SportsShooter.com - NP-E3 Battery Knockoff Information

	wellington \| OH \| usa \| Posted: 1:48 PM on 01.27.05
	->> I've got 2 Mdd knockoffs. I had the same fit problems so I took the latching mechanism of the canon batts and switched it with the MDD ones. Two screws each and a total of about 5 mins. They now work great. Good for at least 300 shots. Jeff

Bob Markey, Photographer

Royal Palm Beach | FL | USA | Posted: 4:35 PM on 01.27.05

->> I received my replacement knock-offs from MDD today. They appear better built and look very close to that (especially around the end/locking mechanism side) of the Canon model. The seals are there now.

However, MDD shipped the batteries in plastic, retail hanging cases that offered no protection from delivery bumps. An edge of the overlap area/ end connector that snugs up to the 1D body was cracked. So I will now need to send at least one of the batteries back for a second time. This problem never would have happened if MDD used something more hearty than a UPS envelope in which to ship the batteries. No popcorn or packing material was included.

The new batteries connect very snugly to the charger cord - in fact so snugly that I was a bit worried as I pushed the charger plug into the batteries. In previous versions, this plug was so loose that a proper charge often could not be made.

Just for the heck of it, I replaced the end cap/connector on the broken battery with one from a no longer used Canon battery and it seemed to fit just fine. But the end connector on my old battery does not have a locking lever (fell off long ago). So if anyone has an unused end connector from a battery they no longer use and would be willing to mail it to me, I would be very grateful.

Marvin Gentry, Photographer

	Birmingham/Pelham \| AL \| USA \| Posted: 4:55 PM on 01.27.05
	->> I too bought batteries from MDD and htey didn;t work and they are replacing them. I did buy a knockoff with the same label as the Chinese ones that came from MDD from Batteries plus for around $55 and it works great I hope my replacements work. The people at batteries plus told me that lables are interchanged alot inthe industry.

Jason Jenkins, Photographer

Las Vegas | NV | USA | Posted: 1:26 PM on 03.05.05

->> I just got done reading all the MP-E3 battery threads and it seems most everyone bought the Delkin Batteries. I'm courious if people are still having problems or not, if the people that returned their batteries have had their problems resolved?

I'm looking for an additional battery and was looking at the CTA batteries that B&H and similiar places carry. Does anyone have experience with those?

Barry Markowitz, Photographer

	Laie \| Hi \| USA \| Posted: 4:39 PM on 03.05.05
	->> Jason, its been 4 months now and my Delkin Canon battery clones have worked flawlessly. I have not noticed any degradation in battery life either. My Delkin batteries remain primary, while my Canon batteries continues to be dependable backups.

Marc F. Henning, Photographer

	Bentonville \| AR \| USA \| Posted: 4:44 PM on 03.05.05
	->> going on two months now with my Delkin Canon knockoff and no complaints. i just picked up another one from the NPPA store since the first one has worked so well. i've been able to shoot for 3 days straight, with light assignments, off of one charge. marc

Randy Chow, Photographer

	Long Beach \| CA \| United States \| Posted: 2:58 AM on 09.17.05
	->> Has anyone used the CTA DB-NPE3 battery?? If so, have you experienced any issues?? Is this a variation of the aforementioned Delkins/Chinese batteries?? Any feedback appreciated.

Juliann Tallino, Photographer

	Los Angeles \| CA \| usa \| Posted: 3:05 AM on 09.17.05
	->> I haven't used the CTA batts, but I have been using a couple of the MDD $20.00 knock-off for about 6 months with no problems at all. I had two replaced from the original batch but the ones they are getting now seem to work much better.

Dave Kennedy, Photographer

	Nanuet \| NY \| US \| Posted: 9:58 AM on 09.17.05
	->> I have one of the NPPA knock off batteries that I've been using for several months now with no problems. The latch is kind of fiddly but the battery does stay in place and does hold a charge just fine. DK

Marc F. Henning, Photographer

	Bentonville \| AR \| USA \| Posted: 12:30 PM on 09.17.05
	->> dave, if your old NP-E3 batteries are now worthless, you can swap the latch from one of the old batteries to your new Delkin NP-E3. i have two of the NPPA (Delkin) batteries and one of the latches wouldn't function properly, so i swapped it with one of my old Canon brand latches and it works like new. marc

Dave Kennedy, Photographer

Nanuet | NY | US | Posted: 1:41 PM on 09.17.05

->> Yeah, I've thought of that. I do have a few old, worn out batteries that I'm going to do that with.

