LP-E6 battery for 7D, 5Dii

[christopher_diao1]

<p>What's a good spare/replacement batter of LP-E6? On Amazon, there are a few with quite different price range.<br>

Any good recommendations?</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Fro the 5Dmkii, at least, there are some alternatives to the very costly (even when discounted) Canon batteries. I did go ahead when I got the camera and bought two of the "real thing", but bought one of the clones to test out after a discussion here a few weeks ago (<a href="00aMFF">link</a>).<br>

However, if you want the battery to be "recognized" by the camera, you need to search very closely through the descriptions. Many seem to claim full compatibility, but in fact lack the circuitry to show battery charge level and so on. Only buy ones that <strong><em>explicitly</em></strong> claim the latter functionality.<br>

I got mine through Amazon for about $18 and have had it in my camera now for about two weeks and so far all is working well. I charged it when I first got it in the Canon-supplied charger. <br>

I normally shoot with the LCD turned off, chimping only when I need to verify that exposure is roughly OK, etc. I also do little "live view" - used this way, battery charges last for a long time.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>BTW, I think it's a very good idea to always carry a charged, extra battery with you. Using just one battery means that when it is discharged you are "down" for as long as it takes to recharge it, if you're even in a place where that is possible.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>With earlier battery models, I sometimes purchased third-party alternatives to the Canon-branded batteries. I was very happy with them on my older 5D.</p>

<p>However, when I purchased some (from a vendor I had purchased from in the past and whom I trusted) for the 5D2, the results were just plain awful. I ordered two. One was DOA and would not even charge. The second appeared to take a charge. I returned the first one and received a replacement... which also failed to charge. When I finally used the battery that I thought was OK, it barely got me through about 50 shots.</p>

<p>Based on that very, very awful experience... at this point I would simply buy the Canon battery.</p>

[lizard]

<p>I bought a SterlingTek battery that was inexpensive, and so far (a few months) it works as well as the Canon battery.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

Sterlingtek was the brand I referred to above. Previously I had good luck with their battery for the 5D, but the 5D2

replacement batteries were a complete disaster.

 

Dan

[keith reeder]

<p>I've been using these since they became available with my 7D - they're excellent. Two batteries in the grip, a charged spare in the bag:<br>

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_3&products_id=109461</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>I have a SterlingTek LP-E6. It has a reporting chip and works fine but powers only about half as many shots as my 3 year old Canon LP-E6. But when it only cost 1/3 as much as the Canon so I can't whine too much.</p>

[colin carron]

<p>I bought the Duracell LP-E6 replacement. This works well, claims to have no memory effect (where the battery cannot be charged to its full extent) and costs less than half the price of the Canon battery. I don't think I have ever bought a genuine Canon spare battery. The Canon product is very good but I am happy to go with third party batteries and always carry a couple of spares.</p>

[zensphoto]

<p>Canon genuine batteries for the camera you have is the way to go. I know you can find a lot of really great prices about how so and so's battery is just as good as the real thing. From experience, that is not exactly true, and if you stick with the Canon genuine battery you'll always get top quality in your power. I am also not discounting any of the other people here, if it is working for them great, I just buy Canon genuine batteries.</p>

[scott_ferris]

I never really understand questions like this. It seems to me like buying a really sporty car and putting the cheapest tyres

possible on it. You have invested in nearly $4,000 worth of bodies, plus much more on lenses, computer etc to actually

use your camera, yet baulk at a few dollars on good quality cards and batteries. If there is a hint of decreased

performance or functionality then get the originals.

[dcstep]

<p>When I purchased my 5D MkII in 2008, I bought an extra Canon battery. About 18-months later I bought a 7D which uses the same battery. I carry two bodies and use the 7D for birds and small wildlife and the 5D2 for everything else. I top the batteries off after any substantial usage and they're all going strong today. Given the tens of thousands of shots I've taken with both bodies, I consider the Canon batteries bargains.</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>I can't say all my genuine Canon batteries were "always top quality," although my two current LP-E6 have been fine for 3 years. I owned two 511 that failed within the first year, barely able to power a dozen shots. They were the reason I started buying SterlingTek and, in the case of 511 batteries, the SterlingTek lasted a couple years longer, so they earned the "top quality" crown. When I stopped using them they were still able to power a couple hundred shots.</p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>IME, I never really understand many of the responses to this question. To me, it's like buying a really sporty car, then paying 3-4 <em><strong>times</strong></em> the cost of <em>identical</em> tires simply because they have a 'Porsche' logo stamped into the sidewall. If there were a significant difference between the 2, then that would be a rational reason to pay <em>3-4 times</em> as much.</p>

<p>This isn't to say hobbyists/ enthusiasts/ amateurs/ 'gearheads' shouldn't buy OEM batts - the small increase in piece of mind is maybe worth something, but for those of us more interested in the images we can capture, than the gear we capture them with, OEM batts, generally, are kind of a rip. In my case, w/ 2 OEM LP-E6s, and 8 non-OEM LP-E6s, I <em>saved</em> nearly $500 - enough for another lens, a flash, several great CF cards (a far different beast that), or even an inexpensive computer. As a business decision it's not rocket science.</p>

