Canon or non-Canon batteries?

I am wondering if other people who have the new Canon (LP-E6) batteries that have all the power management stuff inside can comment on whther they have bought non-Canon or original Canon batteries for backup. The price difference is substantial and I am certain they are all manufactured at the same places in China but the non-OEM ones as I understand it wont be showing you a 'fuel' gauge to tell you how much battery is left. I need a couple more batteries and havent decided which way to go and would like your opinions.

RichieV

I purchased a Canon one myself. This conversation came up on another forum I was on, and it seemed like most people had good luck with the off brand. However, I read a few reviews on B&H about people who had the generic brand ones leak acid inside their camera. It might be a small chance, but it was scary enough to me to just spend the extra $20 and get one with peace of mind.

I have a third-party battery for my 5DII. I haven't used it much, the stock battery lasts so long that I haven't had to swap it much yet; that may be saying a lot about how much photography I've done lately.

I hadn't heard about acid leaks but there are two drawbacks:
1. No battery level indicator - as you mentioned. I haven't run out of battery with the off-brand in the camera but it would be frustrating to not know you're about to lose the battery - especially in cold, battery draining, conditions.
2. The off brand required it's own charger, you can't use the Canon charger. So that's one more piece of gear to carry.

But so far it seems OK.

I bought a couple of the 3rd party batteries for backup. And they work fine for that purpose. I've noticed that the Canon battery lasts longer.

Can the regular Canon batteries be charged in the non-Canon charger?

RichieV

I would think a big part of the problem is that the 3rd party charger might damage the Canon battery. The charger needs to stop charging when the battery is full and that circuitry might not be of such high quality.

That said, I have 4 sterlingtek batteries for my Rebel XT and they've always been fine.

In the past on the 5D I had 2 canon and 2 off brand and they worked fine. But I am a little miffed about losing the battery 'gauge'. I would like to have three working batties. Anybody found any good prices on original batteries out there?

RichieV

I've always used SterlingTek batteries for backup with no problems.

I know if you burn up your camera with a 3rd party battery your warranty is voided.

I have used non-canon batteries before in older digital cameras (5D, 20D etc), they seemed to work fine just didn't store as much power, and eventually didn't hold a charge for as long. Having said that, for the 5Dmkii and did buy a genuine Canon battery as a backup.

I bought 2 'chipped' (camera readable) third party batteries from eBay three months ago for $17 apiece shipped, and they still work just fine. Can't seem to find them anymore now that I look.
You can find an OEM battery at Amazon for $57 shipped.
I've been using third party batteries ever since I owned my first DSLR (10D) and have never encountered a problem with them. If you're OK with not reading the battery info., then I can recommend your choice wholeheartedly. I buy third party lenses, camera straps, grips and bags to avoid Canon's ridiculously high markup on these items, as well.

I have two backup batteries from Sterling Tek for my 40D...so far so good...in fact I found out about them from this site. Good service too.

I wish I could remember what 3rd party batteries I used, but I don't. But they were not worth the savings over OEM to me ... not holding charges as well as OEM, "wearing out" sooner, etc. It was irritating at most, only seriously impacting one or two "no charger available" trips over the years. I didn't realize so many people were enjoying success with 3rd party batteries. Good to hear.

I've also had great luck with Sterlingtek, both for my 30D and 5D.

Unfortunately, SterlingTek still doesn't carry LP-E6 'clone' batteries.
That's usually my go-to place, as well.

John said:

You can find an OEM battery at Amazon for $57 shipped.

Right now at BH the Canon 5D Mark II is $69.00 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590459-REG/Canon_3347B001_LP_E6_Rechargeable_Lithium_Ion_Battery.html

Might as well go with the genuine article. Sorry ever since my old friend Tom used a 3rd party battery in his 1Ds and it melted inside - he was out $8000 in an instant.... I know the batteries are probably much better now, but if the BEC DOESN'T work, you're f-ed

Excellent point Rice. Plus if you are a member of NAPP you can get free 3-day shipping, so it is a $12 difference. Of course this is the B&H holiday season so frequent store closings do take place.

Errrr....the battery for sale at Amazon is a Canon battery (OEM=Original Equipment Manufacturer).

John,

you bet it is. I'm wicked smaht. Go Sawx!


for some reason I associate OEM with subpar - like an OEM hard disk - ah well it is what it is....

I wound up buying two more original canon ones at $60 apiece. That should do me fine for awhile.

Thanks everyone.

RichieV