aaron_w. Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Looking to buy a much-needed spare battery or two for my camera, I've noticed lots of compatibles on ebay. They not only cost a good deal less than the genuine OEM battery, in most cases their capacity (mAh) is greater! I'd sure appreciate feedback from those of you who are using, or have used 3rd party batteries as to how they compare to your original (OEM) battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_burns1 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Very interesting indeed, the reason being I have just ordered 2 x batteries and a charger from http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Battery-Pro-Inc. Total with shipping was ?38 for all, and that is less than the cost of 1 Sony battery. I hope I don't regret ordering these when your replies pour in, but I will keep you updated on my purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulh Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I use batteries bought from ebay for a Dimage X and A1, and have had no problems. In fact, the batteries look identical, so can't tell now which is which :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_burke3 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I've used an eBay-purchased battery for my D60 for over a year, and I've not had any trouble with it. I haven't kept any statistics so I can't make any real comparison between the official Canon item & this, so I'll just say that they seem to work pretty much the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil vaughan - yorkshire u Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 You could have searched this one, generally speaking they're as good as the OEM or better. Remember camera manufacturers don't make battery cells, the cells inside all batteries come from a limited number of manufacturers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrypittman Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Hi Aaron, I recently purchased a third battery for my Lumix FZ10. After being very satisfied with the second. The cost was $20.00 with shipping as compared to $80.00 retail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnb Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Aaron I have been using 3rd party batteries for my 10D for over a year and they are better then the one that came with the camera. Oh yea, and its much cheaper too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen_S Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I'd go for the cheapest battery doing the job. A discharge time of more than 30 minutes is no challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron_w. Posted January 5, 2005 Author Share Posted January 5, 2005 Well, the feedback here is unanimous in favor of the ebay (3rd party) batteries over the OEM's... The choice then is a no-brainer! Thanks for the feedback. ...Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_gillette Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 There where counterfeit Nikons out there a while back and may still be and if the off-brand is made to the same standards, perhaps there could be a problem. I'd suggest at least getting them through an established vendor where there might be some recourse or support in the event of a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny_black Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I have a couple of the compatibles for my 10D. They work fine, I only have one complaint. They are both very difficult to remove from the camera. I pretty much have to make a hook out of a paperclip and pull them out, as opposed to the original just popping out. Anyone else had this type of problem or did I just get a couple of mis-sized batteries? JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppy_junior Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I've bought non-OEM batteries on Ebay without any problems. I did notice that the FC11 non-OEM replacement batteries give about 10% less life. But that's a tradeoff I'm happy to make. I bought two non-OEM FC11's for $9.99, including shipping. I also have a Canon SD20. I purchase two non-OEM's on Ebay for under $10.00, including shipping. They perform identically to the OEM Canon pack. There was recently a scare--leaked to news organizations--about the dangers of non-OEM batteries. They sited a problem with non-OEM batteries in Kyocera phones...causing them to blow-up. Hogwash! I truly believe this is a ruse perpetuated by the manufacturers. After all, why buy a $49.99 battery from Sony--or Circuit City for that matter--when you can buy two for $9.99. These lithium-ion packs are not rocket science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_v. Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I'm a relatively new owner of a Sony DSC-V1 and it didn't take long for me to realize that Sony's battery (NP-FC11) wouldn't even give me 2 hours of 'shooting-time' (on average). Realizing I needed a couple of backup batteries, I took a chance on two $5 batteries (actually amounted to $12 each with shipping & tax) off of ebay. While their mAh rating is (supposedly) higher than the genuine Sony battery, in practice there doesn't seem to be any noticeable improvement in shooting-time... but the $-difference (about 1/3 the price of the Sony battery) sure was noticeable! PS. While on ebay, I noticed some Hong Kong dealers selling 'genuine' OEM batteries (in sealed packages) for about half of the best US price (after shipping), but I believe you have to pay customs on items shipped from Hong Kong into the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_burns1 Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Update, got an e-mail this morning stating my charger and batteries had been despatched, guess what? they arrived this afternoon from Hong Kong, well I thought Hong Kong as I had spoken to the lady on the phone there, but the ?11 shipping ($21US) showed the package having been despatched from the North of England, a normal $6 shipping probably. Anyway the total for 2 x batteries and the fast charger was ?38 ($71US) so I can't complain about the odd buck made on that, just odd that the stock is stored in the UK and you pay foreign shipping charges. Perhaps the same happens in the USA, I mention it as I expected to have to pay some inport duty or tax, but nothing as it originated in the UK, perhaps the same in the USA. I will update you on the performance when I try them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_v. Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 That is interesting Peter - and please do post back with your observations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron_goodenow Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 I have had great luck with a couple of those eBay six dollar batteries in my Oly 5060. Ditto for one I purchased from Tiger Direct for less than $20. They certainly seem to last as well as the OEM battery. However, a caveat. Lithium Ion batteries have a shelf life. Though some users report that their camera batteries have last for three or four years many experts say they are generally good for no more than two. In other words, they can drop dead no matter many times you have used them, how you store them, etc. What this means is that it is very important to know when the battery you purchased was manufactured. It's entirely possible that some of these eBay dealers (I've noticed some Canon compatible batteries going for a buck or so) are selling stock that may be close to the end of its shelf life period. I'd be interested in personal experience on this issue, and knowing how in the world one knows in advance when a particular battery was made. This all makes me wish Oly had stuck with AA's......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_o4 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Here is my 3rd party battery experience with my Canon XT:<br> <br><b> <A href="http://www.sterlingtek.com/index.html" title="Sterlingtek Homepage">Sterlingtek</A><br> 2 NB2L replacement batteries for Canon XT<br> <A href="http://www.pricegrabber.com/user_sales_getprod.php?masterid=4180635&lot_id=888676" title="Sterlingtek Pricegrabber Storefront Price">$10.49 currently</A><br> Purchased 12/05<br> Zero problems w/ camera and charger<br> <br></b> The batteries were advertised as 7.4V 1200mAh. The <A href="http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=4180635/sort_type=bottomline" title="Pricegrabber Canon NB-2LH description">Canon batteries</A> are 720mah I believe. When I received my batteries they were actually labeled 7.4V 1500mAh. They last a lot longer than the Canon batteries. I have used them for about nine months in the <A href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos350d.asp" title="dpreview.com Canon 350D/XT review article">Canon EOS 350D XT</A> and its charger with no problems. I actually use them more than the Canon battery because they last so long.<br> <br> They don't have the nifty battery cover that came with the Canon battery. They come in little blue plastic bags. Which isn't really a problem. Just don't discard the bags. You don't want to leave naked batteries floating around your camera bag.<br> <br> If you want a killer deal on these batteries use <A href="http://www.pricegrabber.com/user_sales_getprod.php?masterid=4180635&lot_id=888676" title="Sterlingtek Pricegrabber Storefront">Sterlingtek's</A> pricegrabber storefront. Its even better than their website. These babies are going for $10.49. Shipping within the US is $4.99 for the first battery and $1.99 for each additional IDENTICAL battery. So for $27.96 TOTAL I got two high capacity batteries for my Canon XT.<br> <br> I guess we should post all Canon EOS 3rd party experiences on this thread so that people who are thinking of upgrading or downgrading :( don't have to search all over creation for info.<br> <br> <strong><a href="http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/B65ADD33-9FAE-4F26-A377-38FA683A4E51/John%2DMark+Odero.html" title="John-Mark Odero's images at Alamy"> -John O</a></strong> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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