Ebay batteries *gasp*

[Antithesis]

Does anyone have experience with the cheap EN-EL3e batteries on ebay? I know ebay comes with certain risks, but if there is no real difference than I don't see a problem with getting em for like $12 a pop. Anyone have experiences, or know if some are better than others?

 

[Alex_B]

It depends, if you buy "original" Canon, Nikon or whatever camera brand batteries at eBay for a really cheap price, then they are probably imitations Often quite dangerous.

If you buy off the big brands however, there are some acceptable camera brands which offer substitutes for the original batteries. These often are half the price, or two thirds.

 

[Antithesis]

It depends, if you buy "original" Canon, Nikon or whatever camera brand batteries at eBay for a really cheap price, then they are probably imitations Often quite dangerous.

If you buy off the big brands however, there are some acceptable camera brands which offer substitutes for the original batteries. These often are half the price, or two thirds.

Yeah, I read an article about the dirt-cheap Nikon knock-offs that can corrode and destroy your camera. But I think those tend to be labeled as actual Nikon batteries. I was curious about the off brand ones and how they match up to the actual Nikon ones. My college student budget frowns upon spending $100 on two batteries.

 

[Alex_B]

I use some Assman batteries for my Canon ... they perform just as good as my original Canon.

 

[Antithesis]

Well, I did a search like I should have to begin with, heh :blulsh2:

The only comment I could really find was about the Phottix batteries which I had seen around. They come in at about $12 a piece shipped and it looks like people are happy with them. I think I'll give those a try.

 

[Big Mike]

I use batteries from www.sterlingtek.com
They are great, and they are cheap.

I agree that you want to avoid cheap 'brand name' batteries because they are probably knock-offs rather than just aftermarket replacements.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Yes, knock-offs suck. Off-brands (however) are quite acceptable. Keep in mind that the major camera manufacturers out-source the development and production of their batteries as well... probably to those off-brand companies. Believe me, Canon or Nikon are not in the battery business. Sony and Panasonic actually might be...

 

[Garbz]

I use a "Camera Devices" CD-ENEL3e. Most of the text on it is chinese but I bought it at our local dealer.

With Li-Ion there's always a risk that the battery will explode, the difference is your Nikon battery covers the camera under a warrenty. If your aftermarket battery explodes then Nikon will not honour the warrenty.

That said even though disaster stories about cheap mobile phone Li-Ions are quite frequent, compare the number of incidents with the number of batteries in circulation and I think it's an acceptable risk.

 

[fmw]

Understand that Nikon doesn't make batteries. They buy them from someone that does. You can too, if you like.

 

[RKW3]

I use batteries from www.sterlingtek.com
They are great, and they are cheap.

I agree that you want to avoid cheap 'brand name' batteries because they are probably knock-offs rather than just aftermarket replacements.

Thank you Big Mike, I lost one of my batteries for my camera and the battery I want there is at a pretty cheap price. I may have to get it!