Upgrading from a 30D to a 5D Mk. II

[McB!]

Hey folks. I'm hoping to upgrade from a 30D to a 5D Mk. II by the end of the year. This might sound like a silly question, but are the camera batteries used in 30Ds compatible with 5D Mk. IIs?

I ask this because although I'm going to have my 30D for a little while longer, I have a few projects / assignments coming up that I'm going to rent a 5D for, which will have to suffice until I can afford to actually buy one. These assignments are of the all-day variety, and so a change of batteries is a must. Given that brand new batteries need to be fully charged and discharged a few times before they'll give optimum performance, it would obviously be nice if could do this with my 30D well in advance of renting the 5D so I'd have a bunch of batteries just ready to go when the time comes.

A quick search on Amazon seems to suggest that the batteries are indeed camera specific, but I'm not entirely convinced a battery that works with both cameras can't be found. Would anyone care to enlighten me? Is there a particular kind of battery that you have found to be more effective than others?

Also, I've heard rumours of a 5D Mk. III being released this year. Do you know if this is true? This is my first venture into the world of high-end DSLRs, so I'm not sure how it all works. If one is released this year, is it likely to be significantly more expensive than the previous model, or will the previous model just come down a bit in price?

Thank you in advance!

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by McB!

Given that brand new batteries need to be fully charged and discharged a few times before they'll give optimum performance,

Where on EARTH did you hear this?

[emeraldln]

I have an old 10D, and my boss has a 5D MarkII, and the batteries are identical when it comes to power. His batteries had some little chip in them the camera could read that said how many pictures were left on the charge. But he could use the same replacement/spare batteries that I had.

[McB!]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Where on EARTH did you hear this?

I've had rechargeable batteries in the past that I've had to do this with. Honest! And at least one other guy on the internet backs me up, so, y'know, it must be true : Amazon.com: Canon LP-E6 Battery Pack for Select Canon Digital SLR Cameras (Retail Package): Camera & Photo (at the time of writing it's the first product review on the page, written by a chap called Jeff).

[lem238]

The battery that the Canon 5D uses is the same as battery as the 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, and 50D (the BP-511), The 5d Mark ii does NOT use the same battery as he 5D or 30D. The 5D Mark ii uses the LP-E6. Is the only reason that you'd want to rent a 5D as opposed to the 5D Mark ii (which you want to get) because of the battery issue?
The 5F Mark iii is rumored for this year, no one really knows when. If you look at past Canon releases they are normally released around the end of the 2nd quarter, so Mayish. That doesn't mean it will actually be available, then, though, to the regular consumer since it takes awhile for enough to get out.

[McB!]

Originally Posted by lem238

The battery that the Canon 5D uses is the same as battery as the 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, and 50D (the BP-511), The 5d Mark ii does NOT use the same battery as he 5D or 30D. The 5D Mark ii uses the LP-E6. Is the only reason that you'd want to rent a 5D as opposed to the 5D Mark ii (which you want to get) because of the battery issue?

It was my intention to rent the Mk. II (sorry, I've noticed that I didn't make that clear in the original post), so I guess what I'll have to do is buy some 5D Mk. II-specific batteries since I'll be buying the camera eventually anyway.

Thank you very much!

[lem238]

Oh, most places that you would rent a camera from will rent you batteries, too. Good luck!

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by McB!

I've had rechargeable batteries in the past that I've had to do this with. Honest! And at least one other guy on the internet backs me up, so, y'know, it must be true : Amazon.com: Canon LP-E6 Battery Pack for Select Canon Digital SLR Cameras (Retail Package): Camera & Photo (at the time of writing it's the first product review on the page, written by a chap called Jeff).

It used to be the case, namely for NIMH rechargeable AA batteries, but Li-ION batteries have never had any kind of "primer" stage

[gturner]

The 5Dmkii battery is unique and the camera will not take others.
I have Hahnel spares and they work great at a big discount to canon.

BTW - you are going to wet your pants when you see the image quality of the 5Dii over the 30D

[McB!]

Originally Posted by gturner

BTW - you are going to wet your pants when you see the image quality of the 5Dii over the 30D

This is the kind of product endorsement I can really appreciate. If it has the ability to make me soil myself with excitement, then you know you're on to a winner.