Boris77

All of my camera purchases in the last few years have been Refurbs. 3 out of 4 batteries coming with the cameras are not the camera brand. I shoot a lot and charge batteries regularly in the brand name wall charger that came with the first camera.
Shortly after buying the first camera, I bought a pair of Wasabi batteries with their charger. Unfortunately I regularly charge all the batteries in the brand name charger. After three years the only batteries bulging enough to stick in the camera are the Wasaki, and they are down to half charge for their maximum usage.
The Wasaki batteries were worth the price as an early back-up, but I doubt that they are dependable long term. Mine go into recycling as soon as one medium camera shake does not pop them out. Soon.
Boris

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

3rd party batteries might be as high quality as OEM batteries. But then they may be a cheap rip off that fails just when it matters or worse burns your house down. I don’t know which sellers are which so I don’t take the risk.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

That might be a slightly warped philosophy, but I like the way you think!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

I have a mix of Canon and third party batteries - Power2000 and RavPower. The only problem was with a Canon battery supplied with a refurb 80D. Once I diagnosed the problem and called Canon they replaced the faulty battery immediately with a new one without question. I tend to prefer the OEM approach, but have equally good experiences with the third party batteries that I have purchased. The chargers also seem to work equally well in my personal experience.

pbradin Loc: Florida

I have been using "off-brand" batteries in my Canon cameras since the early days of the original Canon Digital Rebel, through a Canon 20D, 40D, 7D and 7D II, with no problems. I also noticed that most all of my batteries exhibited similar battery life and performance, although that is a little difficult to gauge, since my photo shoots vary so widely in how I am using my camera, from indoor product photography shoots for catalogs, to birding shoots out in the wildest parts of Florida to sports car races, rodeos and nighttime football games. There are so many variables in the way most of us shoot, that how well a battery retains a charge compared to other batteries is difficult to keep track of. I use Canon and Watson interchangeably and have noticed no discernible difference except the price. I have never experienced any swelling of any of my batteries over that long run of digital camera ownership. One thing about my battery purchases is that I always buy them from my local camera store that is owned by someone who is very much into quality equipment, or from B&H photo, who I trust without hesitation. I have subjected them to very hot dusty days in a rodeo arena in the August heat of Florida, to winters in central North Carolina and New York. There is one thing I never do, though, and that is leave my camera gear in a car parked in the noonday sun with the windows rolled up, even if I am making a quick dive into some fast food place for what I call a "cholesterol stop". Leaving camera gear in a hot car with the windows rolled up is a quick way to ruin even the finest equipment.

Tony R Loc: Westport, CT

Original equipment is the best option regardless of price.

MidnightManiac

I've been using Wasabi batteries in all my Canon cameras for many years and have never had an issue. They last as long as my expensive Canon batteries.