Canon Rebel XT Batteries (NB-2LH and NB2L)

[sirmiggs]

Hi everyone,

I was really surprised when Canon decided to use the NB-2LH batteries for their Rebel XT. It meant that, being a present owner of a Powershot S70, I would already have a "spare" battery.

The strange thing is, I upgraded from a Powershot S45, which used the NB-2L batteries. And so those batteries became my spare batteries for the Powershot S70.

Right now I have 1 NB-2LH and 2 NB-2L batteries.

If I were to purchase a Canon Rebel XT, would I be able to use all of these batteries as backups? I ask because on the battery compartment for the Rebel XT, there is a sticker that says "NB-2LH only."

And the reply email from Canon support quoted,

"The EOS Digital Rebel XT is designed for the NB-2LH type battery. This
is a higher capacity battery. Other batteries have not been tested with
the camera."

I just wanted to know just in case both my NB-2LH batteries run out, and I'm in a pinch, could I just pop in my NB-2L battery.

So, has anybody had any experience with this? My gut feeling says it's alright, but maybe somebody can warn me otherwise?

Thanks in advance and cheers!

Thomas

[tim]

I can't answer your question, but I can tell you you can get the type you want cheap from http://sterlingtek.com . I get my BP-511s from they're, they're better than the Canon batteries IMHO.

[felix21685]

i have noticed that the canon lithium ion is 7.4 volts.and the other brand talked about here is only 7.2 volts.
i thought lithium polymer is supposed to be 3.7 volt per cell and lithium ion a little less.

whats the deal?
also if we get the sterlinktec..batteries will the canon charger charge them to full capacity or does it only charge it to the canon mah rating ?
_Felix

[Mycroft]

All lithium-chemistry chargers will charge a battery to it's fullest capacity based on measured voltage readings during the charge cycle. If a Li-Po (7.4v) battery is charged on a Li-Ion (7.2v) charger, it may not reach full charge due to the charger cutting off the charge at a nominal 7.2v instead of 7.4v (the actual voltage will be higher upon charge termination). While this does not damage a 7.4v battery, if you have a charger that is designed for 7.4v batteries and you attempt to charge a 7.2v pack, it -may- damage the battery and/or charger. Some chargers are intelligent enough to know if it's a Li-Ion or Li-Polymer. However, I don't know if this is the case with the Canon charger. I bought a generic battery on ebay for a mere USD $7 (McBain Camera wants CAD $85) and the voltage is the same as my Canon-branded battery that came with the camera.

[felix21685]

yeah the sterlinktec ones are different thats why i was asking.
-Felix

[tim]

I use sterlingtek batteries, they're fine and last longer than the Canon "original" BP-511. Canon don't make batteries, they buy them and put their label on them.

[robertwgross]

All lithium-chemistry chargers will charge a battery to it's fullest capacity based on measured voltage readings during the charge cycle. If a Li-Po (7.4v) battery is charged on a Li-Ion (7.2v) charger, it may not reach full charge due to the charger cutting off the charge at a nominal 7.2v instead of 7.4v (the actual voltage will be higher upon charge termination). While this does not damage a 7.4v battery, if you have a charger that is designed for 7.4v batteries and you attempt to charge a 7.2v pack, it -may- damage the battery and/or charger. Some chargers are intelligent enough to know if it's a Li-Ion or Li-Polymer. However, I don't know if this is the case with the Canon charger. I bought a generic battery on ebay for a mere USD $7 (McBain Camera wants CAD $85) and the voltage is the same as my Canon-branded battery that came with the camera.

This is good information. It is a little awkward to abbreviate "Polymer" by "Po", because that is the abbreviation for Polonium, which is not what we have here.

---Bob Gross---

[felix21685]

i have heard the tearm Lipo alot..from the Rc Community..we use lipos alot for electrics...
what is polonium?
-Felix

[robertwgross]

Polonium is #84 on the Periodic Table of the Elements.

