3rd party batteries for my s100

[BDD]

I'm thinking of buying an extra batter or two for my new s100. Having only 200 odd shots per charge is sort of pitiful. My question is does it matter if the 3rd party battery has more mAh? I think the factory battery is rated for around 11xx. I've seen some at amazon.xom for 1400 or 1600 mAh. Does it matter?

In the past I've just bought more of the camera brand/spec battery. If it was for a Nikon camera then a Nikon battery. Same capacity.

[corkpix]

Originally Posted by BDD

I'm thinking of buying an extra batter or two for my new s100. Having only 200 odd shots per charge is sort of pitiful. My question is does it matter if the 3rd party battery has more mAh? I think the factory battery is rated for around 11xx. I've seen some at amazon.xom for 1400 or 1600 mAh. Does it matter?

The original battery has a claimed capacity of 1120mAh. New batteries made
by or for the camera manufacturer are not far off the state-of-the-art in terms of
capacity for a given battery size. You should be suspicious of any seller who
claims that their batteries have a much greater capacity than the original.

You have three options:

1. Buy the Canon original.

2. Buy a generic battery on eBay or Amazon. The quality of these varies
from junk to excellent. Read feedback carefully before you buy.

3. Buy a replacement battery with a well known brand like Duracell
or. Energizer. These are more expensive than the generic batteries,
but they are cheaper than the Canon batteries. They usually come
with a 2-3 year guarantee.

[BDD]

Thanks for the "options". But I'm still wondering if there is such thing as "too much mAh" for the said camera. I will look into option 3. Failing that I'll go with "option 1".

[corkpix]

Originally Posted by BDD

Thanks for the "options". But I'm still wondering if there is such thing as "too much mAh" for the said camera.

mAh is the battery capacity in milliamp-hours. This is a measure of how
long the battery will last. At a current drain of 1120mA (1.12 amperes) it
will take up to one hour to discharge fully.

You can't have "too much mAh". The more you have, the longer the
battery will last. Ni-MH batteries used in cameras and mobile phones
have high energy density. That means they pack a lot of energy into a
given volume. Greater energy density is the Holy Grail of battery technology.
There is huge demand for greater energy density, particularly in batteries
for smartphones and electric cars. If someone can make a battery with
significantly increased capacity, they probably wouldn't be selling them
cheap on eBay.

I'm not saying that generic batteries are crap. Some of them are
very good, but not significantly better than the original battery from
the camera manufacturer.

I have two batteries for my Canon 500D/T1i. One is the original Canon
battery and the other is a very cheap generic battery from eBay. Both
are still performing very well after two years and a few dozen charge/discharge
cycles. The generic battery does actually last slightly longer than the Canon
original.

I have three batteries for my Canon 50D. All are cheap generic batteries.
One is rated at 1450mAh and was in the camera when I bought it second-hand.
The other two are brand new generic batteries rated at 2000mAh. The new batteries
aren't bad. I get several hundred shots between charges. The older 1450mAh
battery actually lasts longer than the new 2000mAh ones. I haven't actually
measured the capacity of the new batteries, but I'm pretty sure it falls well
short of the sellers claims.

[BDD]

Ok thanks pal. I forgot that mAh refers to the length of time a battery will last (e.g. Motorola's Droid Maxx rated at 3300 mAh...longest lasting battery put in a smartphone by a manufacturer...though I did hear some one made a 3800 mAh battery for this phone).

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day BDD

The 'capacity' of the device - in this case a battery, is in milleAmps. Change it to your car and it becomes Gallons of Petrol > more Gallons = more mileage between refills. Same applies to camera batteries

As to OEM vs 3rd-party ... my Toshiba Laptop came with a 1700mAh battery - when it failed after 18 months, the battery place offered me a choice of 2 replacements - the Toshy one or an alternate one of 2200mAh. When I asked 'how come', was told that the OEM battery case was only 2/3 full of battery, + filler. I took the 2200 job, esp as it was 2/3 the price of the OEM job. It's still going great guns 2-1/2 yrs later

Insofar as camera batteries go, while 'everyone' talks ebay as an alternative source, whoever you deal with, look at their warranty offers. My source of 3rd party batteries offers 400days warranty. From 6-8 I have purchased for myself or others, I have had one battery that was DOA and a new one was in the next-day's post.

Recently I purchased [from a major aussie camera chain] a new camera + 2nd battery, to find the 2nd battery was also DOA - and it was changed over free of charge too. What I'm saying is that OEM &/or 3rd-party items can easily be DOA ... it's the warranty that makes a difference
For your reference > http://www.camera-battery.com.au/

Regards, Phil

[BDD]

G'day Phil (no offense "myte")!!

I think I did try a 3rd party battery for my Apple MBP laptop. Not sure if it retains a longer charge than the OEM. But it was cheaper. Nor did it seem like I was getting less time per charge.

Guess the moral of this story when buying 3rd party..."buyer beware".

Don't know if you're familiar with the Powerex Maha brand. They make terrific AAA and i think AA NiMH batteries. 2700 mAh. I have many of them. Be nice if they made batteries for Canon P&S like my s100 (NB-5L).

As it is I'm going to have to buy another Canon battery or take my chances with "brand X". Unless I can find Duracell's version.