And on a sort of related issue. I have some MDD knock-off batteries for the D30/D60/10D/20D that I bought a few years ago when I bought my D30 new (still have the camera and it still works fine to BTW), they are still working fine. They still hold a charge and I've had no problems with them. They used to cost $30.00 for the aftermarket now they only cost $10.00.

Ron Scheffler, Photographer

Hamilton (Toronto area) | Ontario | Canada | Posted: 4:18 PM on 09.24.05

->> Just wanted to add my comments about the $20 batteries from mydigitaldiscount.com: I've used three now for about two months and have not had any problems with them, either in the camera or connected to the charger.

They are certainly not as well made as the Canon originals. The end caps that lock to the camera are poorly made - the latches are inconsistent from battery to battery, with some being OK and others very stiff and difficult to turn to the locking position. The port for connecting to the charger also looks to be somewhat cheaply made.

Upon receipt of the batteries, I immediately swapped the end caps from my old nearly dead Canon batteries. They fit perfectly on the MDD batteries, which now lock to the body just as easily as the original Canons. I would highly recommend everyone do this with the MDD batteries.

As far as battery life is concerned, they certainly do outlast a new Canon battery that I also have. I'd guess at least a couple thousand actuations on a 1DII and possibly 3000+ if the temperature is good and there isn't too much chimping between exposures. In my 1D, I can now finally get through entire baseball or football games with one battery, often with a full battery indicator at the end of the event. The 1D sees infrequent use as a second body, but is left in the fully on mode quite frequently so that it is awake in case I need to quickly use it. In contrast, I would have to change the older Canon batteries at least once per event. The question of long term reliability is still uncertain. But, at $20 each, even if they only last two years (or less), it will be much cheaper to replace them than pay the extra for the Canon batteries.

I happened to come across a website that lists replacement parts for Canon cameras and lenses. If you click on the link to the 1D camera and scroll down to pages 14&15, you can find the part number for the battery end cap, which you should be able to order from Canon's parts department.

http://www.micro-tools.com/pdf/Canon/

Part numbers:

CG2-0737-000 - Cover Assembly Battery
CA1-9411-000 x2 - Screws (but you can also use the screws from the MDD battery)

Ron Scheffler, Photographer

Hamilton (Toronto area) | Ontario | Canada | Posted: 11:34 AM on 08.29.06

->> Here's an update to my post above:

After about a year using the $20 Black Diamond batteries from My Digital Discount, they are not holding a charge as long as they used to and I'm experiencing more problems with some of the batteries not connecting properly to the Canon charger. Regarding battery performance, I may have been somewhat lax in not refreshing them very regularly, but have noticed that capacity is down to less than what I'd expect from the Canon brand batteries.

In any case, I've decided to stop using them after one year's service and today received a new set of no-name NP-E3 replacement batteries from MDD. A few observations:
Good:
- stock end caps have a much better fit to the 1D body.
- latches on the end caps work very well, on par with the Canon made batteries.
Bad:
- charging receptacle is a different design from previous no-names and fits very loosely to the charger. It appears the "half crescent" piece (that has the three connection receptacles) is smaller and therefore allows a lot more wiggle room.

Initial observations indicate there are a couple that are finicky and don't mate well to the charger, but once charging, they so far seem to maintain the connection.

It's too early to comment on actual in camera performance, but will update if there are issues.

Andrew Wilz, Photographer

Aspen | CO | usa | Posted: 12:15 PM on 08.29.06

->> man... I've been using these batteries from MDD since they started carrying them (over a year ago). No problems with one of them... and then the other day while cleaning out a storage unit of mine... i came across one that i had stuck in a box because it wasn't working in my 1d for fit-reasons. It worked fine shooting horizontally, but when you shot vertically, the contacts didn't touch or something, and it caused the camera to go dead from lack of connection. Anyway.. i threw it into my MkII, and it fit perfectly... so threw it on the charger, and presto! Now i have 2 MDD batteries and they both work perfectly. The other one that i was using i've had since day one, and had NO problems. It outlasts anything Canon makes, and it fits perfectly.

Steven E. Frischling, Photographer

New England | | USA | Posted: 2:19 PM on 08.29.06

->> MDD just got in a new batch of 3rd party batteries. These batteries have different end caps and are supposed to be more durable.

