Bad battery?

[littlemike]

I have a Canon branded BP-511A which both chargers declare to be almost always

fully-charged when I put it in them, yet my 20D always claims is nearly fully

discharged whenever I try to shoot with it. I'll get about two shots before the

camera shuts down with an "empty battery" indication. How can the camera hate

this battery while the chargers like it?

 

--

Mike RJS

[picturesque]

The battery needs to be replaced. How old is it? These batteries have a useful life of about 3 years, give or take.

[phule]

The chargers don't like it. The chargers just think the battery is full and stop charging it.

 

As Nadine has said. Batteries have a limited lifespan. Buy replacements. I'd recommend sterlingtek.com.

[littlemike]

It is about three years old, I guess. Thanks, time to replace then.

 

Who's the good vendor with the good prices on these batteries?

[picturesque]

Among third party vendors, Sterlingtek. I bought some other third party batteries and they didn't hold a charge for very long. So I stuck with the Canon brand, which I get from B&H. However, I just bought a Sterlingtek and so far, so good. I would give them a try.

[Charles_Webster]

I have several Stirlingtek BP511 batteries and all have performed better than the Canon batteries I got with the cameras.

 

I interchange Stirlingtek and Canon batteries in both kinds of chargers without any ill effects.

 

<Chas>

[sarah_fox]

I've not noticed any performance differences between Canon and cheapo Chinese batteries (whose lithium cells are Japanese). I had three all go kapoot about the same time -- two Chinese and one Canon. Same age.

 

A good source for these batteries is Ebay. Expect to pay about $8-10 each for them, which includes shipping. Everydaysource and itrimming are somewhat questionable sellers (the same seller, as far as I can tell). If they screw up an order, you won't get satisfaction. Everydaysource sent me only one battery when I paid for two. Total cost for the 1 battery will be either $8 or $16, depending on whether Paypal decides for me in the dispute. Note: Out of about 40 transactions on ebay, this is the only one that has gone bad for me. Even so, $16 is well under list. A very good source seems to be sellbuz out of Boston ($20 for 2). They apparently take customer satisfaction more seriously and have a 100% positive rating, with a seriously large number of transactions.

 

I have now learned that I had been killing my batteries by topping them off before putting them away. They are best put away in a somewhat discharged state -- as I understand it. (Can anyone elaborate?)