So how's those 3rd party batteries working out?

[tbfoto]

I'm looking at getting a couple of new BP-511's. I've been looking at the deals on e-bay and I know to watch out for some of the scammers. There is a guy on there from the St Louis area selling 1350Mah for only $8.49 each with only $3.00 shipping. The big thing is that he still has a 100% feedback rating after thousands of sales. Most of those selling batteries on there have alot of negitive feedback.

So if you have been using a 3rd party battery. How's it been working out for you?

Tom

[photoshooter]

i got 10 of them for 50.00 from eforcecity work just as good as any

[tbfoto]

I thought that I would post a link to what I'm looking at. Tell me what you think of this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3830063880&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

om

[CyberDyneSystems]

My experience and others I have read is that the "total generics" on e-bay... like E-forcecity mentioned above.. are a gamble.

I have two from E-force city that are about a year old and still going strong... a third was pretty much DOA...

For the $$ it's hard to pass up... but at this point I rely on name brand batts for a little extra "security" Name brand batts (Powerex, Lenmar, etc..) are still dramatically lower in cost than the Canon batts,. and these I truly have found last longer than the standard Canon BP511.

[Ballen Photo]

I thought that I would post a link to what I'm looking at. Tell me what you think of this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3830063880&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

omWith a feedback of tweve thousand four hundred ninety five, and maintaining 100%, My guess is that they might be OK.:cool:
Having said that, I didn't see a brand name on them or in the auction.(You can bet they're made in either Malaysia or China.) :shock:
-Bruce

[FlyingPete]

I have had about 15 I have bought for myself and others from www.mydigitaldiscount.com, I and the other owners are all happy with their's.

[Bruce Watson]

I have 3 from Stirlingtek. Work well, charge with no problem in my standard 20D charger and seem to last just as long as OEM ones.

[tim]

I've had a few from sterlingtek for a few months and they work fine, no problems or complaints.

[dicky109]

I had one from eforcecity which worked fine for 1 year then died. The original Canon battery lasted 2 1/2 years. Now working on a Sterling Tek and one from Battery Barn for about a year and so far, so good.

[DionM]

I've bought a few generics from eBay; but some act funny in the 20D ... reporting it as flat yet stick it on the charger and the charger says its charged ...

[Redbird_xo]

certain low quality generic battery had caused explosion on a nokia phone. heard it from the news, no name was mentioned as far as the battery manufacturer or brand. buyer beware!

good quality generics are definitely way to go, though.

[FlipsidE]

When you guys say Sterling Tek, do you mean these guys?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48516&item=3866500846

Thanks

FlipsidE

[blinking8s]

I have 5 SunPaks and never an issue with one of them...they were a little pricier that the other 3rd party brands at the store but still $30 cheaper than the canon batteries...

however...they do not charge on the charger that came with the 20d...the contacts look exactly the same...im still stumped/stupid?

[MarkH]

After 15 months my Power 2000 batteries are still working better than my Canon batteries.

My vote is for the name brand 3rd party batteries, Canon are too dear, I am reluctant to trust no-name batteries. As CDS said, brands like Powerex and Lenmar are good quality batteries at a better price than Canon batteries. My Power 2000 batteries are rated at 1500mAh and they were cheaper than Canon's 1100mAh batteries by a good margin.

[Volatile]

thanks for the tip.. I just bought 2 of them...

[psk4363]

I've been using Hahnel batteries in my 10D as well as Canon ones and cannot tell any difference in performance - very happy so far.

Cheers,
Barry

[adamsti]

Sterling Tek is here: http://sterlingtek.com/

[michael.luczkow]

another vote for sterlingtek. Got my 3 batteries in a while ago and they have been great. Highly recommended.

[Neens_wa]

Ditto with the sterlingtek batteries. I have four I purchased last summer. I've shot almost 6000 images with them...

A nod in the direction of Bloo Dog... outperform my 10D original. ;o)

[KenE]

I have been using my original G1's 511 battery in the 20D. Works like it left the factory. Have 2 older Lenmars from Fry's (slight mAh boost, closer to the 511A) and they've been working great.

I seem to have plenty more battery than daylight, and could stretch life out quite a long time with the older batteries. The power-saving modes and short previews are great. Used the LCD exclusively on the G1 and they didn't seem to last nearly as long.

[donlavange]

I got 4 from sterlingtek and have cycled through 2 so far. They seem to be as advertised!

[intechpcx]

I'm looking at getting a couple of new BP-511's. I've been looking at the deals on e-bay and I know to watch out for some of the scammers. There is a guy on there from the St Louis area selling 1350Mah for only $8.49 each with only $3.00 shipping. The big thing is that he still has a 100% feedback rating after thousands of sales. Most of those selling batteries on there have alot of negitive feedback.

