Canon batteries or alternatives?

photoshopthis wrote in post #2713921
I have one canon battery and 3 generic one and they are all the same to me. Still have one in the box not yet opened, hope it will be ok when I do decide to use it

I would put it in the rotation. Li-ion batteries go bad just by sitting there. Has to do with the electrolyte. Or drop it in your freezer until you need it. The jury is still out on that one but it does seem to slow the chemical reaction quite a bit.

I have third party BP-511's for my 20D and they work just as good, if not better, than the Canon batteries. However, I only use canon for my Canon NP-E3 batteries in my 1D MkII. Thus, I voted both.

I have the original 511 that came with my 20d, and two sterlingtek equivalents. I have no idea which one is in my camera but it is fully charged.

I don't have a grip yet. but ihave never even come close to using up a battery in one day.

Batteries are one of the few things that I don't mind buying an alternative make. The OEM ones are ridiculously overpriced.

I haven't heard too many bad things about BP-511 alternatives, but off-brand NP-E3 batteries seem to be hit and miss so I'm sticking with Canon for those.