Sorry to be a PITA but, can either of you post pix of this solution? I'm a pretty visual guy and am having trouble "Picturing" how to implement this solution. Sounds like you guys have something here though!! I'm eager to try it.
I personally do not think its the door, since the grip also exhibits the behavior, unless the bge2n has a longer nub, which could explain why they say that the bge2n is not compatible with the 40d.
Alas it didn't work for me, looks like I'll have to go see Canon I called Canon Aus and the tech said he hadn't heard of the problem
njjuliano, I stuck a wad of tape over teh actual nub. Do you think that is sufficient? In your diagram am I right to interpret it as you sticking a piece of tape over the opening? Is the nub supposed to pierce it or push on the tape and force the tape into the hole?
I have it over the opening giving the nub a bit more to keep the connection. Also the tape that is on top of the recess (with all efforts to get it on top of the strip inside the recess) is double folded. The nub then pushes the tape on to the metal strip, and seems to keep my connection.
Why are you thinking this plastic arm that is the door open switch actuator has anything to do with the battery drain---its not a electrical connection of any kind.
acs55812 wrote:
Why are you thinking this plastic arm that is the door open switch actuator has anything to do with the battery drain---its not a electrical connection of any kind.
Either I misunderstood what you wrote you, or you misread. No one mentions the arm (nub?) as the actuator, but the metal strip inside the recess as part of the culprit.
I don't see what any tape on this end of the battery compartment can do for this problem, all the connections are on the opposite end of the battery.
Dan<-----and may be confused
P.S. I do have a "dog in this fight" as I have this combo with this problem---and I also have the attention of a support person at Canon but he wants details of how many shots with the 85 1.2 vs. other lenses ect and I don't have time to do the proper testing to give him useful information.
Not all connections are on the opposite end. The "safety feature" is on the location I'm pointing out. Have you looked inside the recess in the compartment I am referring to? There is a small metal strip in there that closes the circuit when the nub on either the battery door, or on the grip that pushes it down when the door/grip close/connect.
Some of you mentioned that the newer versions of the 40D may have a longer nub on the battery door...
Why don't you just order a new battery door? It easily comes off for grip use, the replacement part number is on the pictured door, and it can't be more than a few bucks..
Seriously, sorry to hear about your troubles. This is pretty bad. If it was an issue of the 40D actually supplying enough current, it doesn't make any sense at all that one person is getting 500 shots out of a 400D since it has such a small battery. This actuation nub may be the culprit, interesting ... still, why only with this lens?
I just got my 85L today, and my excitement ran out quickly when I experienced the battery drain issue almost immediately. Battery out and back in, back to full charge.
Looking in the recess for the battery door nub, I don't see a metal strip, but rather a plastic switch. Is this a newer design? (40D is from July 2008). Has anyone fixed the issue by adding tape on the plastic switch?
Canon should list under specs on the 85L, "not compatible with 40D". I hope there is a way to fix this.
This is still going on?! Unbelievable! I am truly sorry to hear about your troubles and wish I could do more to help, unfortunately I haven't heard too much about this issue recently. Just wanted to chime in to say that you are not alone and it is really sad that Canon has not fixed this yet ... Hope they can fix it for you. I would send in the lens and the body if you can part with them for a bit.
Yes, that is the nub where I put the tape. And no, I havent heard of anyone else having a positive result.
I asked this in the other thread Dawei posted in POTN already, but are there 40d/85 combos that do not have this issue?
Also in that thread was another theory of a safety feature being tripped from the electric draw of the lens. Wondering if a higher mAH battery might alleviate the issue. Canons are pretty low, 1390, compared to the aftermarkets. Either way, I'm anxiously awaiting on this guy to get some info from Canon.
The truth is that I have not tried any of the solutions so very kindly offered by other posters.
The reason being is that i don't think we should go around tweaking with our cameras...i think we paid enough for them and Canon should be responsible for this.
I called Canon the other day about it and they told me they were not aware of the problem. They asked me to send in the camera, but the thing is that i needed it those days.
Now, i am about to get a 1dmk3 and I am seriously thinking about selling the 40d to help pay for a 5dmk2, so i don't know that i am so worried about it anymore.
Another thing Canon ts told me is if i had been using any third party battery and I told them yes, i have a Canon and a third party battery that I purchased from B&H....
They told me to please stay away from third party batteries because all these cameras are very sensitive to non original batteries.....
any input about this issue of the third party batteries??
I went through many trips to Canon concerning the issue, both for myself and a colleague. They never tried to use the camera so the issue did not come up for them. After numerous weeks in repair, I asked finally for the tech so that I can show them. I even got them to reproduce the problem while I was there, admitted that it was an issue, and they had no resolution for it. Dead end.
I was able to get up some chain via email and they were able to get me a contact who offered to send the camera to NY for an engineer to look at. I did not give mine, but I am trying to get that queue spot for a friend. No resolution as of late.
Batteries seem to be a natural answer for this issue, as 3 different Canon reps suggested it. They even sent me a new Canon charger and battery, and sure enough, it didnt help.
Do you know what the mah rating of your non-oem batteries?
My solution on this thread seems to garner very little success to anyone but me.
The other combo that I have access to will not exhibit the situation unless the combo is used for more than 15 minutes initially. Which gave a buddy a false sense of security. He was sure his combo was fine, until I asked him to use it consistently. Sure enough, used long enough, the situation did rear its ugly head. When he took the battery out and put it back in for immediate use, the next hangup happened in less than 15 minutes. Do the battery take out again, and the next hangup was in less minutes than previous. The time lessens in duration to a point where every 4 clicks brings the hangup.
The truth is that I have not tried any of the solutions so very kindly offered by other posters.
The reason being is that i don't think we should go around tweaking with our cameras...i think we paid enough for them and Canon should be responsible for this.
I called Canon the other day about it and they told me they were not aware of the problem. They asked me to send in the camera, but the thing is that i needed it those days.
That's incorrect info you were given. Canon Australia told me that it is a known issue with Canon inc in Japan and an internal notice was issued they are awaiting a software fix. This was months ago...and nothing's really happened (not that I was expecting much)
It's very disappointing but as the little guys, we can't do much. To have a 85L II that is essentially a paper weight is very disappointing though, I saved up a year for that lens
It's so frustrating having Canon's flagship portrait lens be a liability in the field. I find by using SterlingTeks I get it to respond for at least 40 shots or so, but then when you're on the verge of an awesome capture you press the shutter and nothing happens. It's so pathetic it reminds you of those cartoons where someone fires a gun and that flag with the "bang" caption pops out.
I know of at least 3 photographers who have not had issues with their 40D and 85L II but also know of about 10 including myself who have this issue. There is a sample selection bias though given I've been looking for problems though, so this is probably not representative of the population
I think not enough people use the 85L II and 40D for there to be much widespread angst about this, unlike the 1DIII issue. In some ways this is Canon forcing us into FF
I PMed Ed Pingol who uses many 40Ds and 85L II and he mentioned it had to do with an "auto locking mechanism" component in the 85L II
It's very frustrating and Canon's inability to sort out their own constructs still never ceases to amaze me. We can send men to the moon, and we can find cures to all sorts of exotic diseases, but we still can't get an EF L lens working properly with an EOS camera body.
I called Canon Aus and the tech said he hadn't heard of the problem 
