Anyone have experience with Battery Warehouse batteries?

[alton]

<p>Here on the East Coast there is a string of stores called Battery Warehouse--mostly in PA and MD. I bought a Canon 7D battery for $52 (tax included), $7 less expensive than the Canon brand. It is made in China. Anyone have any experience with Battery Warehouse products? It is for use in the 5D as well, replaces the PCanon E6 and Empire BLI-357. We don't seem to know where in China it is made.</p>

[dcstep]

<p>I think it's a really bad trade off to try to save a few bucks on a Lithium Ion battery. (Ask Boeing about it). There have been reports of camera batteries starting home fires and/or not functioning as required by the camera. I'd trade it back for a Canon battery.</p>

<p>I use this same Canon battery in my 5D MkII, 7D and 5D MkIII since 2008. I've shot well over 100,000 clicks between the three batteries that I own and all are still functioning at 100%. Given that performance and no fires, I'd say that the Canon batteries are worth every penny.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>While David's cautions are certainly suggested by the current problems of some aircraft makers and the USPS's decision to no allow lithium batteries in certain mails, I just have to say that that while my Canon batteries for my old and new digital cameras are perhaps "worth every penny," that is a very pretty penny indeed. Somehow the original maker prices for lens hoods and other simple gear come to mind.</p>

<p>It's certainly reasonable to avoid the eBay "3 batteries for $4 postpaid" items, but my own experience with the longer term specialty suppliers of batteries has been very positive. And they are significantly, if not not ridiculously, less expensive than the originals.</p>

<p>Moreover as customers of Boeing and owners of many laptop computers already know, even the OEM lithium batteries are not immune to catastrophic failure, either. It's a very good idea to remove any batteries before letting the camera sit.</p>

[natureslight]

<p>I can only share my own experience. Last year I was working in Pennsylvania and made the expensive and very annoying mistake of leaving one of my LP-E6 batteries in a motel room. (Fits my Canon 5D-MKII) I saw a Battery Warehouse and, although I was unfamiliar with the company, I was desperate and purchased a replacement for the lost battery. Comparing the BW battery to the Canon, I can say that I was extremely grateful for having invested in a car charger! The original Canon batteries held their charge through a busy day of shooting. The BW battery lost it’s charge within two hours of on and off shooting. Other than the batteries, the shooting conditions were the same. I haven’t talked with anyone else who has used BW batteries (we don’t have the store in my home area), so it’s impossible to say if my experiences are the norm or not. Personally, since most of my work is outside, often in extreme weather, I prefer to work with a product I know and trust.</p>

[geoffs1]

<p>There are reputable 3rd party battery sellers. I've been using http://sterlingtek.com/ BP-211 batteries for many years in my 20D and 40D. I got some LP-E6 batteries for my 7D a couple of years ago. Never any problems with the BP-211s; the first batch of LP-E6s were tight-fitting and they exchanged them asap with no questions or hassles. Highly recommended.</p>

[h._p.]

<p>My experience of buying dozens of off brand LiOn batteries for various devices is that the lower price does not reflect the quality. For instance, I bought one Sony brand battery and two off-brand batteries for my DSC-R1, about five years ago. The battery that came with the camera and the two off-brand devices are all functioning well but the spare Sony battery is long gone to the recycling centre. On the other hand, the only BP511 batteries that have failed on me are off-brand and I'm still using Canon units that I've had for six or seven years. I could bore you silly with 'on the other hand' stories on this subject.</p>

<p>Overall, I find that buying cheap saves more money than it wastes, so I do that and I always carry extra batteries on important occasions.</p>