Camera batteries...

[praline3001]

I need more juice. I am heavy handed with my LCD screen ... I take forever to review something and usually use the histogram and I do use AF a great deal. I know some do fine with 1 battery for 3 weeks but not me.

So I started shopping for my T3i camera battery. The Canon brand battery it came with runs about $50 a battery.

I found the Opteka brand has a great deal with 2 batteries, a charger that will charge 2 at the same time for only $28.

Before I go grabbing this deal I wanted to know a bit about camera batteries. Is the brand name important when it comes to batteries? Are Opteka batteries any good?

Here is the link to the set I am looking at getting:

Amazon.com: Opteka DBC-LPE8 AC/DC Dual Battery Rapid Charger with 2x Opteka LP-E8 2000mAh Ultra High Capacity Li-Ion Battery Pack: Camera & Photo

[graciousness]

In my experience and what I've read from others, the answer is no. The battery doesn't have to be Canon or any other major brand. I have other generic brands that work just as well as my canons and hell, much cheaper.

The only thing that you need to remember is to care for the batteries. Make sure that you don't leave the batteries charging longer than they should. Meaning, don't leave them in the charger way after they finished charging. That will kill your batteries really fast. Also, if you use a turbo charger, that will kill your battery's juice quicker, too.

Don't be afraid to get any generic brand batteries for your camera. Sometimes, you may get crappier ones, but overall, a lot are good. Hell, if you get one dud out of a few, who cares, you still save money in comparison to just buying canon brands.

Hope this helps.

[dlambert]

A while ago, I heard that Panasonic, I believe, was starting to introduce a chip in their batteries that "communicates status" with the camera, but more importantly made it difficult for a third party to build batteries. Canon batteries, thankfully, don't do this (yet). I've had no problems at all using third-party batteries with either my 40D or my old Panasonic FZ-28.

[mbrobich]

Opteka batteries should be fine. I used to sell them in my store for cameras. The local Henry's Camera shop just around the corner sells them too.

Go ahead and don't worry 'bout it !

[praline3001]

Great! Thanks guys.

Common sense told me they would be fine but you just never know when it comes to cameras. I try and be very careful with my equipment but at the same time, frugal

[Doug Sundseth]

I know that there are quite serviceable generic batteries. I also know, because I have some, that there are generics that are really bad.

When I first bought my D5000, I picked up a couple of generics. (They're so generic that there is no company name anywhere on the battery, nor is there a point of origin.) Within about a month, one had started to bulge in the center enough that it became difficult to get it back out of the battery compartment. I stopped using that one, but noticed some bulging on the other battery shortly after that, so purchased a Nikon brand battery.

A couple of months ago my wife (who "inherited" the D5000) noticed that one of the batteries had swelled so much that the case burst.

All this should not be taken to mean that you should avoid Opteka brand (or any specific other brand) battery, but that you should be a bit careful.

[inkista]

+1 on Doug's advice.

The first and only time I bought a generic, the battery worked just fine. But it died within six months, and only held half the charge my original Canon battery did. So, I just go with OEM batteries, now. Others have had great luck with generics, but for me, once burned, twice shy. Read your reviews and do your homework.

[mrteacherdude]

Similar to Doug and inkista; bought a generic, worked fine for awhile. It still works but only holds about half the charge of the OEM battery. And while I couldn't really quantify the differences when the battery was new, it always seemed to me the camera did not work quite as well with the generic in it as with the Canon; something felt different, as if the camera was missing more shots, not shooting as fast...something not right.

[Phillydog1958]

Does use of generic batteries void camera warranties? In the cellphone industry, it does? If you take a dysfunctional cell to a Verizon outlet, and happen to have a generic battery in your phone, Verizon will void the warranty.