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Batterygrip BG-E3 and AA-NiMh

Batterygrip BG-E3 (for 350D, 400D, Digital Rebel XT and XTi) comes with a AA-battery magazine BGM-E3A. The magazine is designed for alkaline throwaway batteries and if rechargeble NiMh batteries are used the battery level indicator in the camera body will show wrong. It will snow half empty even for fully charged NiMh batteries. By making the use of inexpensive rechargeable batteries more difficult Canon probably is trying to increase the sale of it’s own NB-2LH Li-Ion batteries. Since I have a lot of good AA NiMh batteries I would like to use them and get full energypotential out of them.

So NB-2LH battery has 8,4 volts when fully charged and six NiMh batteries in series in the AA-battery magazine have the same 8,4 volts but the battery level indicator is showing different, because different battery magazine is used. It seems battery magazines have different contact pin order so that the batterygrip can detect which magazine is loaded in. (I'll try to add a picture) Pin readouts are following
BGM-E3A for AA-alkaline (left in the picture)
1. Empty
2. Empty
3. Ground (or negative pole)
4. Empty
5. Empty
6. Positiv pole ( + 9-10 V with alkaline batteries)

BGM-E3L for Canon NB-2LH battery pack (right in the picture)
1. Not used
2. Empty
3. Ground (or negative pole)
4. Positiv pole for rightside batterypack (+ 7,4 – 8,4 V)
5. Positiv pole for leftside batterypack (+ 7,4 – 8,4 V)
6. Empty

So I figured by moving the positive pole from 6th pin to 5th pin in AA-magazine I would be able to get the battery level indigator to show right levels with NiMh AA-batteries. Does anyone have experience with this kind of modification?

Attached Image:

Akkupidikkeet.jpg

ville hakanen
Wed, 11 Apr 2007 06:29:39 -0700

I believe that Canon did a recall of the battery adapter to fix this problem. You might want to contact them to see if they can upgrade yours.

Brian
Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:16:33 -0700

Try here for the recall information:

Brian
Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:20:47 -0700

Thank you for answering. But I think this must be a different problem since it was about BG-E2 battery grip for 20D and 30D bodies. It was also mentioned: "With NiMH rechargeable batteries, the battery level may not be shown as full even if they are fully charged." So it may have the same phenomenon that with AA size NiMh batteries the battery level indicator will show lower levels than with AA alkaline batteries. Battery level indicator is basicly a voltage meter. NiMh and alkaline cells have different nominal voltage and AA-battery magazine is optimized for alkaline batterys higher voltage.

ville
Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:57:43 -0700

Hello :)

I just found this post and I just wondered if you ever solved the problem. I have the same issue with my 350d battery cartridge, and its very annoying!!

Brian
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:49:15 +0000

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