in your camera, then miss a shot before you figure it out.

If an off-brand battery is supplied with other gear, I just throw it away and get a Canon battery. A single failed shot or missed opportunity because of a battery problem costs far more than you'll ever save from the cheaper battery.

So use Canon OEM battery (that you must still have unless you sold it) for the firmware update. After upgrade, you can continue use third party batteries. I will upgrade it in weekend.

RogerWS said:

The third party battery was fully charged. FYI, The message error I get each time when I swap to a non genuine battery, is something like " cannot communicate". In fact, once I agree with the message and click OK, the battery starts to communicate perfectly and I get the charging level as with every genuine Canon battery.

Furthermore, before trying to update I changed the running battery which was at 50%.

I agree when you say "hangs" in opposition to "refuse". But in fact, the result is the same. Even with a fully charged third party battery, you CANNOT update to firmware 1.2.3. The camera will hang on a black screen.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the additional clarification. We all like to save a bit of money and purchasing 3rd party batteries seems like a safe way to do so. Its a bit satisfying to cheat the expensive over-priced photo hardware industry with an equivalent product at a far more reasonable price. I guess the fact the camera reports the communications error regardless that it seems to display the correct battery charge state would suggest that there is still something odd with the 3rd party battery. Likely when the firmware update process checks the state of the battery, it is using a set of function calls separate from the battery charge display status. It likely initiates its own dialogue with the battery and at that point the communications fails and hangs the update routine. Good thing it wasn't at a critical point of no return between the old and the new firmware. You would of had a sad looking Halloween pumpkin of a camera..

It is just because I hate to be the hostage of merchants marketing strategies.

What would you say if tomorrow your car brand would oblige you to buy a specific fuel instead of the fuel brand of your choice or simply the one available on your route? And a little chip on you fuel tank would not allow the gasoline noozle to refuel with the brand of your choice. That's what happen more and more.

It is not just a matter of price and getting things cheaper. IT IS ABOUT FREEDOM OF CHOICE!!!

Capitalism can work only if it is an open and transparent system. Unfortunately all big companies want more and more, as we say in France, the butter, the money of the butter and the ass of the farmer's wife and that's just too much!

Recently I upgraded from OS X 10.8 to 10.9 and while I wanted also to update my Canon Utilities I got a strange message from the Mac saying " You cannot run that software on this computer since it has not been downloaded from the Apple Store". Haha. It's a joke? NOT AT ALL!

I had to struggle in my prefs and find out the culprit. That's not business, that's just spoliation.

Greetings!

RogerWS said:

It is just because I hate to be the hostage of merchants marketing strategies.

What would you say if tomorrow your car brand would oblige you to buy a specific fuel instead of the fuel brand of your choice or simply the one available on your route? And a little chip on you fuel tank would not allow the gasoline noozle to refuel with the brand of your choice. That's what happen more and more.

It is not just a matter of price and getting things cheaper. IT IS ABOUT FREEDOM OF CHOICE!!!

Capitalism can work only if it is an open and transparent system. Unfortunately all big companies want more and more, as we say in France, the butter, the money of the butter and the ass of the farmer's wife and that's just too much!

Recently I upgraded from OS X 10.8 to 10.9 and while I wanted also to update my Canon Utilities I got a strange message from the Mac saying " You cannot run that software on this computer since it has not been downloaded from the Apple Store". Haha. It's a joke? NOT AT ALL!

I had to struggle in my prefs and find out the culprit. That's not business, that's just spoliation.

Greetings!

Click to expand...

It depends. My experiences with third party batteries are lukewarm. Not because they caused any issues, no issues at all, but they are not that good in long run and might not actually save money much. Initially my experiences of third party batteries are very good and they seem not much difference from OEM batteries. But after one year's heavy usage (at least in my 5D1 and 60D's cases that I bought 3 third-party ones for 5D1 and one for 60D that also can be used on 5D2/5D3/70D), their battery full-charge life deteriorates quickly. I had to use third party charger to charge them otherwise many times they were refused to be charged with Canon charger or gave false full charge status (green light in one minute that cannot be true). Nevertheless I still bought another Wasabi LP-E6 for 5D3 before my recent Africa safari (thought didn't have enough batteries but actually worried too much as Canon OEM LP-E6 lasts very long and many times over 2000 shots per full charge). Still bought a twin-pack Wasabi battery package that also includes a car-charger and its own charger) for LP-E12 (?) for my relative new EOS-M that is notorious for its short battery life, simply the price is too good. I will wait and see their battery life after one year's usage that I will not count too much

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/
http://qianp2k.zenfolio.com/

DotCom Editor said:

So, why would you cheap out to save a few dollars (pounds, euros, etc.) by using an off-brand battery?

Click to expand...

I didn't buy mine. The small camera store where I bought my 7D, initial lenses and accessories gave me an off brand battery and book on the camera to show appreciation for my purchase. The battery is over two years old now and still works fine in both cameras.

