Generic Battery Issues Recently

[dsze]

To all those who have asked about using generic BP-511's in their cameras recently and to whom I've replied that they are great and I've never had a problem:

I had one die this past weekend and refuse to take a charge (after about 7 months)

I also ordered another one which arrived yesterday and is slightly mis-shaped or slightly larger because it wouldn't come back out of my 10D. It took some work to get it out.... I trashed it immediately after removing it.

Will this stop me from buying generics in the future? Probably not. I can still buy 6 generics for the price of 1 Canon BP-511, I can afford to lose 1 or 2 now & then.

...just an update on the gen. battery issue... they aren't all as good as the Canon ones.


-daniel

[cmM]

thanks for the heads up.
I use one generic and one Canon in my grip... no issues yet. I hope it won't die on me at the wrong moment. I have no spare :oops:

[dsze]

Yes, mine refused to take a charge the day before I was shooting a wedding... I still had plenty of battery power for the wedding, but I did have to recharge one of my remaining batteries once during the day, before the reception.

-daniel

[CyberDyneSystems]

I have subscribed to the beleif that there is a happy middle ground here. I do not trust the E-bay $5.00 batts... but I swear by the name brand knock offs like PowerEX, Lenmar etc...

Paying half the price for the Canon is still a savings.

[vfilby]

I think I remember seeing a bunch of Insten bp-511's on ebay. They were cheap but I thought they might be better than the no-brand generics.

Anyone have any experience with these?

Regards,

[PhotosGuy]

I remember reading that there's a limit on the number of times they will take a charge. 600 times? Not sure...

[rolltide]

Found the 511 @ wal-mart for $20, clearance. Stock up on em.

[ron chappel]

Thanks for the info Dan

I'm thinking that the next one i buy might be a 'name brand' cheapie as cyber recommends.I'll see what's available at the time

[dsze]

Yeah... the ones I've gotten from eforcity.com have done me well for what I've paid for them.

-daniel

[drisley]

Anybody heard of MC2 batteries before.

This store (http://after5pm.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MC_HE-XLBP511) has 1500mah Bp-511's for $25US, and when you buy one you get one free!

Sort of piqued my interest.

[PhotosGuy]

Found the 511 @ wal-mart for $20, clearance. Stock up on em.

I've been to two in the last 2 weeks. Didn't have them, or even know about them.
Tried the website. Had them at list price. No discounts.

Anybody heard of MC2 batteries before.

This store has 1500mah Bp-511's for $25US, and when you buy one you get one free!

Sort of piqued my interest.

Me, too, so I ordered one (2). Got the confirmation email. We'll see.
Free shipping, too!

[PhotosGuy]

The 2 batteries came today. Charging now. I'll let you know how they work out.

[DocFrankenstein]

Anybody heard of MC2 batteries before.

This store (http://after5pm.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MC_HE-XLBP511) has 1500mah Bp-511's for $25US, and when you buy one you get one free!

Sort of piqued my interest.
How's their rating? I don't know any rating sites?

I'd be willing to order :? They also ship to canada for free

[Kenski]

BEWARE OF EBAY!!!

There is a guy on ebay who has since deleted his account because of all his negative feedback and I'm sure has started a new one but he offers 2 batteries for one price... When I received the batteries they were NOT 7.4v they were 7.2v and the MaH on them were lower then the regular batteries.... He claimed that they were as good as the Canon batteries and anyone that has High School electronics could figure this out that lower voltage and lower MaH is going to go dead faster... Now, the batteries are cheap but you are going to replace them faster...

So, if you see a guy selling two batteries for one price and says they are 7.4v, be careful, because he promised me they were... then told me that I had to pay for shipping to send them back and I would only get a credit and I wouldn't get my shipping back and you know how these ebay guys are, $5 for the bid and $12 for shipping.... So I just contacted PayPal and got it all back and sent it postal for $1.63 back to the crack head...

[drisley]

They also ship to canada for free
They ship to canada for free?
The checkout says they ship to international orders via USPS Intl. Express Mail or Intl. Priority Mail.
Express is $29us and Priority is $18us

[DocFrankenstein]

I dunno

I called them up and a woman with a thick asian accent said that they'll ship to canada for free via "usual" USPS, but it will take 2 weeks.

[DocFrankenstein]

What are the seller rating sites? I'm intrested, but I want to see some feedback first

[robertwgross]

Anybody heard of MC2 batteries before.

This store (http://after5pm.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MC_HE-XLBP511) has 1500mah Bp-511's for $25US, and when you buy one you get one free!


I jumped on that one also. My total cost was $27 for two. They took a charge pretty normally, and I haven't run them down yet.

---Bob Gross---

[PhotosGuy]

How's their rating?

