Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders

Customer Reviews

Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders by Canon

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97 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent capacity - shoot till you drop!
I bought this battery to have as a backup for the identical one that came with my Canon Powershot G5. The battery is fabulous. I've always been very displeased with the shooting capacity of digital cameras in general - they would run out of battery in a very short time. This battery was one of the deciding factors for me buying a Canon Powershot G5. According to a test on...
Published on April 26, 2004 by Oyvind

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars I doubt this is a Canon product as represented
I looked hard to find a genuine Canon replacement battery, since most 3rd party batteries are bad news. This one was so expensive I thought it had to be authentic. It arrived 4 days late. I question the authenticity of this "Canon" battery - Cheap cardboard packaging had faded colors, instructions on paper of low quality, the label on the battery was a faded off-color,...
Published 10 months ago by Michael L. Baird

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97 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent capacity - shoot till you drop!, April 26, 2004
This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
I bought this battery to have as a backup for the identical one that came with my Canon Powershot G5. The battery is fabulous. I've always been very displeased with the shooting capacity of digital cameras in general - they would run out of battery in a very short time. This battery was one of the deciding factors for me buying a Canon Powershot G5. According to a test on dpreview, it's the best performing battery (when used in the G3) out there for any digital camera (at the time of testing).

I've taken a few thousand pictures with it so far, and I'm very pleased. When using the LCD display for a mix of movies and pictures (on my G5), I get around 600 pictures out of one fully charged battery. I've never completely "emptied" the battery with the LCD screen off (preview only), but based on my experience so far, I would think that you'll get somewhere between 600-1000 pictures out of one fully charged battery - maybe more - when the LCD is not on all the time. If you take a lot of pictures (I can easily take 500 on a weekend trip), I would still recommend buying an extra battery though. I'm panicked about ever running out of battery (or memory) while I'm shooting.

Should you buy a cheaper non-Canon brand equivalent battery? I've not tried an equivalent for the BP-511, but I've got a DigiPower equivalent for my Canon Powershot S200 (Elph II), and it's crap. I would never buy and equivalent for my G5 camera, because in my experience, it's quite apparent that you get what you pay for.

Pros:
* Extremely good capacity - 500-1000 pictures on one charge with normal use.
* Charges relatively quick in my G5 - about 90 minutes

Cons:
* Very heavy. It'll weigh down your camera, but for the capacity it provides, I personally think it's worth it.

Conclusion: It's a very good battery - capacity is fabulous. I've had no problems with it - it doesn't overheat, it doesn't stop working, and so far after about 6 months of operation, I've noticed no drop in capacity. I give it an unconditional 5 stars!!!

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53 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The battery all the others try to imitate, April 7, 2006
By L. T. Beasimer "www.LBphoto.net" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)

Perhaps you bought an expensive Canon camera and you want an extra battery. Or possibly you bought a grip for your Canon Digital SLR and you need the required second battery. What do you do? Well there are two options, buy a Canon BP-511A. Or buy a competitor's battery like the Adorama BP-511 Lithium-Ion Battery Pack that Amazon lists as an alternative option.

The Canon battery performs well with Canon products. I have never had a Canon battery short out or over heat on me. Nor have I ever had any other problems with one. I own three and rotate them out when needed. Most of the time, I can go all day on one fully charged battery in my 20D. Other times I may need to switch out one for the other. Depending on what I am shooting, I can easily shoot 1000+ images in a day. My average is usually more around 500-600. I'm not always at a location where I can charge my batteries daily, so three makes sense for me and works well.

There are certain parts of the battery a photographer may never even think about. Under that plastic shell, there should be quality components to take a charge and prevent safety issues. Some of the most expensive parts are the safety components meant to prevent shorts, over heating, and other adverse reactions. The easiest way to reduce the price is to use inferior components or even leave a few of them out.

Not all off brand batteries use the shortcuts mentioned above. It is not something that is listed on the package though. I might consider one of the off brands like the Adorama version only if I were to know for sure that it's a quality reliable product.