 

[scott_ferris]

<p>You have obviously never owned a Porsche, they don't make tyres....</p>

<p>I use after market batteries in the 1D, mainly because there are no chip electronics in the battery and the capacity is higher than the OEM ones. The fit is not normally very good, and often appalling, this can be mitigated by the swapping out of genuine endcaps though, the price difference is $100 per battery on a $350 camera which is well out of warranty.</p>

<p>If aftermarket were <strong>identical</strong>, and they are not, then sure I'd use them, but if I lost capacity, reliability, warranty, or functionality because of that I'd suck up the $40 difference in a $2,000+ camera. If I lost performance in the $50,000 Porsche because I bought $100 tyres instead of $250 tyres then I might as well be driving a Toyota (for the record I have owned more Toyota's then Porsche's!), I also buy part-worns, but only for the yard truck. There is a place for cheap, that I regularly embrace, I just don't see the logic in cutting this corner.</p>

<p>I suppose what I can't get my head around, and maybe it is just personal, is why anybody would pay out the money for this high end equipment and not factor in the extras, we all know we need batteries, CF cards, computers etc etc. </p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>Now, now, now...</p>

<p>There would be no reason to <em>not</em> get the less expensive third-party batteries if they worked as well or nearly so. That's what I did with my 5D, and those batteries worked as well as the Canon batteries - and some seemed to hold a charge even longer. Sometimes I'm in situations in which I may have to carry 5-6 batteries (long back-country pack trips), so the savings added up, and with no loss in functionality.</p>

<p>(I'm not positive in Canon's case, but in many cases manufacturers of a primary product do not necessarily produce their own accessory products such as batteries, but instead contract this out to firms whose speciality is batteries. We see this in the computer memory business where many products that are sold under a variety of names are produced in the same factories.)</p>

<p>However, my issue with the third-party LP-E6 batteries (of which I have purchased three) has been that they most certainly did not function as well as the Canon-sourced originals. Even though I purchased them from a vendor with whom I had done business in the past and whom I trusted, I ended up with two that would not take a charge and a third that only held a fraction of the charge that I get from the Canon-brand version. I don't know if it an issue around the "chipped" design of the newer battery or something else... but I do know that the quality was not there and that the hoped-for savings was illusory.</p>

<p>So, <em>if the third party product works well</em> there is no reason to not use it in place or or interchangeably with the OEM battery. However, <em>if the third party product is substandard</em> there is no reason to put up with it in order to save a few dollars.</p>

<p>Dan</p>

[abbas_haider]

I have purchase 2 aftermarket batteries from eBay for my 7D and put them in my battery grip they work fine and Long duration too even if

you keep it in the cam for long time without use. The problems are faces.

 

 

No battery indication which I can live with it

Initially it will pop up a massage that these batteries are not communicated ignore it and use

Finall whenever you want to update use the original battery since they are not communicated with the batteries it is assumed discharge.

 

 

Get yourself these batteries and go ahead no problem. Canon original batteries are so expensive. Company policy drop the price in the

cam and increase the accessories price

[Marcus Ian]

<p>Sure, I can't disagree w/ that - however, in <em>my</em> experience, <em>my</em> 3rd party LP-E6s have performed as well <em>or better</em> than my Genuine 'OEM' LP-E6s. I made my purchasing decisions based on my experiences w/ the BP-511s before, and, in fairness, I came late to the 'LP-E6 party' - the 'knockoffs' had several generations with which to revise their microchip equipped versions before I bought my first 3rd party LP-E6. </p>

<p>...but, Canon makes as many Li-Ion cells as Porsche makes tires (part of my point) - zero. The only difference (between a Canon batt and a decent 3rd party unit) is that Canon clearly requires it's subcontractor to test the batteries more thoroughly than unaffiliated manufacturers. I would expect Porsche to do much the same were they to start offering 'branded' tires. I would also expect spuradic reports of DOA problems w/ 3rd party batts, whereas one would hope to never have a Canon stamped batt fail out of the box.</p>

<p>However, with the 'Canon' stamp comes a penalty in performance. LP-E6s (OEM) are 1800mAh batts - all my 3rd party units are 2000mAh. Kind of unfortunate when you pay 4x the price... but I think it's probably intentional. I haven't done a shot/load test to determine which performs better (I like to think I've got a life ;-) ) - but since I can't tell the difference, I assume any difference is marginal at best.</p>

<p>As Dan says,</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"<em>if the third party product works well</em> there is no reason to not use it in place or or interchangeably with the OEM battery."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>His experience certainly was not mine, and as far as I can tell, his experience falls into the vast minority - the sterlingtek(?) batteries <em>seem</em> to have a very good reputation (I've never bought one...). but... If I were Dan, I'd probably never buy a non-OEM accessory again... ever! ;-)</p>

 

[g dan mitchell]