Personally, I'm happy so far. They came 5 days from when I ordered them.
Both are 1500 mAh @ 7.4v

I got mine from the link posted by drisley:
http://after5pm.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MC_HE-XLBP511

[/quote]

[drisley]

Please keep us updated on how they perform!
:)

[eric1]

i bought two of these. some of the guys on the G3 forum recomended them. so far so good.

http://www.sterlingtek.com/ln03-canon-bp-511-dlc511.html

[aberdeen]

I ordered a few of the 511's from Sterlingtek as well...

I will keep you posted.

$11.99 + shipping ($7)

Not too bad. I can afford to try 'em out for that price.

[drisley]

The only problem I have with the Sterlingtek batteries is that they are rated as 7.2V instead of the standard 7.4V.
I'm not sure if it matters, but I would rather stay with the canon spec.

[dr.bear]

I recently purchased a power2000 battery from BH photo. It charges normally, but the shape of the battery I think differs slightly from the Canon bp-511. When I put it in either of the bg-ed3 slots and lock it in place with the orange flange, it easily falls out if I rattle my camera a little. It also falls out of the slot if I open the battery cover sometimes. The reason the battery falls out is due to a gap that forms between the side of the battery and the battery compartment on the grip. If the battery moves towards this gap and away from the orange flange, the battery slips out of the lock and falls out. So what I did was I placed a folded piece of paper in this gap and problem is solved. Now I don't have to worry about the battery losing it's contact points with the camera when it's in use. I hope this helps someone out there.

[Motorsports Photo]

My battery experience:

original BP-511 from my D30 is nearing the end of its service life. Its good for a morning shoot, and little more.

BP-512 I bought from Battery Barn to supplement the D30 battery was great at first and was trashed early this year when it didnt charge. Thats about 1.5 years of use. Not good compared to the 3 years the Canon has.

BP-511's from Walmart worked well in the winter and continue to work well in the warm weather too, but only long term testing will reveal the quality.

Personally I dont think those cheap batteries you got on ebay are worth the shipping.

-Pete

[DocFrankenstein]

How's their rating?

Personally, I'm happy so far. They came 5 days from when I ordered them.
Both are 1500 mAh @ 7.4v
I mean the rating of the store :wink:

[MarkH]

The only problem I have with the Sterlingtek batteries is that they are rated as 7.2V instead of the standard 7.4V.
I'm not sure if it matters, but I would rather stay with the canon spec.

The voltage is related to the cell chemistry. Whether the manufacturer states 7.2 or 7.4 volts the voltage is the same.

I have seen AA NiMHs rated at 1.2V and at 1.25V, voltage varies with charge and load but all NiMHs (or NiCads or Lithium Ion) produce the same voltage (property of the chemical reation) as each other. Just because one brand measures the voltage slightly differently, it doesn't mean their batteries magically have more voltage than any other battery with the same chemistry.

[PhotosGuy]

1st battery: I left the cam on for 8 hours ‘till the battery showed ‘Low’. Then I put it on Portrait mode & fired off 400+MB of flash pics ‘till it was empty.

2nd battery: I took a pic & left the cam on while it displayed the pic on the LCD monitor. 6 hours later it still had enough charge to take a pic.

So, with 3 batteries, I’m not worried about running out of power in a normal days shooting, & that’s good enough for me.

[DocFrankenstein]

1st battery: I left the cam on for 8 hours ‘till the battery showed ‘Low’. Then I put it on Portrait mode & fired off 400+MB of flash pics ‘till it was empty.
Hehehe

Did you know that canon guarantees the rebel shutter for 10000 shots only?

[holland]

Personally, I will only use the Canon products - I know it's a premium, especially in Britain at £55 or $100 each. The current from the Hahnel equivalent is slightly higher (1300mAh) than the Canon (1100mAh), I think, which could possibly do damage to the camera's electronics. I heard that someone used a generic one and it overheated and melted and broke the camera and they weren't able to claim on warranty as they had used a generic and not Canon .....

[DocFrankenstein]

Personally, I will only use the Canon products - I know it's a premium, especially in Britain at £55 or $100 each. The current from the Hahnel equivalent is slightly higher (1300mAh) than the Canon (1100mAh), I think, which could possibly do damage to the camera's electronics. I heard that someone used a generic one and it overheated and melted and broke the camera and they weren't able to claim on warranty as they had used a generic and not Canon .....
That sounds intresting from the electronics perspective. Higher capacity would mean that it's just gonna live longer...

[thomascanty]

How's their rating?

Personally, I'm happy so far. They came 5 days from when I ordered them.
Both are 1500 mAh @ 7.4v
I mean the rating of the store :wink:

They don't have a whole lot of people rating them yet on ResellerRatings, but from the few who have put in an entry, they have one of the best ratings I've seen there in a long time. I think I'll probably order one (two) also. I already have four batteries, but you can never have too many... :)

[PhotosGuy]

Did you know that canon guarantees the rebel shutter for 10000 shots only?

So?