For me I'd rather pay the extra $20 or so if for nothing else peace of mind. The Canon Battery is pretty cheap in comparison to what I have spent on my 20D. I can't imagine buying an expensive camera and then balking at the price of suggested Canon battery. If I had bought one of the less expensive camera options like the G1, maybe the $20 difference would be more of an acceptable risk. In my mind its still seems penny wise, pound foolish.

PROS:
A quality Canon product
A trusted brand
The battery all the others try to imitate

CONS:
I don't doubt some of the price is based on the Canon name. Is it really worth the risk though?
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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Put,, November 22, 2004
By Mario S. Jimenez Jr. (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
This battery will give you about 500-1000 shots before going dead. Even if you use the flash often, it won't die easily!! You can always count on this battery, no matter how you use it. Highly Recommended for any level photographer!!

(...)
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars I doubt this is a Canon product as represented, November 7, 2009
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
I looked hard to find a genuine Canon replacement battery, since most 3rd party batteries are bad news. This one was so expensive I thought it had to be authentic. It arrived 4 days late. I question the authenticity of this "Canon" battery - Cheap cardboard packaging had faded colors, instructions on paper of low quality, the label on the battery was a faded off-color, not like any of my OEM Canon parts, there was no punched hold in the cheap plastic tray to use orientation to indicate charged/not. I can't prove this is a knock-off counterfeit - but even the "hologram" looks fake. I have more faith when Amazon does the fulfillment directly, and I thus hesitate to use 3rd parties for this category of product. Sorry if I'm wrong, it just a bad feeling based on my above observations.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I don't know why, but it's the best, September 29, 2006
By Ray Stoecklin (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
For some reason, Canon- branded batteries are better than those sold by actual battery manufacturers. Don't just look at the $$/mAh ratio, consider safety, reliability and longevity. In these categories, the Canons rock. I bought a G1 camera about five years ago, and the camera is toast, but the battery still works like a charm in my 20D. Others start out with 1400 or even 1700 mAh, but fail after six months - read the reviews here on Amazon.com.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't settle for off-brand batteries, September 29, 2005
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
When my fisrt Canon battery expired...after a long use, I purchased a knock-off. What a mistake. It lasted about 1/3 as long as the Canon, and, of course, it died at just the wrong time, during a wedding. I went back to a Canon product and "it just keeps on ticking". It cost a little more but the security and longevity are well worth it
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy only Canon batteries not cheap Chinese knock-offs, November 11, 2006
By Steven A. Turner (Saint Louis) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
I bought a generic Chinese "equivalent" bp-511 battery that boasted a higher milliamperage rating and a cheaper price than the original Canon battery that came with my camera. The battery worked fine for about 3 months and now only holds a charge for about 20 minutes. I have had it fail at critical times. Never ever buy some knock-off Chinese battery--read the reviews. The Chinese push out their crappy knock-offs to unsuspecting consumers (like I was) just to make a quick buck. Also, don't trust the glowing reviews from the generic sellers. They are self-generated. In my case, the seller is no longer selling under his original company name. He has a new name with the requisite (sham) glowing reviews. CHINESE PRODUCTS SUCK.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This one is the best - Don't buy "equivalents"!, February 17, 2006
By R. Meigs "ERT" (Webster, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
I made the mistake of buying two "1400 mAH"-rated knockoffs when I bought my PowerShot Pro1. Both knockoffs TOGETHER don't equal the capacity of the Canon original! Also, they won't hold a charge during storage; the Canon will. So spend the bucks and get a battery you can depend on!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the extra money, January 16, 2007
By Evans Brasfield (LA, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
I've tried using aftermarket batteries with my 20D, and none lasted more than a year, while the original Canon battery still works fine. So, I decided to replace my replacement battery with the Canon one. Yes, it's still a bit pricey, but it works better than the cheaper ones.
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85 of 110 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Pay for the name, September 11, 2004
By D. Tabakov (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders (Electronics)
I couldn't argue against the fact that a Canon camera works well with a Canon battery, but actually the converse is not true. I own the BP511 (came with my Digital Rebel) and I recently bought a Delkin Devices BP511 analog. The Delkin product stores 1400 mhA vs 1100 for the Canon, and is half the price. I have friends who have used Delkin for a year without any problems, so I don't see why I would buy this product instead of the cheaper non-Canon battery.
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