Nico Martin , Oct 25, 2008; 07:12 p.m.
too good to be true? a battery for less than 10$ shipped... has anyone had any experience with ebay auction
batteries for 30d and/or 400d?
i've seen the comments on sterlingtek, almost all positive, but is there another option for less...?
cheers for any info you can provide,
nico
Gil Pruitt 
, Oct 25, 2008; 07:41 p.m.
Forget ebay. Get your batteries from sterlingtek.com.
JDM von Weinberg 
, Oct 25, 2008; 07:51 p.m.
there are lots of good sources for batteries, even including SOME sites selling on eBay.
1) buy name brands (not necessarily Canon, maybe especially not Canon)
2) make darned sure that the vendor is reliable and doesn't sell counterfeits - the latter can ruin your camera.
Sarah Fox 
, Oct 25, 2008; 08:02 p.m.
JDM, I've not heard of one of these batteries ruining a camera, but perhaps you've heard something I haven't. Has this actually happened?
FAIW, the cells in the cheapo Chinese battery packs are of Japanese manufacture. The connections are braised, and the cells are then enclosed in a plastic case. It's a rather difficult process to screw up, even by the Chinese.
The cheapo Chinese batteries I've bought have performed just as well as my Canon batteries -- have held the same charges and have given me the same service life.
Some of the Ebay vendors are indeed unreliable. I once ordered two batteries and got only one. PayPal buyer protection covered me, but I would have had to return my one battery to get a refund. (Couldn't get a half refund.) Considering the cost of the battery, it made no sense to ship the battery back for the refund. I just swallowed the loss. So I paid $16 (which included shipping) for one battery, not two -- still infinitely cheaper than Canon. When I ordered other batteries later, I made sure to order one battery per order, and I ordered out of Boston, instead of Hong Kong. No problems.
JDM von Weinberg , Oct 25, 2008; 08:10 p.m.
Well, I confess I am repeating rumor here. However, having wrecked the electronics on one camera with a "focus-confirmation" adapter that did short out the batteries directly into the circuitry, I'm willing to believe that there is a danger. Of course, Canon themselves warn that bad (non-Canon) batteries can damage the camera. :p
Let me amend my post to simply say that the cheap batteries may not work as well, or hold a charge as long--something I personally have found with some semi-off brands.
Charles Webster 
, Oct 25, 2008; 08:27 p.m.
+1 for stirlingtek.com for batteries. I have 6 or 7 batteries, only 2 are Canon. I can't tell the difference, even after years of shooting. The stirlingtek seem to last as long, take as large a charge, charge in the same time, and cost ~1/4 of the Canon.
<Chas>
Serguei Fenev , Oct 25, 2008; 08:35 p.m.
I've bought two NB-2L batteries from http://titanbatteries.com/cadicaba.html more then 3 years ago and they are
still running well, on par with Canon original battery. I bought from SterlingTek
http://www.sterlingtek.com/index.html two BP-511 and again they are as good as Canon battery. You don't loose too
much buying a battery for 10 backs shipped in case it failed though I had only positive experience.
Happy shooting.
Tim Combs , Oct 25, 2008; 09:06 p.m.
Another 3rd party option is Lenmar. I've had one with my 40D and can't tell the difference from the Canon battery. You can find them on Amazon.
Sinh Nhut Nguyen , Oct 25, 2008; 10:02 p.m.
I got a pair from ebay for about $10 shipped! They've been great, took them to Asia for a month. I'm still using them after almost 10 months.
Chris JB , Oct 25, 2008; 10:07 p.m.
YGWYPF: I`ve bought many BP511 from different sources, The cheapest (2 for 15) of e*ay, one lasted 3mth another 6 and one was fiddly getting out of the body, no more o them. The midrenge japan seem better (20~30$) been lastin up to 2yr. The local `battery world` store 55~65$ have been excellent, generally get up to 1800ma batts. Never bought a canon battery as last time I ask they were 140aud :)