I am sending three back that require me to shove my palm into the camera to make them turn on and they are overnighting me three replacement batteries before I leave for London on Thursday.

I have found overall the MDD batteries to be far superior in terms of shooting ability to the Canon OEM batteries. The construction though is not as good.....BUT I bought 9 from MDD for less than the price of two Canon OEM batteries, so I can't complain.

Max Simbron, Photographer, Assistant

	Phoenix \| AZ \| USA \| Posted: 2:50 PM on 08.29.06
	->> Especially with MDD batteries, I find the following useful.. If you have a battery that latches well but won't charge easily, and a battery that charges but won't latch, swtich the ends on them. I did that and made one usable battery out of two useless ones.

Tom Gannam, Photographer

	St. Louis \| MO \| USA \| Posted: 5:08 PM on 08.30.06
	->> I have been using the MDD after-market batteries for two years now. The first batch I bought had a poor latching problem but I just switched out the end with the dead OEM batteries and they work like a charm. The extended shoot time from these make the minor repairs well worth it.

Bob Markey, Photographer

	Royal Palm Beach \| FL \| US \| Posted: 5:59 PM on 08.30.06
	->> My MDD batteries have worked well, even though a few have loose flip-up latches. I usually replace the bad ends with Canon ends from depleted NP-E3s. I have received a bad battery or two, but MDD usually replaces it. I am waiting to hear from them now about one bad one (was more than a year old when it was delivered to me).

Stew Milne, Photographer

Providence | RI | USA | Posted: 11:05 AM on 11.12.06

->> I bought and have been using for a week the replacement NP-E3 batteries from MDD.com So far, this is my review. The latch and endcap are fine and fit with my 1D no problem. However, the charger plug doesn't fit and stay connected. I've found a good way to keep them connected. I wrapr a rubber band around the plug and then around the end of the battery. It keeps the compression between the two. Battery life is great. i was able to shoot a whole Patriots game in the cold (40 degrees) on one battery.

-sM

Ron Scheffler, Photographer

Hamilton (Toronto area) | Ontario | Canada | Posted: 4:05 AM on 11.13.06

->> That's funny Stew, because that is exactly my solution.... except I'm somewhat concerned whether the added pull of the rubber band might affect the pins inside the plug.
It's been over two months since my last post above and I've found that some of the batteries are EXTREMELY stubborn at establishing a connection with the charger. Sometimes I have to fiddle with them for a few minutes. Since they last longer than the Canon batteries, I'm not charging them as frequently and can still live with the situation. However, I would not want to try to charge these on location, like in a car while I'm driving between shoots, because I know they would not hold the connection to the charger.
I'd like to wait and see what Canon does with the next pro body. If it continues to use the same battery system, I might consider getting a few Delkins instead, assuming they have a better connection with the charger.

After having argued the merits of the current battery system in past threads, I now hope Canon comes out with a small and lighter battery system, including a truly compact charger.

Stew Milne, Photographer

Providence | RI | USA | Posted: 8:13 AM on 11.13.06

->> Hey Ron, That's pretty funny. I wouldn't worry about the extra stress put on the pins by the rubber band. Just make sure you aren't using a really strong rubber band.

Yah, I don't think I could charge these batteries on location or while driving (maybe with the rubber band system I'm using). If your really concerned about the pin stress, slip a
thin piece of cardboard between the A/C plug and the battery.

Do you (or any other SSers) know if you can and how to remove the batteries from the casing, w/o destroying the casing. That would be a great solution, as you could remove the knockoff batteries from their case and put them in the Canon casing, solving both problems of the poor recharge connection and latch system.

-sM

Jim Leary, Photographer

Island | NY | USA | Posted: 7:28 PM on 11.13.06

->> Barry and Bob,

I too ordered and received two batteries from mydigitaldiscount. One worked, the other did not. I called and was instructed to send the bad one back for a replacement which I did. The problem is that was over two weeks ago and I have not heard from them. I realize two weeks is not a lot of time but considering I received the original order in two days I have become concerned with the time it is taking to get my much needed replacement. Can either of you tell me how long it took from the time you sent in your returns to the time you received the replacements in the mail? The batteries, when they work are a great deal and last a long time but it appears from all the posts that bad batteries are being delivered much too often (as much as 30-40% of the time). Thanks.

