The Batteries Thread -- OEM vs. After Market

tsk1979

+1 for Sterlinktek. If I need another battery, this is where I will buy from. It outperforms my canon 350D stock battery!

Scott_Quier

+1 for SterlingTek. I think I've bought 6 or 8 of their 2000mAh batteries over the course of the last year or so (between my son and me, we have three 20D/30D cameras we need to keep powered). After I got the first set of two (I use them in the BG-E2), I was so impressed with their performance, I purchased four more so that I could retire my stock batteries to 3rd string.

Hindsight

I was Sterlingtek user but looks as not anymore !

Their EN-EL3e are NOT compatible with D300 scratch:cry

So -4 for 4 Sterlingtek's

Their EN-EL3 says guaranteed compatible with the D300.

http://sterlingtek.com/enbafornid2d.html

Johnp

battery
I can tell you that Ace brand batteries like the AA,AAA are DURACELL just branded Ace. I know that was not your question. Just thought I would pass it on for the flash ete. John

yoshi

For batteries like for the flash I would recommend the sanyo eneloop
For the camera replacement I have tried the Energizer ER-C590 from bestbuy and it's good value for the money.

king of england

After Market Batteries
Can anyone help me with a decision on AM batteries. I am less than a year into a part time photography business. I occasionally need more power and over the year have accumulated enough gigs of CF cards to do about any project. I am still limited on batt power. I do have a grip and two batteries which are both OEM. Just wondering about buying less expensive after market and the pros and cons.

swintonphoto

I wonder the same thing..

ziggy53

Batteries are an accessory item, so I'm moving this thread to that forum for better exposure.

Icebear

In the overall scheme of things, OEM batteries are pretty inexpensive. There have been enough instances of poorly made after-market batteries failing catastrophically that I'm not willing to risk my expensive bodies with non-oem batteries. There are non-oem batteries out there that are quite good, but I don't feel like wasting a whole lot of time researching them all to find out which are good and which aren't.

Nikon even recalled some of their own batteries (EN-EL3a) about a year ago, and issued free replacements. Can you imaging "Chuck's Battery Barn" doing that?

ziggy53

A pretty good discussion about camera batteries is here:

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=78854

king of england

Thanks everybody. This helps me to know which direction to go.

Tee Why

I hear most reputable third party batteries are just as good as any OEM battery. As a matter of fact, according to the former head of sterlingtek, there are only a few battery makers making Li-ion batteries and they all seem to have 4 safety features to stop a battery from over heating from charge and blowing up.

Many lie about the mAh's that a battery will hold according to this guy. It's a marketing ploy to attract sales so I would not buy batteries b/c of higher mAh rating.

Sterlingtek is a popular one online and it's pretty cheap. I've had many of those. Only one wouldn't recharge out of 5 batt's that I bought from them. The former head of sterlingtek is starting a new business called diamondback batteries here.
http://www.diamondbackbatt.com/

The batt's look same as sterlingtek, so I suspect he is getting it from the same Chinese maker, but the shipping in the USA is $1 less with same price as sterlingtek. I noticed he is being honest with the mAh rating as he has a BP-511 rated at 1300mAh, which I think is same as Canon's BP-511A, while sterlingtek rates it at 2100mAh's.

rpcrowe

I have both OEM and second party batteries
I use them interchangeably and notice no difference in quality. This is not meant to be an endorsement of all non-OEM batteryes, just my personal experience. I don't have them with me right now or I would have told you the manufacturer of my batteries.

Photoskipper

I have both original and OEM batteries. I found the OEM batteries does not perform as well as the original one. It has shorter shooting life, unexpected pre-mature die-off at the middle of the work eventhough it was fully charged. It does not support the heavy drainage such as continue shooting for 10 -20 frame.

Althought most of the camera companies get the batteries from third party, they should have some level of quality control and technical support. We, at least, knows who is the people behind the battery and have a chance to go after them in case the battery failure.

some of the OEM batteries do not even have the manufacturer's name and country of origin. It is too risky.

bauerman

I have never had one single problem with an after market battery and I would be of the opinion that not many people have. Sterlingtek's or Diamondback's are always going to be in my bag because while I am forced to pay Canon prices for their bodies, I am in no way bound to do the same with accessories for the most part.

If you'll notice in many Canon manuals - they even "highly recommend" that you stick with Canon-branded compact flash cards.......yeah - that's going to happen.

Next thing will be that I need to drink Canon branded spring water while shooting........

ccimages

Batteries
I have been using SterlingTek batteries with great results. I have a total of six now for my 30D and 40D. With the battery grip on the 40D for about a month now, I just got the low battery light after close to 3000 shots.

claudermilk

I have the original OEM that came with the camera and a Sterlingtek. No problems at all with the Sterlingtek--in fact it seems the Canon battery is beginning to die. I cannot get a full battery indication with it in my grip and now the camera gets to the point of showing a dead battery and turning off with the Canon in the grip. This does not happen with the Sterlingtek, so it's now by itself in the grip; IMHO it's a better battery than the OEM. Age is only a couple of month's different, both 3+ years old.

yoshi

I went with an Energizer after maker battery and it been great so far. It was like half the price of an OEM. I have small write up about it here

rpcrowe

I agree

bauerman wrote:

I have never had one single problem with an after market battery and I would be of the opinion that not many people have. Sterlingtek's or Diamondback's are always going to be in my bag because while I am forced to pay Canon prices for their bodies, I am in no way bound to do the same with accessories for the most part.

If you'll notice in many Canon manuals - they even "highly recommend" that you stick with Canon-branded compact flash cards.......yeah - that's going to happen.

Next thing will be that I need to drink Canon branded spring water while shooting........

Or maybe use the recycled soda pop bottle Canon OEM filters.

By the way, I have looked at my non-OEM batteries and they are made by Sterlingtek. No problems with them.

Tee Why

rpcrowe wrote:

Or maybe use the recycled soda pop bottle Canon OEM filters.

By the way, I have looked at my non-OEM batteries and they are made by Sterlingtek. No problems with them.

Ha ha ha,
Don't forget the "Canon" strap. If you don't, the camera will just slip off and fall.

dangin

i buy both camera batteries and hicap AA's from calumet. they stand by their batteries with a decent warranty. i've never had one fail on me. good customer service at retail locations near me; thumbs up.

Icebear

Icebear wrote:

There are non-oem batteries out there that are quite good, but I don't feel like wasting a whole lot of time researching them all to find out which are good and which aren't.

See, I was right! I didn't have to waste any time. Y'all already did my research for me. God I love this place!!!

Elaine

camera batteries...does it matter?
My friend is planning his new DSLR kit (Canon XTi) and wondered about purchasing an extra battery...should it be a Canon one or is there a less expensive version that does a good job too?

dmmattix

Elaine wrote:

My friend is planning his new DSLR kit (Canon XTi) and wondered about purchasing an extra battery...should it be a Canon one or is there a less expensive version that does a good job too?

This thread has been fairly active for a week now:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=81234

Elaine

dmmattix wrote:

This thread has been fairly active for a week now:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=81234

Great! Thank you!

Scott_Quier

Check out this thread as well (link)

DavidTO

Amazon has original Canon BP511a for $40, and some off brand BP511 for $2.87!!!

Just sayin'. I got the Canon.

DavidTO

I've merged several batteries threads into one, for easier reference.

gus

DavidTO wrote:

Amazon has original Canon BP511a for $40, and some off brand BP511 for $2.87!!!

Just sayin'. I got the Canon.

No joke...pound for pound my $5 ebay specials out do my canons. I didnt expect that at all.