How to choose an additional battery ?

[Gweltaz]

Hello everybody,


I have just purchased a Canon EOS 550D and I am now looking for an additional battery.


I searched the Internet and found basically two answers :

1. Ebay results : from €6 to €15 (http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=battery+canon+550D&_sacat=0&_s tpos=35000&_sop=15&gbr=1&_dmpt=Batteri es_Chargers&_odkw=battery+canon+550D&_osac at=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313). 7.4V 1120mAh Li-ion. Ref: Fits CAN. LP-E8.
2. AboutBatteries.com : €38 (http://www.aboutbatteries.com/batterie/appareil-photo/CANON/pid335149-eos-550d.html). 7.2V 950mAh Li-ion. NN-CAN-PE8-ST.

Is there quality differences between these two kind of batteries ? technically speaking, the ebay results seems to have better feature (1120mAh > 950mAh)...


If there actually are differences, do they only make the battery less lasting or is there serious risks like for example, the battery melting in the camera ?





I thank you in advance,


Gweltaz

[neuroanatomist]

Hello, and welcome to the TDP Forums!


I'll copy part of my post from [url="/forums/t/4038.aspx]this recent thread[/url].


[i]The vendor-brand vs. 3rd party battery debate has been around for a long, long time....[/i][i]3rd party products serve a need in the marketplace - lower cost for an accessory while maintaining compatibility with the OEM system. There are several factors that enable 3rd party manufacturers to charge lower prices, including not marking a product up as much (no 'brand-name inflation'), not having to defray the same R&D costs (reverse engineering), and cheaper production methods - cheaper materials, and less QA/QC (Sigma lenses, for example, are rather notorious for bad copies due to poor factory QC). With a battery that powers my camera and has the potential to damage it if defective, I'm personally more comfortable with 'Genuine Canon' batteries, despite the higher cost.[/i]


Your question is about differentiating between two different 3rd party batteries. I'll point out that if you're considering the second one for€38, it's probably worth just getting the genuine Canon LP-E8, which I see [url="http://www.amazon.fr/Canon-LP-E8-appareil-photo-Lithium/dp/B0037NZ2LY]on amazon.fr for€52[/url].
<div>I think there are risks with 3rd party batteries, yes - but then again, Canon isn't making their own batteries. Like most manufacturers, a subcontractor makes them. You may recall an issue with laptop computer batteries a few years back, where Sony-made batteries were catastrophically failing in multiple laptop brands (Apple, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc.). </div>


Nevertheless, my preference is to use Canon batteries in my camera. But lots of people have had no problems with 3rd party batteries, including batteries purchased from eBay. I would think that if it's being purchased as a backup battery for occasional use, the cheap one would be fine. The most common complaints I hear about 3rd party batteries is that they don't last as long as the name brand ones (implying that the rated capacity in mAh is overstated, or that the internal materials are of inferior quality, and discharge more rapidly than they should).
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[Gweltaz]

Thank you for your fast and accurate answer !


I didn't find the post you mentionned, the title wasn't eloquent enough for me...


Then ok, as soon as there are risks, I won't use any of these 3rd party batteries, save &euro;50 to loose &euro;700 is not a good bargain. Maybe the AboutBatteries' battery is same quality as the Canon's one and the price's difference could be due to the "brand effect" which inevitably increase prices. But I see no way to be sure of it and, as you said, for &euro;38, it's worth getting the genuine batterie (thanks for the link by the way, I didn't think of searching on amazon !).


Best regards,


Gweltaz

[mikehillman89]

I second John's statement. I bought ebay batteries for my blackberry and my camera and got poor results both times. Despite both batteries having a label that sports 200mAh more than the genuine one, they'd last about half the time the real one would. And like you pointed out, I also would much rather compliment my expensive gear with a reliable solution than one to just save a few dollars.