I am going to be out of the country, in Greece, won't have access to a car for charging! That is definitely an option for shooting around locally, but it still seems having at least 2 battery packs is the way to go, one in use, one getting charged.
when in Australia with my D60 I had two batteries, and used the double charger.
I'd expect you can use your charger in Greece, assuming you are near a power outlet and have a plug adaptor.
The battery charges really quickly and I can get about 500 shots out of one charge...less if you use IS or flash or LCD or lots of AF or the display backlight. Depends on how much you are going to shoot - I find I hardly ever use the second battery (I took over 1200 shots on that holiday, without ever using the second battery)
Amazon has genuine Canon BP-511 batteries for $45. That's $15 less than anywhere else I've seen, and shipping is free if you don't mind waiting an extra couple days.
Read some posts over at DPreview.com where some guys say they generics last even longer than the cannon battery. Do a search in the forums there. But as above, for $45 bucks, I'd probably just spring for the Canon.
Originally posted by bluebullseye:
I have a 10D on the way and need to buy at least one more batter for a 10 day vacation I'm leaving on in a few weeks.
Has anyone tried the generic batteries that replace the BP-511? Any success? Failures? Should I suck it up and pay the premium for the Canon battery?
I'm playing guinea pig and picked up a couple of the Generics from an eBay listing. I'll try to post how they worked and what model they are after I get back from Greece. I paid $13 each for them.
Thanks to everyone for the info and advice. This was a great reception compared to most forums!
I researched it in the forums at DPreview.com and came to the conclusion that they are as good as the original Canon batteries. I ordered 2 from EBay. My policy will be to only keep these generics as back ups and will not leave them in the camera for long periods of time. Just a precaution.
I wouldnt hesitate to buy the Digipower version of the Canon battery. I use a Digipower Li-Ion battery pack with my Olympus and it's given me nothing but great use.