---Bob Gross---

[sirmiggs]

Um. Thanks for the information guys. However, I think that you guys are talking about the Canon 300D rather than the Canon 350 Rebel XT. I already have four batteries (2 of the NB-2LH batteries and 2 of the NB-2L batteries). I just wanted to know, if in a pinch, if I could use the NB-2L battery as a backup or not.

Thanks though. I doubt anybody else will run into this problem though. . .

[felix21685]

who makes batteries besides sterlinktec which are any good?

[KurtKuhn]

Hi everyone,

I was really surprised when Canon decided to use the NB-2LH batteries for their Rebel XT. It meant that, being a present owner of a Powershot S70, I would already have a "spare" battery.

The strange thing is, I upgraded from a Powershot S45, which used the NB-2L batteries. And so those batteries became my spare batteries for the Powershot S70.

Right now I have 1 NB-2LH and 2 NB-2L batteries.

If I were to purchase a Canon Rebel XT, would I be able to use all of these batteries as backups? I ask because on the battery compartment for the Rebel XT, there is a sticker that says "NB-2LH only."

And the reply email from Canon support quoted,

"The EOS Digital Rebel XT is designed for the NB-2LH type battery. This
is a higher capacity battery. Other batteries have not been tested with
the camera."

I just wanted to know just in case both my NB-2LH batteries run out, and I'm in a pinch, could I just pop in my NB-2L battery.

So, has anybody had any experience with this? My gut feeling says it's alright, but maybe somebody can warn me otherwise?

Thanks in advance and cheers!

Thomas

Thomas-

I upgraded from an S45. I have two left over NB-2L batteries from this camera. Since I use my BG-E3 grip with my DrebelXT, I use those two batteries in the grip without any issues.

Yes, I will get fewer shutter actuations than if I had two NB-2LH batteries in the grip. But, my two NB-2L batteries give more life than one NB-2LH. Remember, in the grip the batteries are hooked up in parallel which means that the voltage stays the same and the amperage gets added.

Reason for using the old batteries? I'd rather add charge cycles to them to "use them up" first rather than cycling the new battery. Besides, I can use the NB-2LH in the S45 for more shutter actuations than the NB-2L gave me. Of course, with a higher amp battery in the S45, I'll be mindful of ~~potential~~ overheating...but in reality I probably won't sweat it.

Hope this helps.

-KK

[sirmiggs]

Thanks Kurt!

Your reply was very useful and it helps but my mind at ease. It's so strange having so many batteries around and it just felt like a waste if I couldn't use them.

Up until now (for about two weeks) I have only been using the NB-2LH batteries, and not even having to change them. It's amazing how long those batteries last in the Canon Rebel XT; much longer than in the S70. I guess it's because the Rebel doesn't use the LCD screen as often and goes in and out of sleep mode without a sweat, as opposed to the S70 which has to retract its lens when going into sleep.

But, knowing that I can turn to the NB-2L batteries if I'm in a pinch is of great comfort.

Thanks again.

Thomas

[wordsmithken]

How about chargers from SterlingTek? Does the company offer one for it. The site shows a travel charger that seems like it might be compatible, but I'm not sure about it. Does anyone have any experience with 3rd party chargers for XT batteries? Would appreciate advice, comments. BTW, the "XT" appelation takes me back 20 years - when PC XTs & their clones were the rage , one of which was my 3rd computer & waslater mucho hot-rodded :lol:

[Johnny V]

I ordered NB-2LH batteries through SterlingTek via PriceGrabber. When received the batteries were labeled NB-2L 1500mah - not NB-2LH. They seem fine and same physical size as Canon's battery.

A week later I ordered NB-2L batteries the same way - $2.00 cheaper - and received the same batteries as above labeled NB-2L 1500mah.

[Rob612]

Um. Thanks for the information guys. However, I think that you guys are talking about the Canon 300D rather than the Canon 350 Rebel XT. I already have four batteries (2 of the NB-2LH batteries and 2 of the NB-2L batteries). I just wanted to know, if in a pinch, if I could use the NB-2L battery as a backup or not.

Thanks though. I doubt anybody else will run into this problem though. . .

I personally have 4 NB-2LH batteries always on hand (I have the battery grip, so I've just got two full sets, even if the grip will work with one only).

