I have had my Canon 5D Mark 2 for about 5 months now and wanted to get an extra battery for back up. I have been searching the web trying to find an aftermarket replacement at a realistic cost as it annoys me that Canon seem to want to extract every last penny from their customers when it comes to replacement battery's.
I had real trouble tracking one down but have managed to find a company online who supply them so I thought I would share this information with all the 5D 2 users out there.I'm in the UK and I bought mine here : http://www.digitalmediastore.co.uk/batteri...__WIN-CAE6KIT-D for £24.90 which included the battery/mains charger and car charger lead with delivery included. Place that against the official Canon battery at about £65.00. Now, before you rush off and buy them I would point out that this battery ( unlike the Canon battery ) doesn't have a chip which communicates with the camera to show the battery life, so when you first install the battery in the camera you get a message on the screen telling you this and asking if you still want to use the battery, pushing yes will get you using the camera as normal. I used the battery all day yesterday shooting about 600 raw files with regular screen use and it hadn't run out. Obviously I should point out that I have no commercial or other ties with the above store, I just hope I have saved a few other photographers some hard earned cash in these hard times.

This is your first post? Whatever...

Sorry, pcunite I really don't understand your reply, maybe some good old plain english would be better??

How about this:

SPAM!

CUSTOMER: Have you got anything without spam?
WAITRESS: Well, there's spam, spam, generic 5DII batteries from a dubious internet source and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
CUSTOMER: I don't want ANY spam!
VIKINGS (SING): Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
WAITRESS: SHUT UP!



And so forth.

I don't understand your problem.

I love spam. I'm having spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, eggs, ham, generic 5DII batteries (that only cost me half what the OP is flogging), spam, spam with a mornay sauce and a fried egg on top and SPAM.

Ok Guys, make sure you take the medication on a regular basis or you can start the view the world in a strange way. If you consider my original post to be spam, then fine that's your view, as a working photographer my intention with the post was to provide some genuine information that would help other people save some money with what I have found is a good product. If you want to waste your cash by paying top dollar for branded goods, that's fine with me. What's wrong with spam anyway? a nutritious food that's good for you.

Great shot! what lighting did you use for this? I hope you got a model release form for the tin of Spam as it looks fantastic! Come on guys, give me a smile, you work for Canon and the main dealers, right? so you have a interest in this information not being spread, let's do the math, 1 million 5D2 battery's at £60 a pop that's a lot of money to lose.

Great shot indeeed! Well, the reaction might be related to the fact that such an unchipped replacement batterie can be had for 10$ on ebay. Let's do the math...

Btw, even if I don't have a 5D² it may be good to know : are there any chipped 3rd party batteries to replace LP-E6 on the market?

On this side of the pond, we're paying $60 USD. You're having to pay £60 or $95 USD. So that's why it's not a big deal to us to buy a quality genuine Canon product. I can understand maybe why you want to find a cheaper version, but an un-chipped battery is of less use to me.

For my old Canon 10D I eventually acquired three Canon batteries and three off-brand ones at much cheaper prices. One of the Canon's stopped holding its charge a couple of months after purchase, while the others continue to work just fine now in my 5D (mark 1). Canon batteries aren't necessarily better than cheaper ones, in my experience.


Eric

All satire aside, and meaning no disrespect, it is naive at best and disingenuous at worst to join an internet forum, immediately tout a Just Discovered Bargain, then act bewildered and defensive when other forum members view you as a spammer.

The classic pattern of the forum spammer is new membership, a first post that claims to have discovered a commercial product of interest to the forum, a claim of altruism, and the inclusion of a link to a commercial site that sells the product. Subsequent posts express bemusement, bewilderment and defensiveness in response to other members' skepticism.

Your posts follow precisely that pattern, which only tends to affirm the original appearance that you are not naive, and indeed would seem to have some experience in these matters.

You may, of course, continue to protest that your motives for joining the forum and offering this information are entirely altruistic, and that you are being misunderstood and unappreciated by those whose problem is medical, mental, or other.

Or you may consider the common sense advice that having dug oneself into a hole, the best course of action is to stop digging.

Thanks Daws,

You have just confirmed my belief that there must be intelligent, articulate, communicative people on the LL forum who can make a valid contribution to a post, so thanks for this. This is my last reply on the subject, as I am fed up having to use the shovels that the spammers have been throwing in the hole. It is of course worth saying that you all have missed the main point behind the post which is the fact that Canon ( and other manufacturers? ) feel the need to lock users in to having to use specific products such as battery's to power their products and then are in a position to be able to name their own price. I'll save someone the ' you can use standard AA battery's in a grip' post because that avoids the issue. Printer manufactures do exactly the same thing with ink cartridges, again designed to make extortionate profits. Don't get me wrong, I'm in business too and making a profit is good, but when it's at the expense of user choice and convenience then it's a double blow I don't think is right.
cheershttp://luminous-landscape.com/forum/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon1.gif

I think it is entirely valid to argue that Canon's actions with the 5DII battery play unfair games with their customers.

It is unfortunate that the argument was diminished by being pressed into the service of someone wanting to make money, and who knocks Canon for having the same goal.

Wow. Some of you guys need to eat less raw meat. Maybe try a little spam instead?