Everything you want to know about aftermarket batteries for Canon DSLR's

[felix21685]

-Updated with more accurate info/ battery types

So you want to buy batteries for your Canon DSLR ?
don’t want to spend 50+ bucks a pop for the Canon ones ?

read on, by the way pictures are at the bottom of the post.

I researched this subject quite a bit earlier on as well since I can't afford another $1000 dollar camera I wanted to be 100% sure they wouldn't mess up my nice new camera. First of all I’m talking mainly about the batteries from Sterlingtek. Another important thing you should know is that mah stands for milliamp hours. The larger this is the longer it will last in your Camera.
My camera is the Rebel XT which takes NB 2LH batteries, but many users on this forum have bought bp-511's from them which fit the DRebel,20D,10D,D30,D60

NB2L or NB2LH ?:
One thing about Sterlingtek is that the nb2lh that canon makes is their nb2l. Canon’s NB2L is 570mah and their NB2LH is 720 (H stands for high capacity). Sterlingtek's are called NB2L but really should be called NB2LH.

1100mah vs 1500mah and 7.2v vs 7.4v :
on their website the batteries claim to say "7.2V Li-Ion 1100mAh"
the ones I received and I believe all other POTN users have received are labeled 7.4v just like the OEM Canon's and they aren’t 1100mah they are 1500mah (better for us J) besides when the battery is fully charged it will show well over 8v..and when it is drained it shows around 7.4. I would personally never allow a single cell lithium battery to get below 7.4v..
In the picture you can see the voltmeter with the battery fully charged and then when the battery is discharged (Note: the battery wasn’t fully drained when I took it out of the camera, if it was, I believe it would be close to 7.4v)

As some, at first i was skeptical of getting after-market batteries. To add another layer of "piece of mind" I use a battery grip. My hands are large anyways and the grip helps a lot with a small camera such as the XT. I know there are aftermarket grips available, but i happen to own a canon one and love it.

Price:
Now price… you can go to their site directly and order BUT, you can get the same price through amazon, and i find amazon keeps even their third party sellers to a higher level of customer service, returns etc.

Now, if we could only find a place that sells the little battery covers that Canon sends you with theirs we’d be all set.

Links follow this format:

Camera
Sterlingtek Battery Link
Canon OEM Battery Link
Battery Grip

Rebel XT/XTi
NB-2LH Sterlingtek
NB-2LH Canon
Canon BG-E3 Battery Grip

Rebel XS
LP-E5 Sterlingtek
LP-E5 Canon
Canon BG-E5 Battery Grip

Rebel XSI
LP-E5 Sterlingtek
LP-E5 Canon
Canon BG-E5 Battery Grip

Rebel T1i
LP-E5 Sterlingtek
LP-E5 Canon
Canon BG-E5 Battery Grip

Rebel T2i, T3i
LP-E8 Sterlingtek
LP-E8 Canon
Canon BG-E8 Battery Grip

Rebel T3
LP-E10 Sterlingtek not yet avail.
LP-E10 Canon

20D, 30D, 40D, 50D
BP-511A Sterlingtek
BP-511A Canon
Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip

60D
LP-E6 Sterlingtek
LP-E6 Canon
Canon BG-E9 Battery Grip

7D
LP-E6 Sterlingtek
LP-E6 Canon
Canon BG-E7 Battery Grip

5D MkII
LP-E6 Sterlingtek
LP-E6 Canon
Canon BG-E6 Battery Grip

1D MkIII (no sterlingtek version available)
LP-E4 Aftermarket (verified working by fellow POTN member)
LP-E4 Canon

1D MkIV (no sterlingtek version available)
LP-E4 Aftermarket (verified working by fellow POTN member)
LP-E4 Canon

1Ds MkIII (no sterlingtek version available)
LP-E4 Aftermarket (verified working by fellow POTN member)
LP-E4 Canon

http://sterlingtek.com/


(i know there are other brands of aftermarket batteries. I have personally only used OEM Canon batteries and Sterlingtek batteries. I included links for both.)

Now please read this part carefully!

