Generic digital camera batteries off fleaBay worthwhile?

[frankqfrank]

My S230 stopped working and Canon was nice enough to offer to fix it for free, but having a lack of replacement parts they replaced it with a refurb S400, which is great, but the battery NB-4L they gave me holds a charge for about 7 minutes or 30 shots.

There are dirt cheap batteries on eBay, are they worthwhile? I can get 2 for about $10 including shipping which seems great but not if there is a good chance they are junk.

Make a post if you have any experience with generic Li-Ion batteries, thanks!

Edit: Link to another forum with a similar discussion

 

[blurredvision]

I have no experience with off-brand batteries, but I'd never put anything other than an official Nikon branded battery in my D50. Those cheap Chinese knock-offs just don't follow the same quality control as the first-party batteries.

 

[frankqfrank]

It seems tough to even find the OEM batteries, any of the search engines seem to give me a flood of generic results.

 

[randomlinh]

I buy batteries from sterlingtek. I had one die w/in a year (for an s400), another last 1.5yrs. For a total of about $20/$25 so far.. it's worth it. I still use the canon branded one as a backup.

ditto w/ my rebel... but after nearly 2 yrs, both the off brand and canon one are not holding charges as long as they used to (canon one is older tho, bought it used). I had them in a grip at one point and they lasted forever.. I'm not sure if it was coincidence that after I sold the grip, the batteries seemed to start on their downfall.

I had one for my SD200 too.. but.. that went through the wash and dryer...

 

[dartworth]

I never had any problems using generics of ebay in my s230 and s400...

 

[Jawo]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
I buy batteries from sterlingtek. I had one die w/in a year (for an s400), another last 1.5yrs. For a total of about $20/$25 so far.. it's worth it. I still use the canon branded one as a backup.

ditto w/ my rebel... but after nearly 2 yrs, both the off brand and canon one are not holding charges as long as they used to (canon one is older tho, bought it used). I had them in a grip at one point and they lasted forever.. I'm not sure if it was coincidence that after I sold the grip, the batteries seemed to start on their downfall.

I had one for my SD200 too.. but.. that went through the wash and dryer...

I've been happy with the Sterlingtek batteries thus far. For $30 shipped for two...you can beat the price over the OEM. It seems to be the most popular 3rd party battery on the web.

 

[troytime]

i bought some no name battery for my nikon 5700 years ago.
It lasted 3 charges and never worked again.

 

[frankqfrank]

I have encountered a new issue so maybe you guys can help with this as well. It seems my battery isn't as bad as I thought, but the camera reports low battery sometimes when, by turning the unit off and back on, I can get it to work again. The camera can't seem to tell how full the battery is. I am still trying to drain it completely and it seems to be going strong with the occasional shutdown due to (not actually) low battery. Can I calibrate it somehow like you can with laptop batteries?

 

[episodic]

enerloops

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I also use Sterlingtek batteries for all of my cameras. In three years of use, they've functioned perfectly.

 

[dug777]

I'll stick with the Nikon ones for my D80, thank you very much.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
I also use Sterlingtek batteries for all of my cameras. In three years of use, they've functioned perfectly.

Second that. I have one canon battery that came with the camera and two sterlingtek batteries. I get excellent runtime with these batteries... so much so I decided I do not need a battery grip.

You take your chances with the generic ones on ebay.. just like ebay cf cards. You may get a legit one... but you can just as easily get a counterfeit battery thats crap... even canon labeled batteries. I always stick with reputable dealers when buying cf cards and batteries.

 

[foghorn67]

Sterlingtek battery user here also. I bought two for my 30D. One won't charge after only a couple months of use. I contacted them, and they were more then happy to replace it. No hassles, and no silly questions.
This is a small battery import company that has better customer service than most major vendors.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: episodic
enerloops

sanyo eneloops you mean? if your camera takes AA's and can run off 2000mah w/o issue.. I second these. I use them in my wii remotes and they rock. especially as a backup for when they die.. they hold their charge well over time

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: frankqfrank
I have encountered a new issue so maybe you guys can help with this as well. It seems my battery isn't as bad as I thought, but the camera reports low battery sometimes when, by turning the unit off and back on, I can get it to work again. The camera can't seem to tell how full the battery is. I am still trying to drain it completely and it seems to be going strong with the occasional shutdown due to (not actually) low battery. Can I calibrate it somehow like you can with laptop batteries?

my nikon d50 seems to do that sometimes.