23/04/2026 11:31 am
Topic starter
Notifications
Clear all
0
so i have a wedding coming up this saturday in seattle and my old canon lp-e6 packs are basically dead. like they wont even hold a charge for twenty minutes anymore and the little recharge performance red bar in the menu is at its lowest. i just spent way too much on a used 24-70mm lens so my budget is basically zero right now. ive been looking at those wasabi power and bm premium packs on amazon because they are like a fraction of the cost of the official canon ones. canon wants what like 80 bucks for a single battery? that is insane to me. so i was thinking i could just grab a four pack of the cheap ones and be set for the whole day.
my logic was that a battery is just a battery right? but then i started reading some stuff on dpreview and some guys were saying the 5d mark iii is super picky about the chips in the battery. i read that some of these third party ones wont even show the battery percentage on the screen or they give this annoying error message every time you turn the camera on. but then other people say theyve used them for years with no issues. im so confused because some people say the cheap ones can actually swell up and get stuck inside the camera body or even short out the mainboard. if that happens i am totally screwed because i cant afford a repair right now and i need this camera for the weekend. i literally have no backup body if this one fries itself.
some people say the wasabi ones are the only ones to trust but then i saw a review saying they die after three months. then i saw someone say the newer batches of neewer batteries are fine. i dont know who to believe and im panicking a little bit because i need to order them like today to get them here by friday. is the risk of frying my 5d mark iii actually real or is that just canon trying to scare people into buying their overpriced gear? has anyone actually had a third party battery kill their camera or am i just overthinking this because im stressed? i really need to know if i should just bite the bullet and buy one official battery or if i can get away with the cheapos for this gig...
10
23/04/2026 11:31 am
i have shot hundreds of thousands of frames on my 5d mark iii and honestly i rarely touch the official canon stuff anymore because it is just way too expensive! you are totally overthinking the fry your camera thing. that is mostly just people being paranoid or using ancient tech from ten years ago. for a wedding this weekend you absolutely need reliable power without breaking the bank. i have used third party packs for years and they are fantastic! here is my breakdown of what i have used in that exact body:
- Wasabi Power LP-E6N Battery 2-Pack - these are hands down the best budget option and what i use basically every single weekend. they communicate perfectly with the camera so you get the full battery meter and no annoying error messages! they have been absolute tanks for me and i love how they hold a charge even in the cold.
- BM Premium LP-E6N High Capacity Battery - these are totally fine in a pinch and i have a few in my bag but honestly they feel a bit lighter. the charge doesnt seem to last quite as long as the wasabis during long receptions tho.
- Neewer LP-E6NH Replacement Battery - these are surprisingly decent now and the newer ones have great chips. i havent had one swell yet and they charge fast. seriously just get the wasabi packs. the horror stories about batteries blowing up cameras are so rare they are basically myths at this point... just dont leave them in a boiling hot car and you are gonna be totally fine. go kill it at that wedding!
1
23/04/2026 11:45 am
^ This. Also, i had a weird issue with some generic spares i bought a while back. They worked fine for a bit, but then:
- one started swelling and got stuck in the slot
- the charge level jumped from 50% to dead instantly Since you got a wedding tho, maybe just buy one decent pack for peace of mind. I learned that the charger matters as much as the cells... honestly just keep an eye on them when theyre charging.
