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I need a new battery for my video cam . To buy a new one from canon will cost $165.00 shipping and taxes included . I can get one for about $60.00 at Batteries in the exchange tower but it is not made by canon . Will this cheaper knockoff harm the camera or will there be charging issues .
Thank You
Rob

This causes a lot of argument among camera users. Some battery knockoffs are really bad, foregoing the safety equipment that's built into the battery to prevent fire and overcharging.

Also many knockoffs have a high self-discharge rate...for instance in my tool batteries I have a generic one that will be dead in a week after being freshly charged even just left on a shelf. I have original batteries from the manufacturer that will hold a good charge for more than half a year.

Personally I bought all original batteries for my cameras (I have three spares).

Depending on the model, there might be some issues.

Many of the newer models use "chipped" batteries and require special chargers.

3rd party chipped batteries are just starting to show up.

ps, most of my 3rd party batteries are even better than the OEM.

Thanks you the info . I think since the video cam is an older model I should stick with the Canon brand , but I hate to give them that much money .
Thanks
Rob

Research carefully and you can save loads of money and have a better then original OEM battery. Don't and just buy cheap and you are wasting your money at best. I have a Delkin efilm that has been better then my Canon which seems to age at about 30% down on capacity per year.

On the other hand I brought real cheap spare batteries for my Fuji and I got what I paid for. This year I brought 2 more because the original battery no longer held a charge, so far they are turning out to be better then original.

It's funny that you are praising the Delkin e-Film version, because an Olympus user did tests on their BLM-1 version and rated it one of the worst ones, and the protection circuit instead of being sandwiched between the batteries (where it would sense a temperature rise anywhere along the length of the battery), in the Delkin it was crammed at one end (where it would require the entire battery to heat up before triggering). It also doesn't have short circuit protection, nor does it have a proper thermistor to limit maximum charge.

Review here (of BLM-1 clones) and why I decided to stay away from the clone batteries:
http://t5r.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/e1/clonetests.htm

BTW Metrix, didn't I see you at Henry's Outlet Centre on Friday?

Yes I was at Henry's I guess I didn't see you there today is the last day for the outlet.

Back to Batteries, the problem with recommending or not recommending a battery is that the internals change faster then a DSLR manufacture changes their model and because I doubt Delkin is the original manufacturer what is good for one model might be bad for another. My Canon replacement just happened to work as well or better then my original.Next year it might be different as was the case with my Fuji point and shoot. You can't really judge anything on a test done in 2005. Such is Chinas drive to come to the forefront of battery research while still being in front with shoddy manufacturing that old news is very old news.

Which model? Some models use the same battery as other Canon digital cameras like the DSLRs. I know my old Canon ZR60 camcorder uses the same battery as my 20D, and nearly all my 20D batteries are 3rd party, some at 1% of the Canon price. The model numbers are different - mostly due to cosmetics, and you can get much larger batteries for video that don't fit inside a DSLR body.

It's an older model , optura 300 from 2003 . The battery is charged in the camera so I need to make sure that a 3rd party battery will charge properly .

It should not be a problem - my ZR60 (HF100 also) doesn't come with a separate charger either, but since I already have a 20D and 300D, it's the same charger.

For about $20-, you can get a battery + charger that works in the car too. Most of the 3rd parties use the same charger with a replaceable plate. I can use the same charger for my 7D, HF100 and Fuji F10 3rd party batteries, just change the plate.