<p>I have also long believed in Sterlingtek's, uh, sterling reputation. I had purchased a number of their batteries in the past, including several for my older 5D. Because of my trust in the company, I chose to purchase the replacement LP-E6 batteries from Sterlingtek. When the first two arrived with one DOA, I simply assumed that I had gotten unlucky and gotten a manufacturing defect. So I called Sterlingtek, told them, and they shipped me a replacement... which also didn't work.</p>

<p>I have no beef with Sterlingtek, but being 0 for 3 on their LPE6 batteries... I'm buying Canon batteries in this case.</p>

<p>DAn</p>

[Robert DeCandido PhD]

<p>Third party batteries have been fine for me...no troubles and highly recommended. Save yourself some money...</p>

[don_bryant2]

<p>I've had nothing but horrible results with Sterlingtek batteries. I just bit the bullet and purchased Canon batteries and have had no problems.</p>

<p>I have a non-OEM batt. for my G10 that works as well as the Canon which I purchased through Amazon, though I can't recall the vendor name that full-filed the order.</p>

 

[dcstep]

<p>I think that the message here is that the OEM batteries are the safe way to go. However, if you want to save a few bucks, then make sure that your buying a specific brand that reviewers say will give you full functionality in your 7D or 5D. Also, buy from a reliable, honest source.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>David Stephens, I did a) buy from a brand reported by reviewers to be trustworthy and b) from a company that had provided good service in the past and which I had recommended to others.</p>

<p>I think the real point here is that while some claim that they are getting fine service from their third-party LP-E6 batteries, there are enough contrary stories to call into question the reliability of the third-party products and suggest that they are not consistently up to the standard of the OEM equipment and that there are risks in getting the third-party batteries in order to save a few bucks.</p>

<p>Again, I have no issues with third-party products in general. I had used Sterlingtek batteries in the past with success and had recommended them to others. I would buy other products from Sterlingtek today. But I would not buy third-party LP-E6 batteries from them at this point. For this particular product, the hope that I might save a few dollars is not worth the concerns about reliability - and I would (and have) simply get the reliable Canon LP-E6 batteries.</p>

<p>(Compared to the cost of the rest of our camera gear, the difference in cost between Canon batteries and the budget versions doesn't add up to much... ;-)</p>

<p>Dan</p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>I find myself still disagreeing w/ the assertion that the price difference is insignificant. The difference between OEM batts (currently @ ~ $60 ea), and 3rd party, MC equipped batteries (going from $13 and up - depending on retailer) is <em>quite</em> significant. That $45+<em> difference</em> is enough to grab a 16gb UDMA 90mb/s Sandisk card for example. </p>

<p>If you are on a tight budget, or are building a kit, or are upgrading (typically a peak of spending), the <em>net</em> difference is quite possibly hugely significant. How significant of course depends on both your budget, and the number of batts you need. </p>

<p>Certainly there is a slight additional 'risk' (vs. OEM), but I am of the opinion (based on my experience) that a savy buyer, dealing w/ a reputable e-tailer shouldn't expect to have any problems that can't be simply and quickly resolved - should they occur.<br>

Fundamentally, however, there is effectively zero difference in the Li-Ion cells and electronics of 3rd party vs. OEM (now). Many are made in the<em> same factories</em>, and probably even share batches with 'Canon' batteries. The <em>sole</em> consistent difference seems to be the amount of testing, prior to delivery, that Canon (vs. 3rd party) requires it's subcontractors to do. In my experience, Canon batteries, long term, are just as likely to fail as 3rd party units.</p>

<p>So, if that $45/90/135/180(etc) difference will allow you to purchase more batts, or, to purchase additional equipment (like good/fast CF card(s), an additional lens, or flash/lighting), it's my opinion that the difference makes that decision <em>very</em> worth considering.</p>

<p> </p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Yes and that is exactly the mindset that I just can't understand. Running expensive equipment costs money. I use 1 series cameras and pay Canon $500 a year to service and look after them and my lenses, to me that is a good investment, most 5D MkII's are never serviced once in their entire lives.<br>

As a percentage of total outlay for the use of a $2,000+ camera body $40 is nothing, especially when the owner already has another $1,500 body that takes the same batteries, 15 EF lenses and, presumably, a computer and software to see his images on. So we are looking at a person who is into their photography for close to $10,000, is saving $40 on a battery really of significance? </p>

<p>As I said earlier in the thread, I do use third party in some instances, but this disconnect of purchase and running cost is something I obviously struggle with. It makes me think of people who will buy the best body they can possibly afford, and end up begrudgingly buying a mediocre cheap lens because it is all they can afford to put in front of it, or, in the older times, couldn't afford to put film through it! You might proclaim that the third parties are made in the same factories, but you can't prove that, you might say there is no difference, but there are numerous reports (some in this thread by people who's opinion I respect) of problems and issues, you say the only difference is testing, but can't really back that up either and it is, in itself, a meaningless comment.</p>

<p>There are enough reports of problems for me to not even consider third party chipped batteries at this time, I consider genuine batteries to be a running cost of the camera and whilst there is no doubt a manufacturer premium on them, I don't find that premium excessive considering the total cost of the equipment. But to each their own.</p>