Battery grip issues. Is it a battery fault or..

[[wingnut]]

I stupidly brought a Hamnel battery grip for my 40d from Scamazon as they were the only place to stock it when got my 40D, a few weeks into using it I had some issues, mainly with battery life, my 350D would shoot for days without a recharge but the 40D only seems to go a 100 or so shots before the battery light flashes. Now here's the stupid thing. Several times I have taken the batteries out (One original canon and one hamnel copy) and recharged them, both batteries needed less than 15 mins each (Full charge is about 90 mins each), put them back in a full battery again. Sometimes I just take the tray out from the grip and replace it and hey presto my battery life is full. Whilst this is ok for home stuff I have a couple of weddings this year and the last thing I want is a faulty battery grip hanging over my head.

Do you guys reckon it is either:

1. Dud battery copy battery (Have ran the original on it's own without grip and all is fine)
2. Bad connection in tray in grip.
3. Duff grip
4. Something else.

Any help would be appreciated. Am currently toying with idea of getting another cuple of genuine Canon batteries anyway.

[BertRoot]

Sounds like a short to me somewhere. Hamnel batteries are good usually, I have a couple but you can always get something that doesn't work I suppose. Gut feel would be RMA the grip and let them diagnose it before you need to use it in anger.

[crashtestmac]

I would try the grip with one battery in, then charge it again and try the other slot for the battery, then repeat the experiment with the other battery, that way you an find out if the battery or the grip is at fault and more importantly which one exactly so you do not get messed about with the RMA.

I get hundreds of pics out of mine and even more with the grip on there is definately an issue with the grip if you are only getting 100 shots, that sucks....!

Also do you have the option to use AA's that might be worth a try...!

Crash

[[wingnut]]

Cheers for that guys, didn't think of trying the grip with one batter. Will do that over the next week or so and then post my findings before I possibly RMA it.

Cheers

[[wingnut]]

Well after several tests and a couple of sets of batteries I have now sent the grip back to hahnel for testing, sounds like it is faulty. Been out today taken over 400 shots with just one o/e canon battery and still showing full...

[BertRoot]

Pain in the ass. Hope they replace it quick for you and with some goodies by way of an apology!!

[_Belial]

I had a similar problem with a 3rd party grip on my 400D, it was the connection between the grip and the camera which was occasionally just dropping out, was a nightmare during a long exposure if it happened I made sure for the 40D i got a canon grip and haven't had a moment's problem with it at all, using 3rd party batteries too.

[[wingnut]]

Have heard better reports about the Hahnel grips over the uber cheap China copies, going to wait and see what they say about it and take it from there. Although I have lost faith in aftermarket copies after this and some duff batteries for the 350D so will try and get refund and get genuine Canon grip.
Will keep you all updated on what goes on.

[BertRoot]

Good luck mate. As I have said their batteries seem OK as I have a couple and had one of their chargers which was nicer than the Canon one I had for my 300D.

[[wingnut]]

I got the grip back on Wednesday, replaced under warranty, looks like the contacts in the part that slips into the camera were shorting, have been advised to keep an eye on my 40d in case it has had a knock on effect.
When i got the new grip it was as new in blister packing, opened in up to find the battery tray was missing. A little annoyed i mailed my contact in Hahnel direct and told him the issue, yesterday morning a new tray arrived. So despite no free goodies they have sorted it and sorted it quickly. So a big thumbs up to Hahnel.
Been out today and fired off nearly 600 shots at the zoo and no sign of any battery issues. Hooray.....

[DB]

Glad you got it sorted mate, hopefully theres no damage to the 40D

[cosmicma]

i had a similar problem to this but not with a battery grip it was to do with my 350d and the original battery
it seemed to have something to do with an old canon 70 - 200 lens i had at the time it would show the battery failing when i knew it was charged, switch the camera off and on and presto full battery again
it only happened with that particular lens any other lens i used didn't repeat the symptoms

just food for thought and probably has nothing to do with your dilema bought worth a mention

[[wingnut]]

Guess what, the new battery grip has now failed. Grrrrr.. Took it Cardiff at the weekend wasn't able to shot one image. Bloody annoyed. This time it is doing the weirdest things. When i roll the front wheel on the 40d it should change the f stop value, well mine moves the af point on one position then moves the f stop one stop. no matter what i do it won't change. Came home today, took the grip off and put the door flap back on, hey presto, been shotting all day without a hitch.
So on the strength of that I have written a very strongly worded, not offensive, email back to hahnel asking for a full refund as I have lost faith in their products. Hopefully they will oblige and i can put the extra £40 to it and get a genuine Canon grip. Which i should have done int he first place.
So as a lesson to us, never buy cheap copies. It doesn't pay in photography.

[[wingnut]]

Hahnel have refused to give me a refund and so have amazon as it is past their 30 day return policy.
So now stuck - What the heck do i do???

[cosmicma]

not fit for the purpose and trading standards come to mind

[p.b.j.]

I also have somewhat of a problem with a Hahnell grip. I noticed that when I use one battery I have to put it on the bottom tray to get power to my Nikon D60. If I put it in the top tray.... No power? Is the top tray just a holder? I know some grips have a switch to hit when one battery runs out to go to the other, do I have to flip my tray? Emailed hahnell and yet to hear from them.