I just picked up a new Canon SD450 and was thinking about getting a second battery (Part ID NB-4L). I searched ebay and a bunch of other sites and they offer similar batteries that are compatible for much much less (of course, its not the Canon brand). So I was wondering if anyone has had any experience in buying non OEM batteries and how that batterireis performance was or if there is even any differnece between the Canon brand or a generic versions.

Just make sure the AmpHour rating is equal or larger that the OEM battery. There is not much difference between the OEM battery or the Sanyo battery if both are 1 amp hour (1000 ma hour) if fact both batteries may of been made by the same factory on the same line! Before I would purchase the battery see if a camera store has the same band and look at the fit and finish and try it in you camera, as that is where all the difference is!

I had someone say that they would never buy a non Canon brand battery because the third party they got was about 1/2 the battery life. Any thoughts on Energizer? I ran their site and saw they had a comparable battery at about half the price of the Canon OEM.

I just picked up a new Canon SD450 and was thinking about getting a second battery (Part ID NB-4L). I searched ebay and a bunch of other sites and they offer similar batteries that are compatible for much much less (of course, its not the Canon brand). So I was wondering if anyone has had any experience in buying non OEM batteries and how that batterireis performance was or if there is even any differnece between the Canon brand or a generic versions.
I've always bought other brand equivalents for spares. Two reasons:
1. Less expensive, in most cases just over half the cost of OEM
2:They almost always have higher capacities than OEM
I have one OEM battery for each of my Canon cameras, including my 1D MkII. All my spares are non OEM. I've never had any problems with them, but the quality control often is poor (as in the case of my 1D MkII spares-they don't fit as seamlessly as OEM, and the locking latch comes loose frequently, although the battery stays locked).
The potential drawback is that if the circuitry fries or malfunctions on your camera, Canon may claim that the off brand batteries were the culprits. Never had that happen since the only malfunctions I've had were related to lens circuitry and dropped camera bodies (just one-the EOS d30).
My recommendation-if you only want one spare, get OEM, less worries. If you're like me and you feel anxious about not having enough spares, get the cheaper non OEMs. I generally have at least 2 spares for each camera. (SD550-two spares, Panasonic Fz-5-three spares, D30, D60, and two 10D's-four OEM, 12 non OEM spares, 1D MkII-5 non OEM spares).

I had someone say that they would never buy a non Canon brand battery because the third party they got was about 1/2 the battery life. Any thoughts on Energizer? I ran their site and saw they had a comparable battery at about half the price of the Canon OEM.
Hmmm. In my experience, I haven't noticed any real difference. If anything, I'd say the non OEM batteries lasted longer, but I've never really put it to the test.

One thing to watch out for is counterfeit batteries. I have read reports of people buying cheap knock off batteries, thinking they were getting a good spare, only to have them leak and cause all kinds of problems. I would buy a 3rd party battery, but I would do a little research on the company before I purchased it.

Someone needs to combine these two threads, he also started it in the Canon forum.

JS

Good call Michael. I usually buy the ones offered on B&H or I buy from Maha. I've bought from others as well, but been lucky so far.

Leon, Do you own the
"CTA DB-NPE3 NiMH Battery (12v 2200mAh) Replacement for Canon NP-E3 " that's sold at B&H? If so, are you happy with it. I need/want another battery, but can't see spending twice as much if I don't need to.

Nope. i thought mine were the bh ones, but i bought mine from laptopsfor less. they're on special for $25 each if you buy more than one right now. The fit is well....but they work, the latches unfold easily, but they stay turned and locked. I'm sure the cta batteries from bh are better quality. i can't imagine bh selling batteries with as suspect a fit as the ones I got from laptops for less, but hey cheap works for me as long as it works and doesn't break anything :-) I've been very satisfied with their performance though, at least as good if not slightly better than the canon originals.