Just received the Canon R5 Mark II. It came with an Adorama's Green Extreme battery. I've never used any battery other than Canon OEM. Is this battery safe to use or should I toss it in the trash (recycling)?
I’m no fan of third-party batteries. I’ll spare everyone the explanation for now. That being said, using this one as a back-up spare is probably fine, but:
- See EB-1’s note above.
- Keep a very close eye on the battery for any signs of swelling, leakage, or other issues.
Those are normally containing INR (cylindrical NMC) cells, so they may leak or very rarely explode, but are not likely to swell like LiPo based batteries.
EB-1 wrote:
Those are normally containing INR (cylindrical NMC) cells, so they may leak or very rarely explode, but are not likely to swell like LiPo based batteries.
EBH
Good to know.
I had a string of swollen battery issues with third-party batteries some years back, and a bunch of other problems with them, too.
One battery swelled up inside the camera while I was traveling and I had to rap the thing harden than I wanted to on the edge of a counter to get it out. Others swelled in chargers.
I won’t touch the things any more. Not worth the risk for a savings that is minor by comparison to the cost of my equipment and the cost in lost time due to failures. (Once I was on a 9-day photographic backcountry trip in the Sierra Nevada. I had calculated out how many batteries I would need. Then I discovered — on the trail! — that one battery had dies and another got me less then 15 frames before dying.)
I read this some place so go easy on me, but it seemed plausible; modern cameras run a system check when powered on including reading battery info, and then stores that feedback in a log. If on the off chance something goes wrong, maybe even not battery related that requires the camera be sent in for repairs, they download that log and could, if spelled out in the warranty, reject coverage due to a non oem battery being present.
Could be nonsense, but it's something I consider when I pay the extra for the original batteries.
I had a string of swollen battery issues with third-party batteries some years back, and a bunch of other problems with them, too.
One battery swelled up inside the camera while I was traveling and I had to rap the thing harden than I wanted to on the edge of a counter to get it out. Others swelled in chargers.
I won’t touch the things any more. Not worth the risk for a savings that is minor by comparison to the cost of my equipment and the cost in lost time due to failures. (Once I was on a 9-day photographic backcountry trip in the Sierra Nevada. I had calculated out how many batteries I would need. Then I discovered — on the trail! — that one battery had dies and another got me less then 15 frames before dying.)...Show more →
Especially with the LP-E6P being relatively low cost (US$80) for an OEM 16Wh battery there is minimal value to the generiacs for modern cameras. I tested several of the batteries with the USB input and they had higher internal resistance by slope of the linear regression. I feel it is probably the BMS, but it's not worth taking the batteries apart and testing the cells separately.
I can understand people with old cameras buying generiacs. In some cases OEM may no longer be in production or cost is sensitive when the whole camera has low value.
EB-1 wrote:
Especially with the LP-E6P being relatively low cost (US$80) for an OEM 16Wh battery there is minimal value to the generiacs for modern cameras. I tested several of the batteries with the USB input and they had higher internal resistance by slope of the linear regression. I feel it is probably the BMS, but it's not worth taking the batteries apart and testing the cells separately.
I can understand people with old cameras buying generiacs. In some cases OEM may no longer be in production or cost is sensitive when the whole camera has low value.
EBH
(First sentence below has been edited to fix a dumb typo!)
I AM with you on regarding the use of cheap batteries as a false economy. I understand that when people look at the cost of an OEM battery and the cost of the cheaper third-party alternatives and see the percentage difference, it gets their attention.
However, looked at as a percentage of total investment in photography equipment this difference is pretty trivial, a few tens of dollars in most cases, and a tiny percentage of an overall investment that is likely to be in five figures and perhaps well into that range.
For me, the potential costs in terms of missed opportunities due to premature battery death in the field and/or potential damage to a camera far outweigh the small savings.
Thank you everyone for your replies. Great information. I just ordered another Canon OEM battery. I may use the Green Extreme one as an emergency short term backup.
