Looking to upgrade to 40D from RebXT

drdoak

There're a couple of good rebates going on right now for the 40D ($200 instant, $50 mail in) and I'm looking to upgrade. I just brought my XT through Grand Canyon and back out again without destroying it and consider that ability to be my biggest concern. The camera must be somewhat rugged, must have LONG battery life (8-10 day trips). This year I used the Opteka grip with dual lithium batts and then switched over to the 6 AA cartridge after the two canon batts ran out (around 5 days in). Very handy. The Opteka grip for the 40D doesn't appear to allow for AA use. So, what kind of life can I expect from dual BP-511A batts? Is there any other way to use non-rechargables for these long trips with the 40D? Maybe some way to charge in the camera itself from USB (much though I doubt it)?

Anything else I ought to know that's not in the 40D or grip specs?

Thanks!
Chris

crayzphotography

if you can get the Canon grip (BG-E2n) you can use AA's. Much better quality than the opteka IMO. But much more $
-crayz

evoryware

I use the Canon battery grip and I can go for a month without recharging my 40D batteries so...

Last recharge was 6/28 and I shot a family reunion with it that weekend.
I'd just get 4-6 511A's if you are worried.

Tee Why

I think the grip for the 40D allows for AA batteries.
I would suggest just buying a couple of extra batteries. The after market batteries are quite cheap and hold the same charge.

Two in the grip and two more as spares with some AA's for back up would last 8 days in my view.

nobody

crayzphotography wrote:

if you can get the Canon grip (BG-E2n) you can use AA's. Much better quality than the opteka IMO. But much more $
-crayz

That thing goes for $172 on amazon -- a lot to pay for something that does little more than holds batteries and adds a few buttons to different positions. The opteka version for the 40D ($85) even goes so far as to include 2 lithium batteries. I can understand paying a premium for something like an "L" lense, but for a battery grip, it either works or doesn't work. If it doesn't work, you can send it back. If it does, paying a huge premium won't make it work any better.