Battery DEAL !

Well.. for those of you that have read my issues with my 30D... well.. there's actually a silver lining !

So.. I have no battery for my newly repaired 30D... well. I saw a post on another board about Radio Shack having a deal on the bp511 replacement batteries... Turns out this battery will work with the 30D.. its just lower MAH..

Anyway.. so my point here is this... Radio Shack has the batteries on sale for $19.99 ... but if you ask them when you get ready to pay if there is a "manager's special" ... WHAM !

I got 50% off the already sale price.. so I paid $10 for the battery.. this should hold me over til Canon can send me the battery they should have sent when the fixed my camera under warranty..

Just and FYI....

Here is an FYI for you:
Do Not Use Non Canon Batteries! Canon batteries are different, they have thermal protection to keep them from exploding or catching fire which aftermarket non-Canon batteries do not have. Thats why the batteries are cheaper, not to mention they use cheaper cells to begin with. Sure they may seem loike a deal, but is it worth burning your home down to save a few $$ on the correct battery?

JS

Ok.. I'll take these back and wait another week for the "real" canon battery.

Its not like the REAL canon battery was worth a flip either though .. if you think about it.... ;)

I'm quite sure they are cheap chinese cells... or korean.. they most certainly are NOT panasonic cells.. which I would guess is what Canon uses.. also..its not a matter of saving a few dollars ($40 plus shipping is what I saved) I CANNOT buy a Canon brand battery here (Las Cruces, NM) even if I wanted to spend the extra money...

I use cheap cells all the time in 2-way radios fwiw... they arent the best.. but I've yet to see one EXPLODE ;-)

Thanks for the info !

I don't know who makes the cells used in Canons packs, they are blank. I do know I am still using the original battery pack from my old 1D, the case is broken, but it is 5 or 6 years old and still holds a charge like it was new :) and my other battery packs are still going strong too. Every so often I do a complete drain and recharge and it seems to keep them very strong, with the MKII N I can shoot with one battery for a week. The aftermarket units probably wouldn't last that long though.

JS

JS.. i can assure you the "cheaper" batteries are just that ;) cheaper LOL you get what you pay for pretty much...

I have used lots of cheap packs for two way radios.. and they dont last for anything... at least not if you keep them very long... but unlike nicads... LiON batteries dont have any memory.. so draining them while sounds good does very little.. the more important thing would be to NOT leave them on the charger too long ...

The Canon battery charger does NOT trickle.. it will cook (dry out) a battery if you just leave it on there... nmh batteries are the same.. when they fail they normally are cooked and dried out...

I'm keeping the RS batteries... but as backups... I'm confident the Canon pack has high quality cells in it... it should be here next week sometime...

I bet the RS cells would be decent if used in a grip though (mostly isolated from the camera body and in series)... and at $10 each.. be good backups too...
dunno...

I use mostly aftermarket (CTA) batteries in my DRebel and they perform just as good as the Canon battery for the most part. I did have one fail after about a month, but the other three are still going strong. One is 3 years old, and holds up just as well as the Canon battery does. That one came in a kit when I got the camera, and I bought 3 more from www.overstock.com, along with the CTA charger about a year ago. The charger also took a crap on me, but they were pretty cheap, so it wasn't a big deal.
I got the three from overstock.com for about the same price as a single Canon battery, and even though one died, I think I still came out ahead.

I think the bottom line is that if you go with the cheap aftermarket stuff, don't be surprised if it craps out on you, but some of it is just fine.

I've used aftermarket batteries for me 1D, 10D, and my XTi. I've never had any catch on fire. And I think the Canon 1D batteries are terrible. I have an aftermarket one that holds a larger charge and works great. After a couple of years my 1D batteries (at $100 a piece) had noticeably declined in performance. And although I've had a couple of 10D batteries just quit, the overall performance and lower price has made them worthwhile anyway.

There's your alternative opinion :)

Sure, you can save a few $$ on aftermarket batteries, but why risk it when it's a known fact the aftermarket batteries are not only cheaper batteries, but they are also missing thermal protection that keeps them from overheating when charged?

Photo John,
The 1D battery that isn't holding a charge well, do a series of Refresh cycles, at least 4 or 5 over a weekend, that will help the battery pack out. I do that about every 6 months to my three packs and no problems. I checked the date, and my oldest was March 2001 when I bought my first 1D, 6 years and it still works as long in the MKII N as the batteries I got with MKII N.