Andrew Wilz, Photographer

Aspen | CO | usa | Posted: 7:48 PM on 11.13.06

->> I've got to echo Ron's sentiments about the charger... seriously.. I don't care how big the batteries are.. within reason... but what is UP with the size of the charger? Why does the charger weigh essentially the same an ipod, yet is the size (almost) of a cinder-block? I thought that micro-ization (i know, i'm making up words...) was a sign of current technology. Everything is getting smaller these days.. ipod nanos, cell phones (people's functioning parts of their brains..)etc. Yet canon's battery charger is still almost the size of a microwave. What gives? Canon... hello...? Can you hear us? Is Canon actually a division of General Motors, and thereby forced to make things unecessarily large, for ego's sake?

(no problems with my MDD batts BTW....)

Allan Campbell, Photographer, Assistant

	Portland \| OR \| \| Posted: 9:57 PM on 11.13.06
	->> When you guys post about the 20 dollar battery are you talking about the IMPERFECT versions??? http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/s.nl/it.A/id.449/.f?sc=2&category=99

Ron Scheffler, Photographer

	Hamilton (Toronto area) \| Ontario \| Canada \| Posted: 2:54 AM on 11.14.06
	->> Hi Andrew, Maybe this is a solution to the huge Canon charger: http://www.eastgear.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=621 Unfortunately, it's about $125 US.... what's up with that?

Brian Jackson, Photographer, Photo Editor

San Carlos | CA | USA | Posted: 1:46 PM on 11.14.06

->> "MyDigitalDiscount has recently acquired information regarding the latest shipment of Black Diamond Media NPE3’s to be slightly defective. Because we are aware of this, they are being sold as slightly defective for a much lower price. 1 out of every 5 has a problem with the charge port. The lip that holds the charger in is pushed in too far. In order to get the charger to stay, you may need to prop it up against something. This inconvenience, all though not apparent in all of the batteries, has been a problem in some. Therefore, we are selling these batteries for the current low price. These batteries are non refundable, however they are replaceable. Within the next month, a brand new shipment of perfectly good NPE3’s will be instock."

Looks like they'll be gettign new ones shortly that address this issue :)

Stew Milne, Photographer

	Providence \| RI \| USA \| Posted: 4:40 PM on 11.14.06
	->> Allan, No, we are not talking about those imperfect ones. Apparently Brian has found out why they have imperfect ones. I just have the regular "not so perfect, but good enough" for about $24. -sM

Ron Scheffler, Photographer

	Hamilton (Toronto area) \| Ontario \| Canada \| Posted: 3:27 AM on 11.15.06
	->> Well that's interesting.... I bought mine before this problem was discovered and the batteries labeled as imperfect. I'd say all five of the ones I bought are imperfect. None of them maintain a connection with the charger without some (sometimes frustrating) fiddling. I bought five because I expected one or two to be troublesome, but for all five to be so annoying to charge... argh!

Dave Kennedy, Photographer

	Danbury \| CT \| US \| Posted: 5:53 PM on 12.04.06
	->> I'm dredging this thread up because of terrible customer service from Mydigitaldiscount.com... we ordered a pair of these batteries recently and NEITHER will charge. Repeated emails to them have GONE UNANSWERED. Be aware if you order from them they may do this to you as well. DaveK

Drew Buchanan, Photographer, Student/Intern

Fort Walton Beach | FL | USA | Posted: 6:06 PM on 12.04.06

->> Dave,

I had big trouble with my batteries when I ordered from them a few days back: they wouldn't charge and when I tried to charge them the "charge" and "refresh" lights blinked very rapidly simultaneously. I ended up hammering the charger cord into the battery and it's worked fine ever since...go figures! Just try to get the cord ALL THE WAY in to the charger port on the battery (even if it means using a hammer) and it SHOULD work fine.

...You get what you pay for.

Paul Kelm, Photographer

Milwaukee | Wisconsin | U.S.A. | Posted: 6:08 PM on 12.04.06

->> I bought several of the MDD batteries years ago. They were cheap and with a little fiddling, worked. Now it's several years later. There have been many threads, both here as well as on other sites, stating that the problems have been fixed, the newer batteries have been improved, and that NOW they have what many of us want - cheaper alternatives to the Canon batteries.

It looks like that's not the case.

Last week one of my MDD batteries got stuck in the camera. I think the latch has come apart in my 1D. It won't come out! Now what?

I've gotten a lot of use out of the batteries, but there sure have been some major tradeoffs.

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