Any NEGATIVE experiences with aftermarket batteries?

[SunTsu]

I've mixed experiences with non-original branded batteries.

1) Canon S500 - Got some batteries from eBay. They were fine, but I only had them for a few months before giving the camera and batteries to a friend. He's never complained.
2) Panasonic FX-7. Bought some batteries from eBay. They were complete rubbish and only held a charge for half the time of the normal Panasonic batteries.
3) Canon SD500 - Got some batteries from eBay. All three were bunk after about 10 charges. None of them hold a charge and they show as battery low after a couple of minutes of use.
4) Canon SD900 - Stuck to Canon-branded batteries. I have two batteries and have not had any problems now for over 3 months.

I'm thinking of getting some spare batteries for a 5D, but my experiences with eBay have for the most part, been really poor. Does anyone else have experiences with eBay batteries for the 5D?

I did a search on this forum and see that many people have used Sterlingtek, so I might give that a shot instead of blowing the cash on the Canon-branded batteries.

[brunester]

i have only used sterlingtek
and they are awsome

[sugarzebra]

Same here...only good experiences with Sterlingtek

[rhys]

I bought a second battery for my XT in my local camera shop. It's an independent and works well enough.

[iddie]

i bought no name brand batteries on ebay and they have been working great for me so far

[BrandonSi]

I've used Lenmar batteries in my 300D battery grip for a few years, no problems..

[Citizen_Insane]

I like my sterlingtek...just like everyone else :)

[Jakpro]

I purchased some CTA batteries and they did not work at all in my camera.

I stick with Sterlingtek now.

[lilmill]

dont; know what brand but my budy and I were shooting this weekend me with two oem's in my grip him with two after markets in his. He was down to half power at the end I still showed full.

[thekid24]

Im using a Sterlink Tek battery and its fantastic. Im also using a hoodman memory card and its working just as well.

[FlashZebra]

I have used no name brand batteries for my Canon 10D for almost 4 years now and they work just like the Canon units.

Enjoy! Lon

[SunTsu]

dont; know what brand but my budy and I were shooting this weekend me with two oem's in my grip him with two after markets in his. He was down to half power at the end I still showed full.

This is the kind of experience I've had with batteries from eBay. It's too bad there isn't some standard test for batteries, but the Sterlink ones sound at the very least, decent.

I work for a company that buys massive quantities of AAA nickel metal hydride batteries and we switch suppliers from time to time. For the most part though, there are only a few to choose from because the rest of the companies have incredibly low QA. I'm going to guess that lithium ion battery vendors are similar in that there are a handful of factories that do produce good products and a tone of me-too factories that just produce at the lowest possible cost.