RogerWS said:

Hi,

Despite the fact that the 5D MK3 can run on third party battery, once you have bypassed the error message, it does refuse to update to the new firmware 1.2.3 when equipped with such battery.

I had some bad feelings this morning when I saw the black screen, no message, nothing after having clicked OK to update 1.2.1. Usually, after that, the camera shows up a new windows where you select the new firmware. Here nothing happened and the screen left dark.

I had to turn the camera off, retire the third party battery and put in the genuine Canon battery.
After that everything worked well and I could update normally.

Be careful. USE A GENUINE BATTERY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO UPDATE TO 1.2.3

Click to expand...

I just upgraded my firmware, prior to seeing this thread. I didn't even think about whether I had a Canon or third party battery in the camera at the time. It went through the upgrade process as usual. It now has 1.2.3. After the upgrade, the camera gave the communication with the battery error that I get with my older third party batteries. I clicked on OK and proceeded with normal use. I then pulled the battery out and verified that it was one of my old MaximalPower batteries. All is good.

I don't know what the problem with your upgrade is, but sincerely doubt that it is a battery brand issue. I would suggest downloading the firmware again. And, be absolutely certain that the file size matches what Canon prescribes.

--
Steve

My experience is not exactly the same as yours. Unfortunately, the sole bad experience I had with a battery, was an original Canon battery which died prematurely some years ago quickly after I bought a 5D MK2. Was changed under warranty. OK, fine.

But I still do use in my MK3 some third party batteries which are now 5 years old.

My son used to be the head of the purchase department for a very big international company, and I got the confirmation that the lithium cells used by famous brands come all from the same factories which are in China and they sell also to generic vendors.

Know I admit that there some bad cells out there and I am very suspicious about it. But as I wrote previously, it not for me a matter about cheap or expensive. I will be free in the choice of what I buy. I don't want Canon or anybody else dictating me what I have to buy.

Hi Steve,

My problem is resolved. Once I tried with an original Canon, the firmware did upload fine.

But as long as I had a third party battery inside, the update process did hang even before the camera was able to read my memory card.

I wrote the thread because I just wanted to avoid the same problem to anybody else.

Roger

RogerWS said:

Hi Steve,

My problem is resolved. Once I tried with an original Canon, the firmware did upload fine.

But as long as I had a third party battery inside, the update process did hang even before the camera was able to read my memory card.

I wrote the thread because I just wanted to avoid the same problem to anybody else.

Roger

Click to expand...

That's good. I'm glad you got it to work. BTW, I agree with you on having a choice in accessories. We've all seen the pictures and heard the horror stories of battery failures with catastrophic results. I'll play the odds, when you look at the number of failures compared to the numbers sold. I'd being willing to bet Boeing Aircraft didn't buy their 787 batteries from a Chinese vendor on Ebay. But, look what happened in some of their planes. :-(

DotCom Editor said:

So, why would you cheap out to save a few dollars (pounds, euros, etc.) by using an off-brand battery?

Click to expand...

For the same reasons I don't buy Ford petrol for my car.

Chris

RogerWS said:

What would you say if tomorrow your car brand would oblige you to buy a specific fuel instead of the fuel brand of your choice or simply the one available on your route?

Click to expand...

No vehicle manufacturer markets fuel under its own name, thus, I am free to use whichever I choose.

I'll stick with Canon batteries for my Canon camera. And, I'll absolutely stick with HP inks for my 44-inch HP Z3100 printer, not some third-party inks whose contents are unknown and whose performance from cartridge to cartridge are inconsistent at best. YMMV

RogerWS said:

RogerWS wrote:...What would you say if tomorrow your car brand would oblige you to buy a specific fuel instead of the fuel brand of your choice or simply the one available on your route?

Click to expand...

Your basic point is valid, and manufacturers have long desired a mandatory "tie in" of OEM parts and accessories. E.g, mandating that your car must use OEM oil filters, else it invalidates the warranty.

In the imaging world it is similar with print cartridges and camera batteries.

At least in the US, an outright tie-in is illegal under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975: http://www.kingston.com/us/company/magnusonmoss

However, manufacturers come as close to a mandatory tie-in as possible, without transgressing the law. Unlike a car which doesn't know (yet) what brand of oil filter you install, computerized devices can interact with computerized accessories via a complex protocol devised by the manufacturer.

This allows the manufacturer to technically permit use of an aftermarket battery or print cartridge, but design in a "check" feature which the user must periodically dismiss on the display. Thus it irritates customers into buying the higher-priced OEM part. The "check" feature may in fact perform some nominally useful function, such as querying diagnostic information.

I used a canon battery and a third party battery that B&H sent in a grip and had no problems at all.

I also had a problem and I only use Canon batteries.

The problem was due to memory cards, I took out the CF card to copy the firmware file to it and put it back in the camera. I got a black screen. As many of you know the 5d3 switches to the other card after the default is removed.

Problem was solved in a couple of minutes and case is closed :-D