I personally don't charge batteries unattended. This advice i got from my RC Airplane days. Lithium cells can be more temperamental if overcharged,etc. Keep them away from flammables, kids, dogs while charging.

If you take care of your gear and dispose of cells after they start losing charge chances are very good that nothing will ever happen. For your enjoyment here's what happens when you purposefully overcharge a Lithium polymer battery. Note this was a large battery used for RC purposes, manually overcharged on purpose, Fast Forward to 32 seconds.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...0570423705609#

[lostdoggy]

Man you scare me. I thought I was giving out wrong info!!!

Sorry to hear that you didn't get the covers. I have the Old Rebel and it takes the BP-511.
Thanx for the info on the NB2LH, I use it for my DVCam.

[cmosdos]

I have 3 on the way... Thanks!

[felix21685]

cmosdos..no problem man, when i was looking for batteries i wish i coulda had all this info in one simple post so..i wrote it up and CDS made it a sticky..
its nice to get them for 10 bucks a piece huh ?

[triangle]

I bought 6 of these, to get the free shipping. It would have been about the same cost as paying shipping. Sold one to a friend and have the others in my bag. I have never had a problem with them, highly recommend. Also, I recieved them very fast after placing my order.

[felix21685]

great deal arent they ? i love mine thats for sure.
gonna take alot of shots in the next 2 weeks..and im sure i wont run out of batteries..

[antibt]

I bought two BP-511 from ebay for my d rebel and they work fine.The pack was quite impressive with a guide etc.Travelled from HongKong.

[spinario]

Felix,

Thanks for the post. I found it to be invaluable. I am leaving for Kilimanjaro in two weeks and was in the market to get a couple of extra batteries for my Canon Rebel XT. You saved me a hundred bucks.

Thanks again!

[MadMesh]

Id get 3rd party batterys, but i would only use them inside the battery grip. WHY?

Just incaise it leaked, i dont want it to damage the inside of my camera housing.

[felix21685]

i was thinking the same thing..until i couldnt afford the grip
ive used the sterlingtek batteries in my camera for a while now and others have also
and i dont remember one person saying anything about damaging the camera..
but your right once i get a grip ill leave them in there..

[lancea]

EastGear is also selling replacement batteries. The one I've just got for my 20D is in an EastGear pack but is labelled "Camera Devices CP-BP511A 7.4V 1800mAh". I put it in my shopping cart from http://www.eastgear.com/shop/product...products_id=85, so not exactly as depicted, but otherwise good. True the price is higher than Sterlingtek, but if you're ordering something else from EastGear anyway you'll save on shipping. Delivery was 3 days from Singapore to New Zealand.

[felix21685]

i like sterlingtek because i live in AZ and they are next door in NM..
and USPS shipping didnt take long..
i guess if u live in NZ its a different story

[tim]

Originally Posted by lancea

EastGear is also selling replacement batteries. The one I've just got for my 20D is in an EastGear pack but is labelled "Camera Devices CP-BP511A 7.4V 1800mAh". I put it in my shopping cart from http://www.eastgear.com/shop/product...products_id=85, so not exactly as depicted, but otherwise good. True the price is higher than Sterlingtek, but if you're ordering something else from EastGear anyway you'll save on shipping. Delivery was 3 days from Singapore to New Zealand.

Interesting link - 3 days delivery is handy, but the batteries cost a little more than sterlingtek - $18.15 c.f. $11.99. Sterlingtek take about 4 weeks to deliver to NZ if you pay for standard international shipping, less if you pay for express.

I'll need some more batteries before long, i'll probably order from Sterlingtek.

[Mitcon]

The NB2-L batteries I bought from Eforcity (in the US) on ebay cost me about $10 each I think from memoery postage included. The batteries were like $1.40 US from memory and the rest was P&H. Took about 6-7 days to get to me in Australia.

[Rob r]

Update: I purchased 3 of the 511's for my Drebel back in March of 2004. They all still work great. I use them in my Rebel and now my canon DV. I have used them in the grip and camera and dv and left them unused for months at a time with no issues whatsoever.

FWIW.

rob