Nikon had discontinue the D300s, D700, and D3s cameras because new Japanese regulations forced them to stop selling the batteries for those cameras. Has anyone herd whether or not these same regulations will affect the availability of the LP-E4 or LP-E6 batteries for the current Canon cameras?
molson wrote:
Nikon had discontinue the D300s, D700, and D3s cameras because new Japanese regulations forced them to stop selling the batteries for those cameras.
Yes, there are some new regs, but the manufacturers can update the battery packs. For example the LP-E4N battery pack for the 1D-X meets the new requirements and also works with the older cameras that take the LP-E4. I don't know about the other batteries.
jcolwell wrote:
Where'd you pick up this gem of information? I can't find anything else on it, with a quick scan. Is it April in Alberta?
Maybe you just need a new Google machine... this has been in the news for some time now.
When the D4 was announced, one of reasons Nikon gave for the new, lower-capacity batteries for that camera is that the old batteries could no longer be sold due to new Japanese regulations limiting battery capacity. The fact that the current EN-EL3e batteries are also banned under these the new regulations was announced several months ago, and this probably sped up Nikon's timeline to discontinue these models.
None of the new Nikon batteries will be backwards compatible with the old cameras or chargers or anything else, and I'm just wondering if the same thing will happen with Canon's batteries.
Oh, and here's a link to the D700 and D300s being discontinued, which took all of 0.014 seconds to find...
The only thing I can find about batteries is Japan has banned open contact batteries. Looking at the contacts of my 7D lpe6 battery there are 2 open and 2 closed . But the power terminals are the ones that are are closed
Apparently this law was enacted in 2008 (largely in response to all of those Sony lithium-ion batteries setting devices on fire) and manufacturers were given three years to comply with the new rules.
Apparently Nikon plans to continue manufacturing and exporting the EN-EL4 batteries and charges for the D3x, but won't be able to sell them in Japan.
I have a sizeable "investment" in LP-E6 batteries, so I'm hoping they will still be compatible with the next few new camera models Canon releases...
Ian.Dobinson wrote:
The only thing I can find about batteries is Japan has banned open contact batteries. Looking at the contacts of my 7D lpe6 battery there are 2 open and 2 closed . But the power terminals are the ones that are are closed
If you take a voltmeter to the exposed terminals do you get a reading? If you do, they are now illegal and must be redesigned.
Another question: What becomes of AA and AAA batteries?
molson wrote:
I have a sizeable "investment" in LP-E6 batteries, so I'm hoping they will still be compatible with the next few new camera models Canon releases...
Oops, I was commenting on the LP-E4 batteries for 1D-series cameras. I confused LP-E4 and LP-E6. My bad. The names have been changed, but the story's the same.
The Canon 1DX spec sheet (link below) shows the 1DX will work with both the new LP-E4N and the old LP-E4 batteries. I've heard (probably here) that the new batteries should work in old bodies but new batteries will not work in old chargers. So, the writing is on the wall, but it appears to be a gradual replacement process, not something that will eliminate LP-E4 batteries in the short term.
jcolwell wrote:
Me too, six of them. The Canon 1DX spec sheet (link below) shows the 1DX will work with both the new LP-E6N and the old LP-E6 batteries. I've heard (probably here) that the new batteries should work in old bodies but new batteries will not work in old chargers. So, the writing is on the wall, but it appears to be a gradual replacement process, not something that will eliminate LP-E6 batteries in the short term.
I wonder if the old NP-E3 batteries (from 1D and 1D2) are affected. Of course they are Ni-MH, not LION, sold by third party manufacturers, and made in various countries...?
runamuck wrote:
If you take a voltmeter to the exposed terminals do you get a reading? If you do, they are now illegal and must be redesigned.
Another question: What becomes of AA and AAA batteries?
I don't have one to hand but as far as the battery goes you can see a + - under the covered ones. If this law (or whatever it is ) has been around for 3 years then I very much doubt the 60D would use this battery if was not 'legal'
I don't get the thing about capacity though(if it's also part of the rule) there are lots of things that are battery operated that require quite a bit more power than even the highest capacity camera battery. I'd like to see any laptop run on a battery as small as the 1series cells (or the d3s cells)
