Aftermarket Replacement for Canon LP-E5 Battery

[Scooba_Steve]

I've searched the forums with no results and I've read contradicting web reviews. I'm looking for an affordable alternative to the Canon branded LP-E5 battery for my T1i.

First reaction from those that don't have first hand experience is "you get what you pay for", I'm looking for some first hand experience to confirm or disspell this age old adage.

I'm looking for a "second" battery for my camera. I've read favorable reviews for the Opteka and Lenmar offerings. If I can find a battery that cost 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the Canon and have at least 75% (seems to be the consensus of the reviews) of the performance of the Canon I would be happy to have it as a back up battery.

Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

[OsmosisStudios]

From the experiences I've seen, just buy OEM.

[BCampbell]

I needed some backup BP-511's and since it's an older battery that Canon doesn't use in newer models, the OEM price is not appealing. I took a leap of faith and grabbed two 3rd party batteries for super cheap. Been using them for about 4 months now, have gone through several charge cycles, and they've held up just fine.

You do generlaly get what you pay for, but the issue with batteries is more that you don't really know what you're getting. There's a small chance the battery really will damage the camera. There's a higher chance that it'll stop accepting a charge. I can deal with the second situation if I'm only spending $5.

[Henry Wilt]

I've got 3 batteries, 2 Canon and 1 third party and so far I've not noticed any real difference between them (although it must be said I've only had the camera 3 months so I can't say long term how the 3rd party will hold up).
From previous experience I can tell you that how you look after a battery will depned on how well it performs and lasts. I am very careful to make sure the battery is properly run down before recharging it and always give it a full charge before using it again.
Hope that helps.

[Scooba_Steve]

Thanks for the input, I'm going to give the "Radio Shack" (Lenmar) battery a try. It's half the cost of the Canon and I can order it online and have it shipped to a local store and avoid shipping costs.

[ddr]

unless the non-OEM battery provides you with warranty such that if it explodes the company will replace your camera for you, they're all the same. I've used non-OEM batteries from DX and china on my 350D, 500D, 550D, and all my P&S cameras w/o problems. Their performance is also the same as the OEM ones.

you only have to decide if you're ok with taking astronomically small risk that something might blow up. So either go OEM, or really cheap. Anything in between is a rip off imo.