In regards to spare batteries for your digital camera. Would you buy the genuine battery or the generic brand with 1 year warranty?

Woodcock

I have the one genuine battery my camera came with and 2 generics. The generics work with the battery charger that came with my camera and works just as well as the genuine one. Save yourself a couple or more bucks and buy a generic as your backup battery.

Also, I bought my generics from www.sterlinktek.com
I don't know if they ship to Australia or not. But the generic is only $12 USD whereas at amazon.com the genuine battery is $34.50 USD. Quite a bit of a difference.

I have bought batteries on e-bay. The ones I needed were in packages of 2, they work fine. The Canon Litium ion batteries are Can $ 80 each in the photo shop here. I bought 2 generic brands for less than US $ 25 with shipping.
Make sure it is for your model of camera and has the right specifications.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve H:
genuine = expensive
generic = cheaper, but just as good

Exactly. Generics will give you a "slightly" degraded performance but for the cost saving, they are worth it. One typically saves anywhere between 40-70% of the cost of a genuine one and it lasts about 10-15% less than a genuine. The math favors the generic.

On the flip side, I have used a few generics that have outlasted and outperformed genuines by a noticeable margin.

One last thought: Most "genuine" batteries are noting but re-branded "generics".

Thanks for all your help, I have purchased 2 extra batteries and an extra charger.

The only problem with generic batteries is that if they blow up in your camera, 9 times out of 10 your warranty is void because you weren't using the "approved" battery. Buyer beware and all.

I bought a generic for my video camera and it is as good as the original.
I believe that most if not all of the generic's are made in the same factory as the originals as the tool setup cost would be prohibitive to start from scratch