Adirondack Hiker Loc: Southern Adirondacks

I have been using 3rd party batteries for several years in my Nikons and had no problem, actually the generic had better specs. Nikon's only problem is the cost difference, $30+ vs 12. If Canon or others put a sensor into the battery to say not OEM, Canon and Nikon are no longer considered equal in my book. Same is true with other products. Told my SUV needed bakes, dealer quoted $925, local independent tire store charged $500. Same parts, same labor, one union based company, one not.

BBNC

Look at Pearstone batteries, available from B&H. About half the price of the Canon ones.

Several folks I know, including myself have been using Pearstones in our Canons with no ill effects or problems. There are a lot of them, so look through the list to find the right one. I think mine was on the 3rd page of listings.

randymoe

Not exactly the same, BUT. I worked for decades in Product Development for a major USA auto parts manufacturer with an excellent reputation. All our parts were labeled Made in USA, most were extensively live tested, usually by my group. Marketing, however, often packaged known defective, foreign bought, competitors, or substandard parts in different grade levels and packages. Even we in R & D didn't know what was happening. These less than 1st Tier parts were sold to other distributors who assumed total warranty. We did not stand behind these products. I buy Brand Name Parts when I want quality assurance, not possibly dangerous knocks off. Batteries can be dangerous. Buyer be very aware.

joe west Loc: Taylor, Michigan

well in your camera manual, if you use a non-canon battery,
your warranty is gone, but they will fix it for a fee...

BrandyVSOP Loc: Oregon USA

I've bought a variety of non-Canon batteries, and so far nothing has blown up or leaked. They seam to give me all around the same charge. Even my original Canon ones do not hold the charge like they originally did though. I recently bought 4 batteries and 2 chargers from this company "Sterlingtek",
Since it and that came with free shipping.
It was around $75.00
http.www.sterlingtek.com
www.sterlingtek.com

Adirondack Hiker Loc: Southern Adirondacks

Canon sounds like a real screw the consumer company. You will bow down and thank us mentallity. Its bad enough they rip you off in pricing, but their policies say one thing "BUY NIKON". Surpised they do not have the same policy for lenses.

Satanta Loc: N.C.

Nah, not really. They *want* you to buy their stuff and certainly don't want you buying aftermarket items they sell as 'Canon' but they are not going to be responsible if some idiot buys, say a car battery, and hammers in into the battery case in the camera or tries to rewire and extension cord to run the camera off of 112v power outlet.

I've been using Nikon for about ten years. No real issues with their equipment but I spent a few hundred $$ on a Coolpix as a secondary camera and it took great images then the gear driving the lens failed, sent it in and after some time they repaired it only for it to fail once again. THEN the sensor went out. I contacted them about both issues and never got a response [[2x]] so figure if they won't service their gear properly and the sensor was under a recall by hem at the time so they would not honor that I am not going to buy more gear from them and deal with failure.

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

Use of a non-Canon battery will not void your warranty. Camera makers can not legally enforce this any more than Ford can REQUIRE you to use a Motorcraft battery. It's "highly recommended" but that is all. And it's just marketing.

Besides which, after your warranty has expired, what's the difference?

Sensei

We like to see the name brand if possible, Anyone want a Rolex with 35 jewels that came into the auction, from a local estate? It was made by the Shanghai Watch Company . Brand name helps but isn't always a good yard stick. Knowing who you are buying your OEM from may be a better one.

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

The difference is that ROLEX makes their watches. Canon/Nikon/et al don't make "their" batteries. There's a difference between a "brand name", and a "branded product".

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

As I stated earlier, I have had a Wassabi battery (which failed) and a Watson battery which was used as my emergency backup because I could only get 1/3 to 1/2 the number of shots as an OEM Nikon battery for the same camera (it should be noted that B&H included the Watson in the "package" they provide for the purchase of my Nikon D7100 so I had both the OEM and the Watson. The Watson finally failed by refusing to charge. The Nikon battery is still functioning normally. Both the Wassabi and Watson are now at the recycle center and I have purchased 2 additional Nikon batteries for my D7100. I also have ALL (4) Nikon batteries for my D70s. My Nikon D610 also uses the same battery as my D7100 and it came with on plus I purchased an additional which gives me a total of 5 for my D7100/D610 camera (all interchangeable). Since Nikon will not warranty issues caused by Non-Nikon batteries, I will not purchase any third party batteries for any of my cameras. It isn't worth the fight or the risk. The difference in price isn't worth the cost of non-warranty or non-Nikon service.

JPL

Batteries are not to worry about. Here is an interesting article explaining what happens when batteries explode. http://www.livescience.com/50643-watch-lithium-battery-explode.html

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Some third party batteries are just as good or better than the OEM batteries. Remember, the camera OEM does not make batteries, a battery manufacturer makes them. The trick is finding the reliable sources. I've had some success as well as failures. The safe solution is to use the OEM.

10MPlayer Loc: California

I bought a couple STK SterlingTek batteries for my Canon a couple of years ago when we were going to Yellowstone. I have no complaints. They seem every bit as good as OEM and they were a third of the cost. Just make sure you get the same capacity batteries measured in amp hours and you'll be fine.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Concur. Only OEMs for me.