camera batteries

[LuvDatPoontang]

ok so i need an extra battery for my ixus 70 (NB-4L) and i been lookin on ebay and there's loads of generic "cheaper" ones at round 15-20 bucks each. whereas the official canon ones are valued at $69 and upwards. now would i be wise not to be tightarse and get a canon battery or will the cheap ones do just as good?

[Scootie]

I've got a bunch of cheaper third party batteries for my Canons and they work just fine

[phunkdust]

I've never been able to go for 3rd party batteries, I'm far too familiar with the volatility of lithium and there's no one to run to if a 3rd party battery blows up in my camera and destroys it.

[rancho]

i have yum cha batteries for my 20D. id be hesitant like phunk to use them in an expensive camera but its not that much to replace a grip ;D

id go with the generic personally. a lot of those batteries for compacts probably come from the same factory or are of very similar quality. i dont think youd really notice much improvement from genuine batteries unless the cells were made in japan instead of china.

[mikewebster]

I got a spare battery with my IXUS 850IS that was a generic. I have it only as my spare battery and ONLY use it if the other one is empty. I use the official Canon one where ever possible. They certainly don't seem to be as good as the Canon ones either

[the_pezman]

^^basically what ive always done, use the cheapy as a back up only

i have found the cheapies dont hold a charge for as long and get worse with age

in general i think the chance of catastrophic failure would be pretty slim, i mean would youthink twice about using the generic engrish branded AAs that come with your dvd player etc? nope

[linear]

Make sure the cheaper batteries are Li-Poly (lithium-polymer). Older, cheaper Li-Ion batteries have a memory.

[phunkdust]

No, they dont.

There is no such thing as "memory effect"

All rechargable batteries have a finite lifespan and will all eventually cease to work.

[smilla]

i have found the cheapies dont hold a charge for as long and get worse with age



This is my experience also. I killed my canon battery by using it before the 12 hours was up (I know, I know), so I bought a generic battery off ebay. It seemed to work fine for the first 5 charges then it’s life dramatically decreases and after maybe four months, it’s pretty bad.

[linear]

No, they dont.

There is no such thing as "memory effect"

All rechargable batteries have a finite lifespan and will all eventually cease to work.

I stand corrected, I was confusing Li-Ion with NiCd, which haven't been used in cameras for a long time.

Li-Poly is still a better option over Li-Ion because they are more resistant to overcharging, and less flammable.