My suggestion is to get the grip, and in the case you run out of battery use 6 AA batteries with the adapter that comes with the grip. I do not know why, but if they say NB-2LH only I tend to stick to it.

[puttick]

Just use the NB-2L, you will be fine even if it has a slightly lower capacity, 570 mAh as opposed to 720mAh. Some 3rd party "NB-2L" (and "NB-2LH") batteries are labelled with a much higher capacity than Canon - the only way to determine whether this is TRUE capacity is to do a controlled discharge across a known load, and measure the duration. I suspect that most are not true in the sense of capacity for use in the camera, as the camera shuts down before the battery is exhausted. The higher "rating" possibly reflects discharge to zero - not a useful or comparable measure.

[John Usa]

Last week I bought from SterlingTek the NB2L battery for my Canon Rebel XT.
Canon says that it takes 90 minutes to charge a fully exhausted battery. Original Canon NB-2LH battery is rated 720 mAh.
My SterlingTek NB2L battery, rated 1500 mAh on the back, charged to FULL in only 80 minutes. It was fully exhausted before the charging started.
Does this sound normal?
I do not understand electronics, so logically I thought that it may take approx. twice as long (3 hours) to fully charge this battery.
Also, whoever is using this after-market battery, does is last twice as long as Canon's battery, as it has twice the mAh capacity?
Your expert explanations, feedback and suggestions are welcome.
Thank you.

[puttick]

John USA - read what I wrote above. The "higher capacity" quoted may represent the battery being run down to zero, which never happens in a camera as it switches off long before that, to prevent the voltage dropping. The "lower capacity" quoted for the Canon battery will represent more accurately the power delivered in the camera. As the 3rd party batteries use the same technology, there is no magic way of getting double the capacity - ye cannae change the laws o' physics - but you can label it differently! I would suspect that the Sterlingtek battery has the same or less actual capacity compared to the Canon, which would accord with its designation as NB2L (not H) and the fact that as you observed it took less time to charge.

[John Usa]

Thanks for your help Nigel.
Regardless of brand and everything else being equal, would a 1500 mAh rated battery take approx. twice as long to charge (with the same charger) than a 720 mAh rated battery?
Trying to learn electronics.

[_SBradley_]

The NB-2L and NB-2LH batteries are completely interchangeable. Your NB-2Ls will work fine in your 350D; they just won't last as long as your NB-2LH, obviously.

[tim]

More info http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=79584

[Matatazela]

The NB-2L and NB-2LH batteries are completely interchangeable. Your NB-2Ls will work fine in your 350D; they just won't last as long as your NB-2LH, obviously. I have the NB2L Sterlingteks and I dispute the statement. The NB2L lasts longer than the NB2LH that came with the camera. The batteries have given me excellent service. Of the 3 other photographers that I know who use the Sterlingteks, all are more than pleased with their service and their endurance.

[Jon]

The NB-2L and NB-2LH batteries are completely interchangeable. Your NB-2Ls will work fine in your 350D; they just won't last as long as your NB-2LH, obviously.
I have the NB2L Sterlingteks and I dispute the statement. The NB2L lasts longer than the NB2LH that came with the camera. The batteries have given me excellent service. Of the 3 other photographers that I know who use the Sterlingteks, all are more than pleased with their service and their endurance.OP and _SBradley_ are referring to Canon's NB2L which came with OPs P&S cameras. They won't last as long as the NB2LH which came with the 350D. As others have posted, Sterlingtek offers NB2L form factor (which is the exact same size as the NB2LH) batteries with higher capacity than Canon's NB2LH.

[ByteTheBullet]

mAh is short for Milli-Amp-Hour or the 'running time' of the battery. The larger the mAh number the longer the battery will last. The voltages are a little different between the 2LH and 2L, but obviously within the specs of the camera. The Canon XT batteries are 720mAh, the generic are 1100+, hence they last longer regardless of the 2LH/2L designation. My S50 batteries where 500 mAh if I remember correctly. I do not remember the voltage. This is a very simplified explanation but I hope it helps some.


ByteTheBullet (-: