Fake LP-E6 battery?

Messages
357
Name
Dan
Edit My Images
Yes
I bought a S/H 5dII with 2 batteries off the forum which at the time were in warranty (body had a couple of weeks left) and it's been great to use. Unfortunately at the weekend after taking 5 shots the battery was dead, couldn't believe it. I thought I'd forgotten to charge it so swapped over to the other battery which was on 62% after 250 shots. No the battery that had died after 5 shots was indeed the one I took off the charger that morning :( .

I hadn't noticed this before but the labels on the batteries were completely different which passed me by because they both say "canon" on one side and have a blue patch on the back I just assumed they were both real. Searching for "fake LP-e6" it looks like I'm not the only one.

I messaged the seller asking if they had any documentation on the purchase date of the battery, as it was listed in the advert as a canon battery but after 2 days they haven't got back to me despite activity. Should I be pushing the seller harder to get more information? I know it's been 3 months since I bought the package and probably my own fault for not checking the kit over 100% at the time but I didn't buy my spare batteries for my last camera until I knew I needed extras so they could still be in warranty from the supplier.

I know there is a problem with the battery because in the time it's taken me to write this post it's come straight off the charger (on for 6 hours, even though it was "full" after 30 minutes), reported 90%, dropped down to 75% and now says 85% just sitting in standby without a single shot taken... and now 63%. All 3 green squares are there. I've tried this 3 times now and exactly the same results, won't hold a charge.

Should I be chasing the seller or just accept it and get some compatibles?

TLDR: battery not holding charge, looks fake, pester seller even though it's been 3 months and could be out of warranty or just accept it?

Edit: can a mod change topic to LP-E6, was looking at grips earlier and might have got a bit confused :)
 
Last edited:
I would just accept it. Plenty of good non Canon batteries available that are much cheaper than the Canon version.
 
Accept it and get over it. A replacement from 7 Day Shop should cost around £10-15.

These things happen occasionally, especially as it's taken you 3 months to notice.

Fake is the wrong word by the way; you mean 3rd Party.
 
Maybe the seller didn't realise it was a 3rd Party, it could have been sold as genuine.

I have 2 3rd party LP-E6's for my 5d2, only I would be able to tell you which was the " fake " ones because they are identical to my origional. They even came in what appeared to be genuine Canon boxes.

Fortunately for me the only battery thats now getting slightly reduced performance is my origional one.
 
Ive only ever had one "fake" 3rd party battery fail on me, and that was after 2yrs of being my primary battery in my 40D - it performed better than the Canon one up until then.

In my now 5Dii I have 5 batteries, 4 "fake" and 1 genuine, and in similar fashion to my 40D, the Canon one is my backup or last resort battery :)

3rd party ftw :)
 
I have about 10 batteries running in the 200/300/700, 3 are genuine and 7 are alternative makes. Only 1 has failed and that was about 6 months ago when it was 2.5-3 years old.

These things happen.
 
There's a quick way to kill a battery. Charge it up. Don't use it in the camera and then charge it up again. If you run multiple batteries this can end up happening by mistake. If reasonable third party ones are available at £15 or so it isn't worth fretting over. Batteries often die without warning and the previous owner may not have had any idea there was anything wrong with them.

I've used third party (7 day shop) ones in my panasonic cameras and they have been faultless. If you buy from somewhere reputable then third party makes aren't going to be a problem.
 
It shouldn't be so much of a problem with modern batteries Suz (especially ones like an LP-E6), because on the whole they aren't subject to the 'memory effect' that older cells are; but I'd agree that it's good practice to try and rotate the ones that you use if for no other reason that you'd find out when they are about to fail (no digs intended at all btw). :)
 
My sony handbook actually specifically warns against it even with their lith batteries that shouldn't suffer from the memory effect! Wonder why the warning is in there?
 
Fake is the wrong word by the way; you mean 3rd Party.

I wouldn't call it 3rd party at all, I had 3rd party for my 400d and 40d which were branded by the company offering them. To me it's a fake product when it tries to pass itself off as the product including the branding. "Malt wheaties" make a reasonable alternative to shreddies but Asda don't plaster Nestle on all corners of the box. It has what looks like a proper canon label and markings but it's missing the coloured contacts, datestamp and a couple of other plastic markers. It's only comparing them side by side you realise just how different they are. I've never really paid attention to them as it's one out - one in whenever the battery gets low.

I'll just get a couple of 7dayshop ones as I have some travelling coming up, don't want to rely on a single battery for it.
 
Last edited:
My apologies then! :)

If the 7day LP-E6's are anywhere as good as their LP-E4's, then they'll be as good as the Canon versions. :)
 
Back
Top