JS

Well.. I can tell you the Canon rep I talked to was clear that the Canon charger does NOT trickle.. and heat dries out LioN batteries....

So.. dont leave them on overnight.. only give them 1 hour after the light shows "charge complete" .. The canon rep was very explicit.. my guess is the cheap cells will GREATLY benefit from this and probaby is more important with them...

I just dont think it should be a big deal to have an after market battery.. especially for a backup... I doubt I will need the RS batteries very often.. as I'm not a professional that needs long period use..etc...

.02

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JSPhoto

Here is an FYI for you:
Do Not Use Non Canon Batteries! Canon batteries are different, they have thermal protection to keep them from exploding or catching fire which aftermarket non-Canon batteries do not have. Thats why the batteries are cheaper, not to mention they use cheaper cells to begin with. Sure they may seem loike a deal, but is it worth burning your home down to save a few $$ on the correct battery?

JS

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I see you are a moderator here so I will probably get spanked for saying this but,

You just made a very incorrect and uneducated statement about aftermarket batteries.

No one ever burned their house down from an aftermarket camera battery.

Sony made some bad batteries and they were used in Dell Computers but that wouldnt be considered aftermarket would it?
Check out sterlingtek. They sell very good batteries at less than 20% of the price of Canon and there are literally thousands of people using them in Canon cameras including me.

Aftermarket does not necessarly mean 2nd rate.




,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mwt

I see you are a moderator here so I will probably get spanked for saying this but,

You just made a very incorrect and uneducated statement about aftermarket batteries.

No one ever burned their house down from an aftermarket camera battery.

Sony made some bad batteries and they were used in Dell Computers but that wouldnt be considered aftermarket would it?
Check out sterlingtek. They sell very good batteries at less than 20% of the price of Canon and there are literally thousands of people using them in Canon cameras including me.

Aftermarket does not necessarly mean 2nd rate.
,

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I think YOU need to do your RESEARCH before making statements like you did above. There are numerous reports of house fires caused by AFTERMARKET batteries used in place of Canon batteries. The first I heard about was in England, then after that I have heard of many more, but I have personally seen TWO here in Central Indiana, and the fire marshal's reports specifically state cause of fire "incorrect battery" ie: aftermarket. I know one of the photographers and he admitted using a non-Canon battery pack in his 20D, and it startedthe fire in his office and destroyed a $140,000 home.

Get your facts straight! Even Canon techs will tell you about the fire and/or explosion danger. There is another thread on this here, and you can see the difference between a Canon battery and aftermarket, the Canon battery has a thermal cutoff that will keep them from overheating while charging in the Canon charger...aftermarket batteries do NOT have the thermal cutoff......next time please do your homework before telling me I dont know what I am talking about.
Oh, btw, I know a newspaper editor who's home caught fire when his Sony battery had a melt down too.....so who is uneducated?
JS

no one has ever started a fire with a canon battery?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by livin4lax09

no one has ever started a fire with a canon battery?

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I am sure there have been some, but not to the extent that aftermarket batteries do. The aftermarket batteries are missing a thyristor which is why Canon doesn't have issues with them in any numbers. They also use top of the line cells, but occasionally one may short out, nothing is perfect, but why take a chance? At least Canon will back up their batteries, whereas the aftermarket companies will not. The two I know of both sued the manufactuers and got nowhere.
Meanwhile I don't know of Canon ever having to have a bettery recall, Nikon did as they had issues with a pile of batteries, and admitted their batteries MAY cause a fire when recharging http://www.dphoto.us/news/node/2011?...4bc8a467b6f846.

Any battery can explode or catch fire, but using the proper battery and charger will reduce that risk.
If anyone disputes this they can take or send their Canon camera (not one that takes AA's but one that uses a Canon battery pack) to the Canon techs and see what happens. #1: they will remove the battery and #2 they will tell you to get rid of them ASAP and to never use the aftermarket batteries. Then if you ask why they will explain it to you.... they are dangerous. I have seen them remove the aftermarket batteries and tell people to junk them....and not once or twice.
Well it's time to get ready to go to the track...I gotta start work at 4am....
JS

Here is one of Canon's responses to a question about aftermarket batteries:

"Canon wishes to take this opportunity to advise you of incidents we have become aware of relating to certain counterfeit lithium-ion battery packs produced and marketed by non-Canon companies to be used with Canon Digital cameras and Digital camcorders,
which lack important safety protective devices. Recently, lithium-ion battery packs produced and marketed by non-Canon companies have been found on sale, PASSING THEMSELVES OFF AS CANON GENUINE battery packs. These battery
packs closely imitate the design and shape of genuine Canon battery packs and are illegally marked as Canon products. Due to the fact these counterfeit battery packs are quite often not equipped with protective
devices [i.e. controller circuitry]satisfying basic quality standards, using or recharging these battery packs could cause your camera or camcorder to malfunction, or lead the battery packs to overheat, leak liquids, ignite or explode. This could, in the worst case, not only damage your camera or camcorder, but also result in a serious accident causing injury, such as burns or loss of eyesight. In fact, Canon has learnt of an explosion which appears to have been caused by the use of a counterfeit battery pack. Due to the risks involved in their use, we strongly urge you, for your own safety, not to use counterfeit battery packs with your Canon camera or camcorder. Please be advised that Canon shall not be liable for any malfunctions or accidents, caused by the use of non-Canon genuine lithium-ion battery packs (including counterfeit lithium-ion battery packs) in Canon products."

This was back in 2005.......

JS

NiCD will boil if overheated, and if the vent is blocked, explode spectacularly.

Li-Ion however contain Lithium, lowest reactivity of the alkali metals (Li, Na, K, Rb Cs) and though they don't explode just when they get wet, they will burn spectacularly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JSPhoto

I think YOU need to do your RESEARCH before making statements like you did above. There are numerous reports of house fires caused by AFTERMARKET batteries used in place of Canon batteries. The first I heard about was in England, then after that I have heard of many more, but I have personally seen TWO here in Central Indiana, and the fire marshal's reports specifically state cause of fire "incorrect battery" ie: aftermarket. I know one of the photographers and he admitted using a non-Canon battery pack in his 20D, and it startedthe fire in his office and destroyed a $140,000 home.

Get your facts straight! Even Canon techs will tell you about the fire and/or explosion danger. There is another thread on this here, and you can see the difference between a Canon battery and aftermarket, the Canon battery has a thermal cutoff that will keep them from overheating while charging in the Canon charger...aftermarket batteries do NOT have the thermal cutoff......next time please do your homework before telling me I dont know what I am talking about.
Oh, btw, I know a newspaper editor who's home caught fire when his Sony battery had a melt down too.....so who is uneducated?
JS

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I see I struck a nerve.

You heard on the internet that house fires happened.

Sony set a house on fire not a cheap "Counterfeit".Sony is an OEM not an aftermarket supplier

You trashed all aftermarket batteries.

I don't advise putting a cuonterfeit battery in anything.

You can buy a a wrench set for 5 bucks at the flea market or you can spend a couple of thousand with Snap on

Now anyone that expects the 5 dollar set to perform like the 2000 dollar set is an idiot.

You can also go buy a set of Craftsmen wrenches for a couple of Hundred and they will perform fine for 99 percent of people.

Aftermarket and Counterfeit are not the same thing.

How many people have personally seen one fire started by a Canon Battery let alone two?

Your post that Aftermarket batteries are junk and cause fires was TOTALLY AN UNEDUCATED STATEMENT

mwt,

You need to re-read my posts,,,,,,it NOT just internet info, it's first hand from a friend who's home burned, and another photog I know as well. I saw the fire marshals report....again, READ!
Also you completely ignored all the facts, including Canon's own statement on the facts. You didn't hit a nerve, your just being ignorant of FACTS.

JS

Js, Mwc,

Canon do not make any mention of After Market in their statement - they only mention counterfeit batteries. There is a big difference and if you buy an after market from a reputable maker and store then they will be just as good as the real think.

Roger

IMO... Canon is the one with the problem.. IMO the battery charger should have the cutoff in it.. NOT the battery !

In one of my above posts I stated what the tech rep told me.. That is that canon's charger does not trickle or cut off .. it just boils the battery. The tech made it clear that even with Canon batteries you should never leave the battery on the charger overnight !

It will dry the battery out and reduce the life of the battery.

OR you could buy an aftermarket charger !! One that trickle charges and/or has a charge full cutoff in it.. ;-)