So if you have been using a 3rd party battery. How's it been working out for you?

Tom

I have one that came with my camera kit that I bought from Price Rite photo and it has worked out well. I don't know the specifics on it but it out lasts the OEM battery by at least 100 shots (no flash).

[who me?]

Anyone having problems with these 3rd party batteries like Lenmar in the Canon chargers?
I am looking into getting a second battery and I have seen no comments on that.
Thanks

[cactusclay]

Apparently, mine are still powering a UPS truck somewhere,but they haven't called in with any complaints yet. Maybe tomorrow.

[cc10d]

I have been using a couple of Lenmars, more capacity than the Canon and working fine.

[Canuck]

I have 2x of the Power 2000 and they are working fine thus far and are over a year old, I do believe. The only problems are int he cold, but this is to be expected. Otherwise I get in excess of 1000 shots on them. I got them from B&H w/ the 1GB 40x Lexar Card.

[mdude85]

got BP-511A from Ebay ($3.80 + $10 shipping) ... can usually take more than 1500 shots on one charge with a D30.

I consider that to be a lot....

[tim]

My Sterlingtek ones are fine after around 4-5 months, better than the Canon one.

[TheBender]

I purchased a couple of BP511's for my 20D at MyDigitalDiscount.com. They are working fine. I can't tell a difference. I'm not sure how long they will last but at 9.50 each as opposed to 40.00 or so, how long to they have to last? I bought them after reading some of the comments on this forum. I had no problem with the company. Ordering went smooth and arrival as promised. They charge just fine in the charger that came with my camera.

[Persian-Rice]

I purchased mine on ebay for about 5 bucks each, I have recharghed them a ton of times, all run great.

[DNHayashida]

I bought a BP-511 from Sterlingtek last summer, it started out fine, taking 350 to 400 pictures before going dead, but over the months it has slowly shortened it's charge to about 160 pictures before going out. For the price I got my money's worth, and I would buy from them again, but I might try the other batteries mentioned in this thread to see if they last longer.

Darryl Hayashida

[tim]

Darryl, they offer a 12 month warranty on their batteries, if it's not working right email them. How many times have you charged it up?

[Mikelite80]

Anyone know who makes Canon's batteries for them? I know there are only a hand full of compaines in the world that make batteries so it is very possible to get battries just as good if not identical in performance. All depends how much that Canon sticker means to you.

Mike

[cactusclay]

Where's that dang UPS truck?

[puttick]

I have 2 Canon BP511s and one Uniross OEM battery - the Uniross if anything is slightly better than the Canon batteries in that it has a slightly higher capacity and seems to hold its charge for longer. I have also used Hama OEM batteries in my Ixus 400 and find them fine. So I would spring for a brand-named after-market battery to ensure reliability - I would be very worried about leakage from a no-name no-comeback generic battery.

[boBquincy]

Battery roulette.

Some are good, some are not, one in many thousands may violently outgas either in your charger or in your camera (or your pocket). It's happened with cellphone batteries (from third party suppliers).

Canon is not a battery company, any more than the company I work for is a (battery, alternator, tire, take your pick company) *but* what Canon probably does, like my employer, is specify what parameters the batteries with their name on them must meet. The other battery sellers may only specify what the batteries cost.

I am cost concious too, and Canon batteries appear to be overpriced, but I spent $1500 for a camera and $50 for a known good battery may not be too much considering the potential for problems.


ymmv

boB

[KenW]

Two + months on a knockoff from Sterlingtek and no complaints.

Ken

[Persian-Rice]

Does it even matter? Even if you get 15 uses out of it it's still worth it. I mean 5-10 bucks for 15 uses is not bad. Most will last 30+

[Ballen Photo]

Anyone having problems with these 3rd party batteries like Lenmar in the Canon chargers?
I am looking into getting a second battery and I have seen no comments on that.
Thanks

My Lenmar charges just fine in the original Canon charger that came with my 10D, and seems to out perform my two OEM batteries. I also have the Sterling Tek battery unused in it's wrapper for spare.
-Bruce

[JeffS]

I've used batteries from GreenBatteries.com (http://www.greenbatteries.com/, which will automatically redirect you to their Yahoo store, at http://store.yahoo.com/greenbatteries-store/index.html) and Battery Barn (http://www.batterybarn.com/, excellent customer service and rechargeable AAs for your flashes too). I have had no problem using Canon chargers, I do not charge the batteries in the cameras (S400, G5, or 10D).